Bissea, Vol.

4 Issue 1 March/2010
Bissea is the newsletter published by the Ecology & Conservation team of the National Botanic Garden of Cuba. Its main objective is to report on the efforts that are being carried out for the conservation of the Cuban flora. This newsletter is dedicated to the memory of Prof. Dr. Johannes Bisse, an eminent German botanist, founder of the National Botanic Garden of Cuba who was dedicated to the education of a group of Cuban botanists that has been working on the study and conservation of the Cuban flora. Print version: ISSN 1998-4189 On-line version: ISSN 1998-4197

Spathoglottis plicata (Orchidaceae) invades ecosystems in northeastern Cuba

E. R. Bcquer & L.R. Gonzlez-Torres (National Botanic Garden)

Spathoglottis plicata Blume is a terrestrial orchid native to tropical Asia and northern Australia [1]. It has naturalized in subtropical and tropical regions like Kenya, Hawaii [1], and in the continental and insular Caribbean (Panama [2], Florida [3], Guadalupe [4], Dominica [5], Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands [6], Hispaniola, and Cuba [7]). It should be taken into consideration that the impact of this species, on the natural ecosystems it has invaded, has not been evaluated. The monitoring in these cases is of particular importance in the islands given the susceptibility of their floras to invasion by exotic species [8, 9]. This plant, listed as invasive for Cuba [10], has been reported as naturalized for Candelaria, Pinar del Rio, and San Jos de las Lajas, Havana [7]. In this work, new localities are reported for the eastern part of the island, where S. plicata has been observed in the wild, and the characteristics are pointed out that differentiate it from similar native orchids with which it coexists. In 2006, S. plicata was observed for the first time growing spontaneously in eastern Cuba, specifically in sclerophyllous rainforests of La Melba, Sierra de Moa, Holgun. In 2009, it was observed in subspiny xeromorphic thickets on serpentine along the road to La Meseta de la Iberia, Santa Mara, and it was collected in the Bez River valley, highway to Mina Amores, Baracoa municipality, Guantnamo [11]. In 2010, it was collected in the same vegetational formation but in La Ermita, south of Yunque de Baracoa [12], and it was observed in gallery forests along the margin of the Duaba River, Baracoa municipality, Guantnamo. In these areas, it grows in primary vegetation, in clearings, or along roads, on ferritic or ferralitic soils, between 60 and 200 meters above sea level. This species is a perennial plant with ovoid pseudobulbs covered by the fibrous leaf bases. There are 4-7 leaves per pseudobulb, each conspicuously plicate, 20-60 (-150) cm long, linear lanceolate to lanceolate, acuminate, with a long attenuate base, and prominent veins abaxially. The inflorescences are lateral racemes, which are glabrous, erect to 25-85 (150) cm long, with many successive and loosely spaced flowers. The flowers have

Fig. 1. Flowers of Spathoglottis plicata (A - Photo: A. Morales) and of the species most commonly confused with it in Cuba: Bletia patula (B - Photo: A. Pazo) and Bletia purpurea (C - Photo: A. Pazo). Scale bars = 1 cm.

pedicels 1.5-2.5 cm long, with lanceolate acuminate bracts that are green to greenishpurple. The expanded flower reaches 3-5 cm diameter and is purple to pink, or white, with a yellow callous on the labellum; the dorsal sepal is elliptic, the pointed lateral sepals are ovate or elliptic; the petals are elliptic, obtuse, slightly wider than the sepals; the labellum is 3-lobed. The clavate column is 1.2-1.5 cm long. The capsules, 2.5-4 long x 0.7 cm wide, are pendulous and cylindrical with 6 ribs. S. plicata (Fig. 1-A) can be confused with other terrestrial orchids, especially if they are sterile, like Bletia patula Hook. (Fig. 1-B) and Bletia purpurea DC. (Fig. 1-C), which are natives in the same areas where S. plicata has been found [13]. In flower, S. plicata is distinguished by its 3-lobed labellum, with the obcordate terminal lobe markedly attenuate basally (Fig. 1-A). This species is one of the most commonly cultivated orchids in Cuba [14, 15] and can be found in gardens throughout the island. Its self-compatibility, continuous flowering [14, 16], rapid fruit maturation [17], ready germination of the seeds, and the successful establishment of plantlets [16], all favor the expansion of S. plicata. This process is facilitated by its ecological plasticity with respect to substrate and light [14]. These characteristics make its management difficult, although, because of its apparently spotty distribution, it is likely still possible to intervene to limit its expansion across the island; this would imply the eradication of the plants in natural areas and the sensitization of horticulturists to control fruit production in their collections.

