Abstract
Oberonia mahaeliyensis C. Bandara, Lakkana, Ediriweera sp. nov. is described and illustrated in montane cloud forests of Sri Lanka. Complete taxonomic description, color photographs and line drawings of the species are provided in this account.
References
<p>Adikaram, N., Ranawana, K. & Weerasooriya, A. (1999) <em>Forest Die</em>-<em>back in Horton Plains National Park</em>. Protected Area Management & Wildlife Conservation Project, Department of Wildlife Conservation, Colombo, Sri Lanka.</p>
<p>Adikaram, N.K.B., Ranawana, K.B. & Weerasooriya, A. (2006) <em>Forest die</em>-<em>back in the Horton Plains National Park</em>. Manahara Printers, Department of Wildlife Conservation, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 54 pp.</p>
<p>Ansari, R. & Balakrishnan, N.P. (1990) A revision of the Indian species of <em>Oberonia</em>. <em>Orchid Monographs </em>4: 1–82.</p>
<p>Balasubramaniam, S., Ratnayake, S. & White, R. (1993) The montane forests of the Horton Plains Nature Reserve. <em>In:</em> Erdelen, W., Ishwaran, C.P.N., Madduma Bandara, C.M. (Eds.) <em>Ecology and Landscape Management in Sri Lanka</em>. Proceedings of the International and Interdisciplinary Symposium, Colombo; Weikersheim, Margraf, Germany, pp. 95–108.</p>
<p>Chen, X.Q., Liu, Z.J., Zhu, G.H., Lang, K.Y., Ji, Z.H., Luo, Y.B., Jin, X.H., Cribb, P.J., Wood, J.J., Gale, S.W., Ormerod, P., Vermeulen, J.J., Wood, H.P., Clayton, D. & Bell, A. (2009) Orchidaceae. <em>In:</em> Wu, Z.Y, Raven, P.H., Hong, D.Y. (Eds.) <em>Flora of China</em> (Vol. 25). Beijing: Science Press and St. Louis: Missouri Botanical Garden Press, pp. 1–570.</p>
<p>de Vlas, J. (2019) <em>Illustrated field guide to the flowers of Sri Lanka</em>. Vol. 3. J. de Vlas, The Netherlands, 320 pp.</p>
<p>Department of Wildlife Conservation (2007) <em>Biodiversity baseline survey: Horton Plains National Park</em>. Consultancy Service Report prepared by Green, M.J.B. (Ed.) De Alwis, S.M.D.A.U., Dayawansa, P.N., How, R., Singhakumara, B.M.P., Weerakoon, D. & Wijesinghe, M.R. ARD Inc. in association with Infotech IDEAS and GREENTEC Consultants. Sri Lanka Protected Areas Management and Wildlife Conservation Project (PAM&WCP/CONSULT/02/BDBS), Department of Wildlife Conservation, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 40 pp.</p>
<p>Ediriweera, S., Pathirana, S., Singhakumara, B.M.P. & Wickramagamage, P. (2008) Monitoring forest dieback severity and plant communities diversity using multi-temporal satellite data in the Horton Plain National Park, Sri Lanka. <em>Proceedings of the 29<sup>th</sup> Asian Conference on Remote Sensing</em>, Colombo, Sri Lanka.</p>
<p>Fernando, S.S. & Ormerod, P. (2008) An annotated checklist of the orchids of Sri Lanka. <em>Rheedea </em>18: 1–28.</p>
<p>Geiger, D.L. (2016) Studies in <em>Oberonia</em> 1: <em>Oberonia maxima</em> and its new synonyms. <em>Orchids</em> 85: 390–395.</p>
<p>Geiger, D.L. (2019) Studies on <em>Oberonia</em> 5 (Orchidaceae: Malaxideae). Twenty-four new synonyms, and a corrected spelling. <em>Blumea</em> 64: 123–139. https://doi.org/10.3767/blumea.2019.64.02.04</p>
<p>Geiger, D.L. (2020) Studies in <em>Oberonia</em> 8 (Orchidaceae: Malaxideae). Additional 24 new synonyms, a corrected spelling, and other nomenclatural matters. <em>Blumea</em> 65: 188–203. https://doi.org/10.3767/blumea.2020.65.03.02</p>
<p>Geiger, D.L. (2021) Studies in <em>Oberonia</em> 9. Lessons from excess names in <em>Oberonia</em> for Orchidaceae systematics, including a revision of the <em>Oberonia</em> Sect. <em>Scytoxiphium</em>. <em>Lankesteriana </em>21: 139–156. https://doi.org/10.15517/lank.v21i2.47245</p>
