Vriesea lilliputiana Leme, 2014

Leme, Elton M. C., Till, Walter, Kollmann, Ludovic J. C., De Moura, Ricardo L. & Ribeiro, Otávio B. C., 2014, Miscellaneous New Species of Brazilian Bromeliaceae, Phytotaxa 177 (2), pp. 61-100 : 93-94

Vriesea lilliputiana Leme , sp. nov. ( Figs. 19 , 20 J–N )

This new species is closely related to Vriesea rodigasiana , differing by its smaller stature when flowering (13–25 cm vs. 30–42 cm), smaller number of leaves (8–12 vs. 15–20), narrower leaf blades (1.3–1.7 cm vs. 2–4 cm), acute leaf apex (vs. rounded), shorter inflorescence (5–10 cm vs. 15–25 cm), usually simple inflorescence (vs. always branched), when branched then the branches shorter (ca. 2 cm vs. 4–6 cm), with 1–2 flowers (vs. 3–5), and the shorter flowers (30–37 mm vs. 35–45 mm).

Type: –– BRAZIL. Bahia: Santa Terezinha, Pedra Branca , ca. 800 m elevation, April 1997, S . Linhares s.n., fl. cult. E . Leme 3840 (holotype HB!) .

Plant epiphytic, 13–25 cm tall, propagating by basal shoots. Leaves 8–12in number, thin in texture, forming a subbulbous rosette base 4–5 cm in diameter; sheaths elliptic to broadly elliptic, 3.5–5 × 3–3.5 cm, subdensely and inconspicuously white lepidote, dark purple, finely nerved; blades narrowly oblong, 5.5–7 × 1.3–1.7 cm, not narrowed toward the base, green to dark publish-wine colored, sometimes irregularly spotted, sparsely and very inconspicuously white lepidote to glabrous, inconspicuously nerved, apex acute. Peduncle erect, 7–15 cm long, 1.5–2 mm in diameter, rigid, dark red, glabrous; peduncle bracts ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, 10–16 × 3–7 mm, erect, enfolding the scape, distinctly shorter than the internodes, glabrous, reddish to red. Inflorescence simple or sometimes inconspicuously branched, lax, erect, 5–10 cm long, distinctly exceeding the leaves, 3–7 flowered; main axis terete, flexuous to geniculate, dark red to greenish at the apex, glabrous, 1–1.5 mm in diameter, internodes 9–12 mm long; primary bracts resembling the upper scape bracts, about equaling to distinctly exceeding the stipes of the branches; branches to 2 in number, subspreading, ca. 20 mm long, with 1–2 flowers; floral bracts broadly ovate-elliptic to suborbicular, broadly acute to obtuse, 10–14 × 8–11 mm, the base truncated, not completely enfolding the flower, ecarinate or slightly carinate near the apex, thin in texture, sometimes dark red (the basal ones) to yellow (mainly the distal ones), glabrescent, equaling 1/3 to 1/2 of the sepal. Flowers distichous to slightly polystichous and divergent, not secund, 3–3.7 cm long; pedicels 3–4 mm long, ca. 2.5 mm in diameter at the base, 3–4 mm in diameter distally, yellow; sepals elliptic, apex subacute to obtuse, 15–17 × 6–7 mm, glabrous, yellow, free, ecarinate, finely nerved; petals linear-oblong, apex narrowly emarginate, erect at anthesis except for the recurved apex, 22–27 × 3.5–5 mm, yellow, forming a tubular corolla, bearing 2 appendages at the base; appendages ligulate to obovate, entire, obtuse, 3–6 × 1.5 mm; stamens exceeding the corolla for 5–10 mm; anthers sublinear, 3–4 mm long, obtuse, dorsifixed near the base; stigma convolute-bladed, pale yellow, ca. 1.3 mm in diameter; ovules shortly caudate. Capsules ca. 27 mm long, 4–5 mm in diameter.

Distribution and habitat:–– Vriesea lilliputiana lives in southwest region of the state of Bahia to the border of Minas Gerais, in the county of Santa Maria do Salto. It was observed exclusively as an epiphyte in the understory of the wet Atlantic Forest, in altitudes of 700 to 1000 m, forming small subpopulations composed of isolated individuals.

On the basis of the criteria “A2” and “B1a,b (iii)” of IUCN (2010), V. lilliputiana can be considered as vulnerable.

Etymology:–– The name of this species is based on the word “Lilliput”, a fictitious island populated by tiny people in the novel “ Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships ”, better known simply as “ Gulliver’s Travels ” by Irish writer Jonathan Swift, being a reference to distinctly small stature of V. lilliputiana .

Additional specimen examined (paratypes): –– BRAZIL. Bahia: Ubaíra , ca. 3 km from the city, June 2001, S . Linhares s. n., fl. cult. E . Leme 5230 ( HB!); Wenceslau Guimarães, May 2002, S . Linhares 1175, cult. E . Leme 5466 ( HB!); Iguaí , near the border with Dário Meira , Serra dos Índios, headspring of Rio das Flores, property of Alfredo Pinheiro , 961 m elevation, 14º 32’ 27” S, 40º 05’ 48” W, 27 May 2007, E . Leme 7073, R. F . Reis Jr. , J. C. M . Falcon , A . Soares , C . Rizerio & L . Grande ( RB) . Minas Gerais: near the border with Bahia, Santa Maria do Salto, Talismã, Alto Cariri State Park , Fazenda Flozino Teixeira , 910 m elevation, 16º 23.16’ S, 40º 02.24’ W, 24 March 2010, E . Leme 8221 & L . Kollmann ( RB!) .

Observations:–– Vriesea lilliputiana is characterized by its distinctly small size only comparable to the tiny V. delicatula Smith (1941: 58) , an endemic species from Espírito Santo state. However, it is morphologically closely related to V. rodigasiana Morren (1882: 171) , but can be distinguished by its distinctly smaller stature when flowering (13–25 cm vs. 30–42 cm), rosettes with smaller number of leaves (8–12 vs. 15–20), narrower leaf blades (1.3–1.7 cm vs. 2–4 cm), acute apex (vs. rounded), shorter inflorescence (5–10 cm vs. 15–25 cm), which is usually simple (vs. always branched), but when branched with shorter branches (ca. 2 cm vs. 4–6 cm) and fewer flowers per branch (1–2 vs. 3–5 flowers), and by the shorter flowers (30–37 mm vs. 35–45 mm).

While V. lilliputiana lives in southwest region of the state of Bahia, northeastern Brazil, to the border of Minas Gerais , the population of V. rodigasiana is known from southeastern states of Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, reaching the southern states of Paraná, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul.

Figures

FIGURE 19. Vriesea lilliputiana (Linhares s.n.). A. Habit. B. Habit in cultivation. C. General aspect of the habitat. D. (Leme 8221 & L.Kollmann) Individual with seed capsules.

FIGURE 20. A–E. Vriesea bifida (Leme 7368 et al.). A. Apex of the leaf blade. B. Floral bract. C. Flower. D. Sepal. E. Petal with two basal appendages and stamens. F–I. Vriesea magnibracteata (Leme 7357 et al.). F. Apex of the leaf. G. Floral bract. H. Sepal. I. Petal with two basal appendages and stamen. J–N. Vriesea lilliputiana (Linhares s.n.). J. Leaf. K. Floral bract. L. Flower. M. Sepal. N. Petal with two basal appendages and a stamen. O–S. Vriesea tubipetala (Silva 731 & Tatagiba). O. Flower. P. Floral bract. Q. Sepal. R. Petal with two basal appendages and two stamens. S. Apex of the leaf.