References and notes 1. Cribb, P.J. & Tang, C.Z. 1982. Kew Bull. 36(4):721. 2. Beckner, J. 1970. Amer. Orchid. Soc. Bull. 39:1066. 3. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Plants database. http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol= SPPL# [02/2010] 4. Fournet, J. 1978. Flore illustree des phanerogames de Guadaloupe et de Martinique. Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Paris. 5. Thompsom, S.A. & Wright, F.W. 1995. Caribbean J. Sci. 31(1-2):148. 6. Liogier, H.A. & Martorell, L.F. 1982. Flora of Puerto Rico and adjacent islands: a systematic synopsis. Ed. de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, Ro Piedras. 7. Mujica, E.M. et al. 2000. Gneros de orqudeas cubanas. Ed. Flix Varela. La Habana. 8. Lambdon, P.W. et al. 2008. Diversity Distrib. 14:774. 9. Hughes, F. et al. 1991. Ecology 72(2):743. 10. Centro Nacional de Biodiversidad (CENBIO). 2006. Plantas invasivas. http://www.ecosis.cu/cenbio/ biodiversidadcuba/varios/invasivasplantae.htm [02/2010] 11. Michelangeli et al. 1462 [HAJB]. 12. Bcquer et al. HFC 86118 [HAJB]. 13. Llamacho, J.A. & Larramendi, J.A. 2005. Las orqudeas de Cuba. Greta Editores. Lledia, Espaa. 14. Montesino, L. 2008. Las plantas ornamentales cultivadas en el municipio Boyeros, Ciudad de La Habana. Tesis de Maestra. Jardn Botnico Nacional, Universidad de La Habana. 15. Dietrich, H. 2007. Orchidaceae I. In: Greuter, W. & Rankin, R. (eds.). Flora de la Repblica de Cuba. 12(1). A.R. Gantner Verlag KG, Ruggell, Liechtenstein. 16. Prakash, N. & Lee-Lee, A. 1973. Phytomorphology 23:9. 17. Prede, M.L. 1992. Contribucin al establecimiento de una metodologa adecuada para la produccin de Spathoglottis plicata Blume. Tesis de Diploma. Jardn Botnico Nacional, Universidad de La Habana. La Habana. More information: eb_pachyanthus@yahoo.es X Latin-american Botanical Congress 4-10 October 2010, La Serena, Chile New information in relation to XCLB is available at:
http://www.uh.cu/centros/jbn/descargas/xclbcuba.pdf

Additionally, general information can be found at:

http://www.botanica-alb.org/

The National Botanic Garden celebrates World Environment Day with the

Material Arts and Narrative Contest Conserving Biodiversity.

Children 5-14 years old may participate in two ways: material art (drawing and sculpting) and narrative (poetry, short story, and tale). The admission period closes 4 April 2010.
More information: Department of Environmental Education and Recreation - (+537) 697-9364 and hajb@ceniai.inf.cu

Bissea, Vol. 4 Issue 1 March/2010

Events
IV Global Botanic Gardens Congress.

