New records and a significant range extension of the recently described Pelexia vinosa A.W.C. Ferreira, M.I.S. Lima &amp;amp; Pansarin (Orchidaceae) in southernmost Brazil

Henrique Noguez Da Cunha,Ana Paula Thiel,Gustavo Crizel Gomes,Tângela Denise Perleberg

doi:10.15560/18.1.85

Abstract

We present new records for Pelexia vinosa A.W.C. Ferreira, M.I.S. Lima &amp; Pansarin, a Brazilian terricolous orchid described in 2012 and at that moment known only from the type population and considered endemic to the state of S&atilde;o Paulo. We report the occurrence of populations in seasonal semideciduous forest fragments at three locations in the southernmost Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil. This would mean that the species distribution is extended by ca. 1,500 km in a straight line from previous records. We also reassess the conservation status of P. vinosa as Endangered.

Highlights

Pelexia Poit. ex Lindl. s.l. is a genus of terricolous, rupicolous, or rarely epiphytic orchids native to the American tropics and subtropics with approximately 77 species (Chase et al 2015)
The discovery of Pelexia vinosa in southernmost Rio Grande do Sul extends the geographic distribution of the species by approximately 1,500 km of the type locality, showing the species is not restricted to the state of São Paulo, as previously supposed (Meneguzzo 2020)
These records expand the list of plant species for the state of Rio Grande do Sul and the Pampa phytogeographic domain, demonstrating that P. vinosa has a broader range of distribution in Brazil and probably occurs in other seasonal semideciduous forest areas, especially in the states of Santa Catarina and Paraná

Summary

Introduction

Pelexia Poit. ex Lindl. s.l. is a genus of terricolous, rupicolous, or rarely epiphytic orchids native to the American tropics and subtropics with approximately 77 species (Chase et al 2015). Species belonging to Pelexia s.s. are fewer in number according to a recent molecular phylogenetic study by Salazar et al (2018), in which Pelexia emerges as polyphyletic. Those authors consistently recovered two clades, with one of them, Pelexia s.s., largely corresponding to Pelexia section Eupelexia, as defined by Schlechter (1920). According to Pace (2020), several species of Pelexia have a restricted geographical distribution.

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