Tillandsia duidae Smith (1931: 340)

Kessous, Igor M. & Costa, Andrea F., 2023, Novelties in “ incertae sedis ” Vriesea (Bromeliaceae: Tillandsioideae): Redescriptions, new combinations and nomenclatural revision, Phytotaxa 585 (2), pp. 71-101 : 82

2.1 Tillandsia duidae Smith (1931: 340) . Species revalidated here.

Type: — VENEZUELA. Amazonas: Mount Duida, alt. 5500–6000 ft, 26 Nov–16 December 1928, Tate 437 (holotype NY!, photo US! isotype GH [flower]!). ( Fig. 5 )

≡ Vriesea duidae (L.B.Sm.) Gouda (1987: 72) .

Description:—Plant terrestrial or epiphytic, flowering (70−) 120−200 cm high. Leaves 10−20 in number, forming an infundibuliform rosette; sheath oblong or elliptic-ovate, 10−16 × 6−10 cm, pale green to purplish-brown, slightly silver (in sicco), lepidote on both surfaces, denser toward the base; blade linear-oblong, (20−)30−40(−60) × (2−) 4– 6.5 cm, apex acute, purplish-red or deep green, sparsely lepidote on both surfaces. Inflorescence compound, once- or twice-branched (70–) 120–180 cm long, erect; peduncle erect, 40−70 cm long, 5−7.5 mm in diameter, glabrous; peduncle bracts erect, imbricate to remote, narrowly oblong-elliptic, 55−60 × 20−22 mm long, brownish-vinaceous or reddish, glabrous on the abaxial surface and lepidote on the adaxial surface; main axis straight to slightly sinuous, 20−70 cm long, 3−6 mm in diameter, glabrous; primary bracts oblong, 35–50 × 20–25 mm, reddish, sparsely lepidote on the adaxial surface, glabrous on the abaxial surface; branches (5−) 10−20 in number, 6−15 cm long, in an angle of (30º−)70º(−90º) to the main axis; spikes densely 5−14 flowered, complanate, with 1−2 sterile bracts at the apex; rachis geniculate, 3.5−9 cm long and 2−3 mm in diameter. Floral bracts ovate, apex acute, 15−20 × 8−10 mm, carinate, green to red, equaling or slightly exceeding the sepals, lepidote on the adaxial surface. Flowers ca. 25 mm long, 3.5−7 mm apart, distichous, suberect; sepals narrowly elliptic, 10−20 × 5 mm, free, carinate towards the apex, entire, symmetric, sparsely lepidote on the adaxial surface, glabrous on abaxial surface; corolla tubular; petals linear oblong, ca. 22 × 2.5 mm, blue; petal appendages present or absent, ca. 2.5 mm long, ½ adnate to the petal base; stamens included; filament ca. 12 mm long; anther basifixed, ca. 4 mm long, erect; ovary ovoid, ca. 3.5 × 1.8 mm; style ca. 20 mm long; stigma conduplicate-spiral, equaling the anthers. Fruits fusiform, suberect, ca. 22 mm long; seeds 15−16 mm long, with a reduced (0.1 mm long) apical coma, basal coma ca. 9.6 mm long.

Distribution: —This species occurs in montane forests, at 700–2,255 m above sea level, from the Guiana Shield in Venezuela and the Guianas to northern Brazil.

Taxonomic and nomenclatural notes —Despite its earlier placement in Vriesea , this taxon has morphological traits and a geographical distribution related to Tillandsia subg. Pseudovriesea . Vriesea has the stigma convolutebladed (convolute-blade II sensu Barfuss et al. 2016) and yellow (with or without a green apex), cream, reddish-brown, or, rarely, white petals ( Barfuss et al. 2016). In contrast, Tillandsia subg. Pseudovriesea has a conduplicate-spiral stigma and green and/or blue (or in shades of blue) petals ( Barfuss et al. 2016), as observed in this taxon.

Smith (1931) did not mention the presence of petal appendages in this species, but Gouda (1987) mentioned this taxon as with or without petal appendages (as observed in the type and the present study) and transferred this taxon to Vriesea . Barfuss et al. (2016) mentioned the possible placement of this taxon in Cipuropsis ; however, the combination of the stigma morphology and petal color lead us to propose the revalidation of Tillandsia duidae L.B.Sm.

Etymology: —The specific epithet “ duidae ” refers to the type location, Mount Duida.

Representative Specimens Examined: — BRAZIL. Amazonas: Barcelos, Parque Estadual da Serra do Aracá, matas de altitude (“elfin forest”) e campos de altitude sobre tepui, contrafortes do Pico da Aparecida. 0 o 56’ 20” S, 63 o 20’ 53” W, 1,450 m elev., 30 October 2011, Martinelli et al. 17223 ( RB, INPA, MG, SPF, NY, R, SP) ; Santa Isabel do Rio Negro , Trilha da Bacia do Gelo para o Pico , campo de altitude arbustivo com brejos de Saxofredericia, Parque Nacional do Pico da Neblina , 0 o 47’ 43” S, 66 o 1’ 24” W, 2,115 m elev., 19 November 2012, Forzza et al. 7133 ( RB, INPA, R). VENEZUELA. Amazonas: Vicinity of Camp VI, on a ridge on Venezuela-Brazilian border, 3.5 km W of Pico Zuloaga, cloud forest in steep SW facing valley, 2,000 m elev. 13 April 1984, Thomas & Plowman 3071 ( NY) ; Cerro de La Neblina , Camp XI, 6 km NNE of Pico Phelps (= Neblina), in ravine along Caño Beitel, 27 February 1985, Nee 31160 (US) ; Bolívar: Auyan-tepuí, Río Churún , de la parte norte de la seccion sur (division occidental), al pie de “Second Wall” de arenisca, 6–10 km hacia el NE del campamento norte, 13 May 1964. Steyermark 93852 (US, VEN). GUIANA: Potaro-Siparuni: Pakaraima Mts-Mt. Wokomung , summit ridge of Ka-mie-wah pinnacle, NE to S pinnacle, “ Little Ayanganna ”, 1,550 –1,650 m, 17 November 1993, Henkel et al. 4494 (US).

Figures

FIGURE 5. Tillandsia duidae L.B.Sm. A. Holotype Tate 437 (NY; Courtesy of the C. V. Starr Virtual Herbarium, New York Botanical Garden, http://sweetgum.nybg.org/science/vh/). B. Illustration of the flower, petal, pistil and stamens (Lyman Smith’s drawing at GH; Courtesy of the Gray Herbarium of Harvard University).