<p>Geiger, D.L., Crain, B.J., Mccormick, M.K. & Whigham, D.F. (2020) Studies in <em>Oberonia</em> 7. Ten new synonyms of <em>Oberonia equitans</em> (G.Forst.) Mutel indicated by morphology and molecular phylogeny. <em>Orchids</em> 89: 656–667.</p>
<p>Geiger, D.L., Sulaiman, M. & Murugan, C. (2021) Studies in <em>Oberonia</em> 10. A re-evaluation of <em>Oberonia brachystachys</em> and <em>O. subligaculifera</em> (Orchidaceae: Malaxideae) and their synonyms. <em>Rheedea</em> 31 (3): 141–160. https://doi.org/10.22244/rheedea.2021.31.03.04</p>
<p>Govaerts, R., Campacci, M.A., Baptista, D.H., Cribb, P.J., George, A., Kreutz, K. & Wood, J.J. (2016) <em>World checklist of Orchidaceae</em>. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Available from: http://www.kew.org/wcsp/monocots/ (accessed 11 April 2022).</p>
<p>Hoffmann, T.W. (1988) The Horton Plains, good and bad news. <em>Loris </em>18: 4–5.</p>
<p>IUCN Standards and Petitions Committee (2019) Guidelines for Using the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria. Version 14. Prepared by the Standards and Petitions Committee. Available from: https://www.iucnredlist.org/documents/RedListGuidelines.pdf (accessed 22 March 2022).</p>
<p>Jayaweera, D.M.A. (1981) Orchidaceae. <em>In:</em> Dassanayake, M.D. (Ed.) <em>A Revised Handbook to the Flora of Ceylon</em>, Volume ii. Oxford and IBH, New Delhi, pp. 4–386.</p>
<p>Lakkana, T., Ashton, M.S., Hooper, E.R., Perera, A. & Ediriweera, S. (2022) Tropical Montane Forest in South Asia: Composition, Structure, and Dieback in Relation to Soils and Topography. <em>Ecosphere</em> 13 (5): e4049. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4049</p>
<p>Perera, W.R.H. (1978) Thotupolakanda - an environmental disaster? <em>The Sri Lanka Forester </em>13.</p>
<p>POWO (2022) Plants of the World Online. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet: http://plantsoftheworldonline.org/ (accessed 16 April 2022).</p>
<p>Pridgeon, A.M., Cribb, P.J., Chase, M.W. & Rasmussen, F.N. (Eds.) (2005) <em>Genera Orchidacearum. Epidendroideae</em> Vol. 4. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 244–250.</p>
<p>Priyadarshana, T.S., Wijewardhane, I.H., Atthanagoda, A.G., Arangala, N.S., Jayasooriya, A. & Kumar, P. (2017) <em>Oberonia meegaskumburae </em>(Orchidaceae: Epidendroideae: Malaxideae), a new species from Sri Lanka. <em>Phytotaxa </em>302 (3): 259–265. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.302.3.5</p>
<p>Ranasinghe, P.N., Dissanayake, C.B., Samarasinghe, D.V.N. & Galappatti, R. (2007) The relationship between soil geochemistry and die-back of montane forests in Sri Lanka: a case study. <em>Environmental Geology </em>51: 1077–1088. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-006-0399-6</p>
<p>Ranasinghe, P.N., Fernando, G.W.A.R., Wimalasena, M.D.N.R., Ekenayake, S.P. & Siriwardena, Y.P.S. (2009) Dieback in tropical montane forests of Sri Lanka: Anthropogenic or natural phenomenon? <em>Journal of Geological Society of Sri Lanka </em>13: 24–35.</p>
<p>Ranawana, K.B. (2014) Forest dieback in Horton Plains National Park. <em>Journal of the Department of Wildlife Conservation </em>2: 103–112.</p>
<p>The National Red List (2021) <em>Conservation Status of the Flora of Sri Lanka 2020</em>. Sri Lanka: Biodiversity Secretariat, Ministry of Environment and the National Herbarium, Department of National Botanic Gardens, xviii + 254 pp.</p>
