New taxa of Philippine Trichoglottis Blume (Orchidaceae)

Abstract

Trichoglottis Blume, a genus of monopodial orchids, belongs to the subtribe Aeridinae and has a distributional range from the Nicobar Islands to the Solomon Islands. It is comprised of about 60-64 species, with 89% endemism in the Malesian region (Schuiteman, 1999). There are 23 species in Borneo, 16 in Sumatra, 10 in Java, eight in the Malay Peninsula, two in the Lesser Sunda Islands, five in Sulawesi, three in the Moluccas, and two in New Guinea. Agoo et al . (2003) lists 23 species and five varieties in the Philippines. This follows the taxonomic treatment of Williams (1938) which considers Staurochilus and Stauropsis as congeneric with Trichoglottis . T. intermedia, a new species discovered by Williams, shows a combination of characteristics of both Staurochilus and Trichoglottis such as erect habit, short inflorescence and small flowers. In a taxonomic revision of the genus undertaken by Agoo (2002), which is mainly based on morphological, anatomical, and palynological evidence, three taxa were recognized as distinct and here proposed as new, i.e. T. apoensis subsp. alba, T. intermedia var . marginata , and T. mindanaensis f. lutea. DOI = 10.3860/psci.v43i0.369 Philipp. Scient. 43: 34-42 2007