13-18/June/2010. National Botanic Garden of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland. Information: http://www.4gbgc.com

XXIV International Congress on

Editorial Guidelines
Bissea publishes short notes, monographs, news, and book reviews related to the management and conservation of the Cuban flora. All of the texts are reviewed by the Editors and the Scientific Council of the National Botanic Garden. We request that authors adhere to the following Editorial Guidelines: The document is to be sent in digital format as a .doc file, with 12 point Arial font, and without justification (i.e., not justified to both margins), to bissea@gmail.com. The title should be concise and attention-getting, should reflect the results of the work, and not exceed 64 characters including spaces. If including scientific names, they should be written out fully (without the authors!), and it is recommended that the botanical family name be included in parentheses. The full name(s) of the author(s) of the contribution should be included, their work affiliation, as well as one contact email address. The text should contain an introduction that lays the foundation of the importance of the work and its objective(s). Next, the methods should be presented, then the results, and the discussion (of the results); the submission should end with a concluding paragraph (never subdividing the text into labeled sections, i.e., the methods, results, discussion, and conclusions paragraphs should not have separate sections). In the text, all symbols, abbreviations, and acronyms (except for herbaria which will follow Index Herbariorum - http://www.nybg.org/bsci/ih7ih/html) are to be defined between parentheses the first time they are mentioned. All scientific names, independently of their taxonomic rank, as well as expressions in Latin or any language other than Spanish, will be written in italics. Botanical nomenclature will conform to the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN). Species names and infraspecific taxa are cited with their author(s) the first time they appear in the text (!), abbreviating the author names according to the International Plant Names Index (IPNI) [http://www.ipni.org/]. After the first time, the genus name can be abbreviated, as long as there is no possibility of confusion. Bissea will accept the publication of new nomenclatural combinations that meet the ICBN guidelines, if and only if they are not the primary objective of the work but are necessary for the publication of information related to plant conservation. Common names are to be written in commas and with the first letter lower-case. In the text, the citations or notes will be numbered using Arabic numerals in consecutive order according to the order of appearance [in brackets], omitting the authors and the year. The abbreviations op. cit., ibid., or idem should not be used. The references and notes will be included in their own labeled section, in the order in which they appear in the text. The notes are not to exceed 250 characters including spaces, and it is allowed to include complementary information that is indispensable for comprehension of the presented work. It is allowed to include an acknowledgments section less than 200 characters including spaces. Tables and figures should be complementary, not reiterative, to the text, they can be in color, with Arial 8 point font, and they are to be included at the end of the text with their corresponding titles (above for tables, below for figures). The tables and figures will be cited in the order in which they appear in the text, between parentheses and numbered independently using Arabic numerals, e.g., (Table 1) or (Fig. 1). Images and photographs should be sent as separate files in .jpg or .tiff format and a resolution no less than 300 dpi; the figure legend should appear at the end of the text and include the full name of the author of the photographs/illustrations. Figure legends should not exceed 200 characters including spaces and will contain a first sentence in the form of a descriptive, concise title, as well as all of the necessary explanations necessary for understanding the image, including metric measurements (International System of Units) in parentheses. Guidelines for the references: For serial publications: Last name, First name of the author(s). Year of publication. Journal or Serial publication [abbreviated according to B-P-H (Pittsburg, 1968 and Pittsburg, 1991), or, if not included therein, cite without abbreviation] volume(number):first page of the cited article. E.g., Capote, R. & Berazain, R. 1984. Revista Jard. Bot. Nac. Univ. Habana 52(2):27. For nonserial publications: Last name, Initial of the first name of the first author. Year of publication. Entire name of the publication. Publisher, City. E.g., Strasburger, E. et al. 1992. Tratado de Botnica. Editorial Marn S.A., Barcelona. For electronic publications: Last name, Initial of the first name of the first author. Year of publication. Entire name of the publication. Complete access site [date of consultation mm/yyyy]. E.g., Cantino, P.D. & Queiroz, K. 2000. PhyloCode: A phylogenetic code of biological nomenclature. http://www.ohiou.edu/phylocode/ [12/2009]. For personal communications: Last name, First name. Year of communication. Affiliation. In all cases when there are two authors, they are to be separated by &; if there are more than two, cite the Last name and Initial of the first name of the first author, followed by et al. Types of publications in Bissea: Short notes - novel results of research, botanical explorations to sites of interest, new reports of species for the flora of Cuba (native or invasive), among other novelties of interest for plant conservation. The text is never to exceed 3 500 characters (including spaces, but not the Title, the Authors, their affiliations, and the References and Notes). Monographs - published in special numbers, without size restrictions. In general, these refer to proceedings of events with themes related to this bulletin, results of categorizing species according to their degree of endangerment, or other themes selected by the Editorial Committee. News - results of scientific events, course convocations, fellowships, awards, new publications, and on-line tools. They are never to exceed 2 000 characters of text (including spaces, but not the Title nor the References and Notes). Book reviews - commentary about a recently published scientific work, not to exceed 1 000 characters (including spaces). More information: bissea@gmail.com References & notes 1. Liaison Group on the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation. 2009. http://www.cbd.int/doc/meetings/ pc/gspclg-03/official/gspclg-03-04-en.doc [02/2010]. 2. Gonzlez-Torres, L.R. et al. 2009. Bissea 3(nmero especial, diciembre 2009):1. 3. Borhidi, A. 1996. Phytogeography and vegetation ecology of Cuba. Akademiai Kiad, Budapest. More information: luisro@fbio.uh.cu