<p>Werner, W.L. (1982) The Upper Montane Forest Sri Lanka. <em>The Sri Lanka forester </em>15: 119–135.</p>
<p>Werner, W.L. (1988) Canopy Dieback in the Upper Montane Rain Forests of Sri Lanka. <em>GeoJournal </em>17: 245–248. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02432929</p>
<p>Adikaram, N.K.B., Ranawana, K.B. & Weerasooriya, A. (2006) <em>Forest die</em>-<em>back in the Horton Plains National Park</em>. Manahara Printers, Department of Wildlife Conservation, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 54 pp.</p>
<p>Ansari, R. & Balakrishnan, N.P. (1990) A revision of the Indian species of <em>Oberonia</em>. <em>Orchid Monographs </em>4: 1–82.</p>
<p>Balasubramaniam, S., Ratnayake, S. & White, R. (1993) The montane forests of the Horton Plains Nature Reserve. <em>In:</em> Erdelen, W., Ishwaran, C.P.N., Madduma Bandara, C.M. (Eds.) <em>Ecology and Landscape Management in Sri Lanka</em>. Proceedings of the International and Interdisciplinary Symposium, Colombo; Weikersheim, Margraf, Germany, pp. 95–108.</p>
<p>Chen, X.Q., Liu, Z.J., Zhu, G.H., Lang, K.Y., Ji, Z.H., Luo, Y.B., Jin, X.H., Cribb, P.J., Wood, J.J., Gale, S.W., Ormerod, P., Vermeulen, J.J., Wood, H.P., Clayton, D. & Bell, A. (2009) Orchidaceae. <em>In:</em> Wu, Z.Y, Raven, P.H., Hong, D.Y. (Eds.) <em>Flora of China</em> (Vol. 25). Beijing: Science Press and St. Louis: Missouri Botanical Garden Press, pp. 1–570.</p>
<p>de Vlas, J. (2019) <em>Illustrated field guide to the flowers of Sri Lanka</em>. Vol. 3. J. de Vlas, The Netherlands, 320 pp.</p>
<p>Department of Wildlife Conservation (2007) <em>Biodiversity baseline survey: Horton Plains National Park</em>. Consultancy Service Report prepared by Green, M.J.B. (Ed.) De Alwis, S.M.D.A.U., Dayawansa, P.N., How, R., Singhakumara, B.M.P., Weerakoon, D. & Wijesinghe, M.R. ARD Inc. in association with Infotech IDEAS and GREENTEC Consultants. Sri Lanka Protected Areas Management and Wildlife Conservation Project (PAM&WCP/CONSULT/02/BDBS), Department of Wildlife Conservation, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 40 pp.</p>
<p>Ediriweera, S., Pathirana, S., Singhakumara, B.M.P. & Wickramagamage, P. (2008) Monitoring forest dieback severity and plant communities diversity using multi-temporal satellite data in the Horton Plain National Park, Sri Lanka. <em>Proceedings of the 29<sup>th</sup> Asian Conference on Remote Sensing</em>, Colombo, Sri Lanka.</p>
<p>Fernando, S.S. & Ormerod, P. (2008) An annotated checklist of the orchids of Sri Lanka. <em>Rheedea </em>18: 1–28.</p>
<p>Geiger, D.L. (2016) Studies in <em>Oberonia</em> 1: <em>Oberonia maxima</em> and its new synonyms. <em>Orchids</em> 85: 390–395.</p>
<p>Geiger, D.L. (2019) Studies on <em>Oberonia</em> 5 (Orchidaceae: Malaxideae). Twenty-four new synonyms, and a corrected spelling. <em>Blumea</em> 64: 123–139. https://doi.org/10.3767/blumea.2019.64.02.04</p>
<p>Geiger, D.L. (2020) Studies in <em>Oberonia</em> 8 (Orchidaceae: Malaxideae). Additional 24 new synonyms, a corrected spelling, and other nomenclatural matters. <em>Blumea</em> 65: 188–203. https://doi.org/10.3767/blumea.2020.65.03.02</p>
<p>Geiger, D.L. (2021) Studies in <em>Oberonia</em> 9. Lessons from excess names in <em>Oberonia</em> for Orchidaceae systematics, including a revision of the <em>Oberonia</em> Sect. <em>Scytoxiphium</em>. <em>Lankesteriana </em>21: 139–156. https://doi.org/10.15517/lank.v21i2.47245</p>
<p>Geiger, D.L., Crain, B.J., Mccormick, M.K. & Whigham, D.F. (2020) Studies in <em>Oberonia</em> 7. Ten new synonyms of <em>Oberonia equitans</em> (G.Forst.) Mutel indicated by morphology and molecular phylogeny. <em>Orchids</em> 89: 656–667.</p>
