Waltillia hatschbachii (L. B. Smith & R. W. Read) Leme, Barfuss & Halbritter, 2017

Leme, Elton M. C., Halbritter, Heidemarie & Barfuss, Michael H. J., 2017, Waltillia, a new monotypic genus in Tillandsioideae (Bromeliaceae) arises from a rediscovered, allegedly extinct species from Brazil, Phytotaxa 299 (1), pp. 1-35 : 30-31

Waltillia hatschbachii (L. B. Smith & R. W. Read) Leme, Barfuss & Halbritter , comb. nov.

Basionym:— Vriesea hatschbachii L. B. Smith & R. W. Read, Phytologia 30(5): 292. 1975. Type:— BRAZIL. Minas Gerais: Gouveia, side of a rock slope by BR 259, 21 January 1972, G. Hatschbach 29085, L.B. Smith & E. Ayensu (holotype US!, isotype MBM!).

≡ Alcantarea hatschbachii (L. B. Sm. & R. W. Read) Leme , Bromélia 2(3): 22. 1995, syn. nov.

Emended description:— Plants terrestrial (including saxicolous), growing along the margins of running streams or in periodically soaked terrains, flowering 100–170 cm high with extended inflorescence. Leaves 14 to 20 in number, spirally arranged in more or less distinct rows, erect to slightly arcuate, forming non-impounding rosettes; leaf sheaths triangular, 9–10 cm long, 4.5–5.5 cm wide at the base, densely and coarsely white lepidote on both sides but mainly abaxially with strongly appressed trichomes, greenish to pale purplish-red adaxially, reddish-wine toward the apex abaxially, thick coriaceous; leaf blades sublinear, long-attenuate, not narrowed at the base, 55–110 × 1.7–2.5 cm, coriaceous, strongly canaliculate, often with inrolled margins, green on both sides, sometimes reddish near the base abaxially, densely and coarsely white lepidote adaxially with strongly appressed trichomes, inconspicously and sparsely white punctulate-lepidote to glabrescent abaxially, apex long-attenuately acute. Peduncle 75–110 cm long, 0.8–1 cm in diameter at the base, erect, glabrous, smooth, green; peduncle bracts the basal ones foliaceous and many times exceeding the internodes, erect or nearly so, green or reddish-wine near the base, the upper ones narrowly lanceolate to ovate, long-attenuately acute, 4–15 × 2–2.5 cm, green, erect, slightly exceeding to slightly shorter than the internodes, its basal portion not completely enfolding the peduncle and without water-holding capacity, glabrous. Inflorescence (fertile part) simple or sometimes compound, 30–57 cm long, erect or nearly so; primary bracts resembling the upper peduncle bracts, suberect, distinctly shorter than the stipes of the branches, green; lateral branches 1 to 3 in number, 18–26 cm long, first erect, then diverging and slightly ascending, 5.5–7 cm apart, 6 to 9-flowered, rachis slightly flexuous, subterete, 1–2 × 0.5–0.7 cm, glabrous, green, stipes 7–10 × 0.5–0.7 cm, slightly complanate, bearing 1 to 2 sterile bracts, carinate, green, glabrous; terminal branch (or when simple) sublinear in outline, erect, 35–51 cm long, 12 to 23-flowered, rachis straight to slightly flexuous, internodes 1–3.5 × 0.4–0.7 cm; stipe 13–16 × 0.7 cm long, bearing 2 to 3 sterile bracts slightly exceeding the internodes, but not concealing them, ecarinate; floral bracts broadly ovate, 28–43 × 25–30 mm, apex acute to broadly rounded and apiculate, green to yellowish-green, glabrous, convex, ecarinate to obtusely carinate toward the apex, nerved, not completely covering the sepals, equalling 3/5 to 5/6 of the sepal length, suberect, divergent before anthesis to slightly secund with the flowers at anthesis. Flowers suberect before anthesis, divergent to distinctly downwardly secund at anthesis, laxly (at the base) to densely (toward the apex) distichously arranged at anthesis, 75–83 mm long (including the stamens), nocturnal, weakly scented, pedicels 10–12 mm long, ca. 7 mm in diameter distally, dark green, glabrous; sepals oblong-elliptic, apex obtuse to emarginate, 30–33 × 10–13 mm, nerved, glabrous, free, ecarinate, dark green at the base and light green toward the apex, thin in texture especially toward the apex and margins; petals narrowly lanceolate to narrowly lanceolate-subspathulate, apex narrowly obtuse to emarginate, 65–73 × 14–16 mm, pale greenish-yellow, blades spreading at anthesis with recurved tips, exposing the stamens, forming a narrow campanulate corolla, becoming erect again afterwards, unappendaged but bearing at the base 2 callosities ca. 22 × 2 mm; stamens shorter than the petals to nearly equalling them and exserted due to the recurving petals; filaments free, slightly complanate, yellowish-green; anthers linear, 7–9 mm long, base bilobed, apex obtuse, dorsifixed ca. 1 mm above the base, slightly recurved toward the apex, the connective area not covered by the margins of the pollen sacs even not at late anthesis; pollen elliptic, ca. 70 μm in diameter, sulcate, the sulcus with margins moderately to weakly defined, covered by a kind of operculum of almost smooth exine elements with some perforations, exine reticulate, reticulum with a few free standing columellae; style slightly exceeding the petals and stamens, green; ovary 1/4 to 1/3 inferior (considering the nectary), placentation totally superior; ovules caudate; stigma of the convolute-blade II type, blades spreading-contorted, densely papillose, green, ca. 1 mm long. Fruits a septicidal capsule, narrowly fusiform, acuminate, ca. 27 mm long, 8–9 mm in diameter near the base, slightly shorter than the sepals; seeds 10–13 mm long, the umbrella-like, plumose basal coma 3–4 mm long, equalling to distinctly shorter than the straight, undivided apical appendage.

