Morpholical Evidences for revalidation of Chloraea leptopetala

Abstract

The family Orchidaceae has about 50 species from the region of Arica y Parinacota to Magallanes. Chloraea cylindrostachya and Chloraea leptopetala were synonymized by Correa (1969), who considered that the last was a juvenile of the first.

This paper reports the results of a morphological characterization of the species C. cylindrostachya and C. leptopetala, carried on to assess whether there were differences be-tween the two species. This characterization was performed by digital image analysis through the IMAGE J software, which measures the size of reproductive and vegetative structures, as well as measurements on individuals in the field.

Our results showed significant differences between the two species, both reproductive and vegetative structures. Chloraea leptopetala is a plant with more height (80.8 cm ± 15.2), has small flowers and inflorescence average length 11.3 cm ± 2.9. Otherwise Chloraea cylindrostachya is a plant of smaller size (66.4 cm), but more robust, has large flowers and inflorescence average length 17.3 cm ± 4.6.

Our results suggest that both entities are significantly different and therefore, Chloraea leptopetala must be rehabilitated as a valid species.