<p>Geiger, D.L., Sulaiman, M. & Murugan, C. (2021) Studies in <em>Oberonia</em> 10. A re-evaluation of <em>Oberonia brachystachys</em> and <em>O. subligaculifera</em> (Orchidaceae: Malaxideae) and their synonyms. <em>Rheedea</em> 31 (3): 141–160. https://doi.org/10.22244/rheedea.2021.31.03.04</p>
<p>Govaerts, R., Campacci, M.A., Baptista, D.H., Cribb, P.J., George, A., Kreutz, K. & Wood, J.J. (2016) <em>World checklist of Orchidaceae</em>. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Available from: http://www.kew.org/wcsp/monocots/ (accessed 11 April 2022).</p>
<p>Hoffmann, T.W. (1988) The Horton Plains, good and bad news. <em>Loris </em>18: 4–5.</p>
<p>IUCN Standards and Petitions Committee (2019) Guidelines for Using the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria. Version 14. Prepared by the Standards and Petitions Committee. Available from: https://www.iucnredlist.org/documents/RedListGuidelines.pdf (accessed 22 March 2022).</p>
<p>Jayaweera, D.M.A. (1981) Orchidaceae. <em>In:</em> Dassanayake, M.D. (Ed.) <em>A Revised Handbook to the Flora of Ceylon</em>, Volume ii. Oxford and IBH, New Delhi, pp. 4–386.</p>
<p>Lakkana, T., Ashton, M.S., Hooper, E.R., Perera, A. & Ediriweera, S. (2022) Tropical Montane Forest in South Asia: Composition, Structure, and Dieback in Relation to Soils and Topography. <em>Ecosphere</em> 13 (5): e4049. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4049</p>
<p>Perera, W.R.H. (1978) Thotupolakanda - an environmental disaster? <em>The Sri Lanka Forester </em>13.</p>
<p>POWO (2022) Plants of the World Online. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet: http://plantsoftheworldonline.org/ (accessed 16 April 2022).</p>
<p>Pridgeon, A.M., Cribb, P.J., Chase, M.W. & Rasmussen, F.N. (Eds.) (2005) <em>Genera Orchidacearum. Epidendroideae</em> Vol. 4. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 244–250.</p>
<p>Priyadarshana, T.S., Wijewardhane, I.H., Atthanagoda, A.G., Arangala, N.S., Jayasooriya, A. & Kumar, P. (2017) <em>Oberonia meegaskumburae </em>(Orchidaceae: Epidendroideae: Malaxideae), a new species from Sri Lanka. <em>Phytotaxa </em>302 (3): 259–265. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.302.3.5</p>
<p>Ranasinghe, P.N., Dissanayake, C.B., Samarasinghe, D.V.N. & Galappatti, R. (2007) The relationship between soil geochemistry and die-back of montane forests in Sri Lanka: a case study. <em>Environmental Geology </em>51: 1077–1088. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-006-0399-6</p>
<p>Ranasinghe, P.N., Fernando, G.W.A.R., Wimalasena, M.D.N.R., Ekenayake, S.P. & Siriwardena, Y.P.S. (2009) Dieback in tropical montane forests of Sri Lanka: Anthropogenic or natural phenomenon? <em>Journal of Geological Society of Sri Lanka </em>13: 24–35.</p>
<p>Ranawana, K.B. (2014) Forest dieback in Horton Plains National Park. <em>Journal of the Department of Wildlife Conservation </em>2: 103–112.</p>
<p>The National Red List (2021) <em>Conservation Status of the Flora of Sri Lanka 2020</em>. Sri Lanka: Biodiversity Secretariat, Ministry of Environment and the National Herbarium, Department of National Botanic Gardens, xviii + 254 pp.</p>
<p>Werner, W.L. (1982) The Upper Montane Forest Sri Lanka. <em>The Sri Lanka forester </em>15: 119–135.</p>
<p>Werner, W.L. (1988) Canopy Dieback in the Upper Montane Rain Forests of Sri Lanka. <em>GeoJournal </em>17: 245–248. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02432929</p>