Additional specimens examined:— BRAZIL. Minas Gerais: Gouveia , 22 January 1978, G. Hatschbach 40820 ( MBM!) ; Gouveia, road Presidente Juscelino to Gouveia , BR 259 , near the road to Camelinho, 1177 m elevation, 5 August 2010, E. Leme 8415, E. Guarçoni, B. Paixão & R. Oliveira ( RB!) ; 1224 m elevation, 5 August. 2010, E. Leme 8417, E. Guarçoni, B. Paixão & R. Oliveira ( RB!) [DNA B1579 ] ; 1233 m elevation, 27 November 2010, E. Leme 8486, O. Ribeiro & R. Oliveira ( RB!) [DNA B1578 ] ; 1250 m elevation, 27 November 2010, E. Leme 8487, O. Ribeiro & R. Oliveira ( RB!) ; 1214 m elevation, 27 November 2010, E. Leme 8488, O. Ribeiro & R. Oliveira ( RB!) [DNA B987 ] ; 1214 m elevation, 27 November 2010, E. Leme 8489, O. Ribeiro & R. Oliveira ( RB!) [DNA B1576 ] ; 1202 m elevation, 11 December 2011, E. Leme 8599, O. Ribeiro & R. Oliveira ( RB!) ; 1222 m elevation, 11 December 2011, E. Leme 8601, O. Ribeiro & R. Oliveira ( RB!) ; Santana do Pirapama near the border with Congonhas do Norte, Vale Mariazinha-Barbado , owner Antonio Leandro , near Trilha da Siurinha ( Serra da Siurinha ), 1220 m elevation, 26 November 2010, E. Leme 8475, O. Ribeiro, R. Oliveira & C. Oliveira ( RB!) [DNA B988 ] ; E. Leme 8476, O. Ribeiro, R. Oliveira & C. Oliveira ( RB!) [DNA B989 ] ; E. Leme 8477, O. Ribeiro, R. Oliveira & C. Oliveira ( RB!) [DNA B1577 ] .

Distribution, habitat and phenology:— Waltillia hatschbachii is endemic to Minas Gerais state, with two known subpopulations: one situated at the type locality, in the county of Gouveia, Diamantina plateau, and the second one distant about 40 km in straight line in the county of Santana do Pirapama, close to the border with the county of Congonhas do Norte, in the domain of the Serra do Cipó Range, in an ecologically similar microhabitat. The plants are associated with perennial streams of clean running water, along narrow valleys, with some shrubby vegetation at the margins, in the Campos Rupestres domain, above 1150 m elevation. Plants are terrestrial, deeply rooted in sandy soils, including saxicolous habit in organic-rich soils accumulated between rocks or on rock surfaces. They form island-like dense clumps of several individuals with vegetative propagation by means of 5 to 8 short axillary shoots, being well disguised amidst the grass-like predominant vegetation due to its general gramineous appearance without any showy feature typical for Bromeliaceae (e.g., bulky rosette structure, colorful floral parts). Plants are usually concentrated right on the margins of the streams, very close to the water, and often thriving in water-logged terrains.

Waltillia hatschbachii is heliophilous, growing exposed to full sunlight, but was also observed in partially shaded sites where shrubs predominate. Its thickly coriaceous leaves become strongly enrolled during the dry winter season, which may be due to strong reduction of environmental water/humidity availability.

The known subpopulations present reduced numbers of groups of individuals which are more or less concentrated in geographically restricted areas. However, the natural difficulties to locate non-flowering plants due to its disguising grass-like cryptic habit intermingled with the dense herbaceous vegetation, must be taken into consideration in an eventually underestimation of the population size.

The flowering season of Waltillia coincides with that of most Alcantarea and many Vriesea species, starting in November and continuing up to January, during the period of the summer rains. In August, very old fruits were observed, but the few not released plumose seeds remained viable with almost 100% germination rate under controlled conditions in cultivation.

Conservation Status:— The known subpopulations of Waltillia hatschbachii are located in areas not included in any conservation unit. The current main threat is the frequent fires that are continuously destroying the Campos Rupestres vegetation at the studied sites. The proximity of a highway to the type population near Gouveia also increases the risk of fire, illegal human occupation of the area, plus eventual plant extraction, despite this grass-like and poor colored tillandsioid, besides being of rarity, does not have any horticulturally attractive features.

Applying the criteria adopted by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN 2001), this unique species can be considered critically endangered [CN; B2ab(ii)], since its area of occurrence is estimated to be less than 10 km 2 (B2), its habitat is severely fragmented (B2a) and in continuous decline [B2b(ii)]. In situ and ex situ conservation programs to assure the survival of Waltillia hatschbachii are urgently needed. The current ex situ conservation initiative by means of propagation from field collected seeds (fig. 9 G), with the production of several plantlets now distributed to Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden and Fundação Zoobotânica de Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, may represent the first step toward the future survival of the species.