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Issue: Vol. 767 No. 2: 21 Jul. 2026
Type: Article
Published: 2026-07-21
DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.767.2.5
Page range: 173-184
Abstract views: 27
PDF downloaded: 1

Pleurothallis madhu (Orchidaceae: Pleurothallidinae): a new species from the Central Andes of Colombia

Jardín Botánico de Cali; Fundación Zoológica de Cali; Cra. 2 Oe. #21; Valle del Cauca; Cali; Colombia; Grupo de Investigación Schultes; Fundación Ecotonos; Carrera 72 #13A-56; Cali; Colombia
Reserva Natural Madhú; Corregimiento El Pomo; Cerrito; Valle del Cauca; Colombia
Grupo de Investigación Schultes; Fundación Ecotonos; Carrera 72 #13A-56; Cali; Colombia; Jardín Botánico Alejandro von Humboldt; Universidad del Tolima; Cl. 42 #1; Ibagué; Tolima; Colombia; Grupo de Investigación en Genética y Biotecnología Vegetal y Microbiana de la Universidad del Tolima (GEBIUT); Cl. 42 #1; Ibagué; Tolima; Colombia
Monocots Central Andes Colombia Macrophyllae-Fasciculatae orchid diversity Pleurothallidinae private nature reserve petroana group Valle del Cauca

Abstract

A new species of Pleurothallis (Orchidaceae: Pleurothallidinae) from the Central Andes of Colombia is described and illustrated. Pleurothallis madhu sp. nov. belongs to the informal Pleurothallis petroana group within section Macrophyllae-Fasciculatae and was discovered at Reserva Natural Madhú, a private nature reserve in the municipality of El Cerrito, department of Valle del Cauca, on the western slope of the Central Andes. The new species is most similar to P. petroana Sierra-Ariza, from which it differs mainly in its smaller vegetative and floral size, ovate to broadly ovate yellow-green lip with ciliate to spiculate-ciliate margins formed by elongated papillae, obovate glenion, and broadly ovate synsepal. Pleurohallis madhu is currently known only from the type locality, where it grows as an epiphyte in very humid premontane Andean forest at 2333 m elevation. A Lankester Composite Dissection Plate (LCDP), a distribution map, ecological notes, a preliminary conservation assessment, and notes on the orchid diversity of Reserva Natural Madhú are provided.

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How to Cite

Moreno, J.S., Mejía, M. & Sierra-Ariza, M.A. (2026) Pleurothallis madhu (Orchidaceae: Pleurothallidinae): a new species from the Central Andes of Colombia. Phytotaxa 767 (2): 173–184. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.767.2.5