Conservation Biology (ICCB 2010). 37/July/2010. Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Information: http://www.conbio.org/activities/ meetings/2010/register/abstracts.cfm
III International Symposium on Restoration

Ecology - SISRE 2010. 13-19/September/2010. Villa Clara, Cuba. Information: ffaunavc@enet.cu

Results of the Annual Meeting of the Cuban Plant Specialists Group

A.T. Leiva & L.R. Gonzlez-Torres (National Botanic Garden)

The design of the National Strategy for Plant Conservation 2011-2020 was the primary objective of the Cuban Plant Specialists Group - CPSG/SSC/IUCN during the 2010 annual meeting. The meeting took place on 16-17 February at the Cuban National Botanic Garden (JBN), with sponsorship by JBN, the National Center for Protected Areas (CNAP), and the Center for Environmental Management and Information (CIGEA). The National Strategy will follow the precepts proposed by the preliminary version of the

Fig. 1. Peer- review procedure of species conservation situation during the 2010 Annual Meeting of the Cuban Plant Specialist Group. Photo: A. Palmarola.

Global Strategy for Plant Conservation 20112020 [1], as appropriate for national priorities. In accordance, the Strategy will center on promoting an understanding and documentation of floristic diversity, its conservation, sustainable and equitable use, capacity building, and on environmental education and culture. Goals and corresponding action plans will be developed, in order to accomplish these objectives. Involved in the elaboration of the Strategy are the GEPC, the National Network of Botanic Gardens, CNAP, CIGEA, the National Enterprise for the Protection of the Flora and Fauna, and the Ecology and Systematics Institute, among other institutions. In May a workshop will take place for the analysis of a first draft of this document.

During the meeting of 17 February (Fig. 1), proposals were analyzed of preliminary categories for the conservation status of 638 taxa in 30 families, which, when added to the 4,783 already evaluated previously [2], represent 72% of the known flora of the island [3]. An important milestone was the culmination of the evaluation of ferns, as well as analysis of Malpighiaceae, Caesalpinaceae, and Fabaceae s.str.

To subscribe to Bissea or contribute to an issue, please address your correspondence to bissea@gmail.com Bissea is available at: http://www.uh.cu/centros/jbn/textos/publicaciones/bissea.html http://groups.google.com/group/bissea

The Newsletter Bissea was created by the:

Edited by L.R. Gonzlez-Torres & A. Palmarola Guest editor: J. R. Abbott (University of Florida) Reviewed by Scientific Committee of JBN Translated by J. R. Abbott (University of Florida) Designed by A. Palmarola