Vriesea bifida Leme & L. Kollmann, 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 : 89-92

Vriesea bifida Leme & L. Kollmann , sp. nov. ( Figs. 18 , 20 A–E )

This new species differs from Vriesea appariciana , its closest relative, by the cinereous leaf blades (vs. grayish-green), the longer inflorescence (ca. 25 cm vs. 12–20 cm), which is laxly flowered at anthesis (vs. densely flowered), the obtuse floral bracts (vs. acute) and the bifid and caudate petals appendages (vs. irregularly long-dentate).

Type –– BRAZIL. Espírito Santo: Água Doce do Norte, near the city, Morro da Torre , 616 m elevation, 18° 34’ 17” S, 40° 59’ 10” W, 27 May 2008, E . Leme 7368, L . Kollmann , A . Fontana , M . Zanoni & O . Ribeiro (holotype RB!) .

Plants rupicolous, flowering ca. 65 cm tall. Leaves ca. 17 in number, rosulate, coriaceous, forming a funnelform rosette; sheaths obovate, 10.5–12 × 7–7.5 cm, densely and minutely brown lepidote on both sides, castaneous, nerved when dry; blades narrowly triangular, acuminate-caudate, canaliculate toward the base and nearly flat toward the apex, 15–16 cm long, 4–4.3 cm wide at the base, completely covered on both sides with a dense layer of cinereous trichomes obscuring the color of the blades, margins ca. 1 mm thick. Peduncle suberect, ca. 36 cm long, 0.5–0.7 cm in diameter, green to dark purplish, glabrous, not sulcate at anthesis; peduncle bracts the basal ones subfoliaceous, the upper ones ovate, acute, 3–3.5 × 2.3 cm, erect, exceeding to equaling the internodes, abaxially densely and coarsely white lepidote toward the apex and soon drying, strongly nervate-sulcate at anthesis, castaneous toward the base, stramineous toward the apex. Inflorescence simple, suberect, linear in outline at anthesis, ca. 25 × 2.5 cm, ca. 9-flowered, apex acute before and at anthesis; main axis smooth at anthesis, green to dark purple, glabrous, obtusely if at all angled, nearly straight, internodes 2–3 × 0.5–0.7 cm; floral bracts orbicular, obtuse, 25–30 × 25–30 mm, abaxially white lepidote at the apex to glabrous, adaxially inconspicuously brown lepidote, ecarinate, not imbricate and secund with the flowers before and at anthesis, coriaceous, lustrous toward the base, stramineous and strongly and coarsely corrugate-sulcate at anthesis, base weekly truncate, about reaching 3/5 of the sepal length. Flowers 4–4.5 cm long, nocturnal, with a garlic odor, distichous, laxly disposed and distinctly secund at anthesis; pedicel ca. 8 mm long, ca. 8 mm in diameter at distal end, stout, green, glabrous; sepals elliptic, obtuse-emarginate, 21 × 13–14 mm, green except for the wine colored apex, abaxially glabrous, adaxially inconspicuously and minutely lepidote, ecarinate, thick coriaceous near the base, apical margins membranaceous; petals obovate, apex broadly rounded and emarginate, recurved near the apex at anthesis, 34–36 × 20 mm, greenish, thicker toward the base, bearing 2 appendages at the base; appendages 9 × 2.5–3 mm, basally adnate to the petals for 3–4 mm, apex bifid-caudate; corolla ca. 30 mm in diameter; filaments free, 22–23 × 1–1.5 mm; anthers ca. 8 mm long, dorsifixed near the base, base bilobed, apex obtuse, three of them disposed on each lateral side of the corolla at anthesis; stigma tubo-laciniate, long digitate-laciniate at the margins, ca. 2 mm in diameter, greenish-white; ovules shortly caudate. Capsules unknown.

Distribution and habitat:–– Vriesea bifida is a rupicole, living on bare, nearly vertical granitic surfaces of inselbergs located in the county of Água Doce do Norte, Espírito Santo state, near the border with Minas Gerais. At the type locality, the heliophytic plants are scattered and form a small to medium-sized population.

According to the available information on V. bifida and using the criteria “B1a” and “B2a” adopted by IUCN (2010), this species can be considered critically endangered.

Etymology:––The name of this new species refers to the apex of the petal appendages which is distinctly bifidcaudate, an unusual characteristic useful in the identification of this taxon.

Observations:––This new species is a member of a species complex of tillandsioids which is endemic to Brazil and has an exclusive rupicolous habit. It is closely related to V. appariciana Pereira & Reitz ( Pereira 1974: 441) , differing from it by the cinereous leaf blades (vs. grayish-green), the longer inflorescence (ca. 25 cm vs. 12–20 cm long), which is laxly flowered at anthesis (vs. densely flowered), obtuse floral bracts (vs. acute) and the basal petal appendages with an unusual bifid-caudate apex (vs. irregularly long-dentate).

Figures

FIGURE 18. Vriesea bifida (Leme 7368 et al.). A. Habit. B. Leaf rosette. C. Details of the stigma blades. D. Distal segment of the inflorescence and flower. E. Proximal segment of the inflorescence. F. Details of the stamens. G. Floral bract at anthesis. H. General view of the rupicolous population at type locality. I. Details of the population at type locality.

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.