Hohenbergia loredanoana Leme & L.Kollmann, 2011

Leme, Elton M. C. & Kollmann, Ludovic J. C., 2011, New species and a new combination of Brazilian Bromeliaceae, Phytotaxa 16 (1), pp. 1-36 : 14-15

Hohenbergia loredanoana Leme & L.Kollmann , sp. nov. ( Figs. 5 , A–B, 6 , H–N)

Species nova a Hohenbergia sandrae , cui affinis, fasciculis florum minoribus, bracteis floriferis glabris, sepalis distincte mucronulatis, petalis acutis, per anthesin suberectis, purpureis et stigmate purpureo crenulatoque differt.

Type:— BRAZIL. Minas Gerais: próximo a divisa com a Bahia, Santa Maria do Salto, distrito de Talismã, Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural da Fazenda Duas Barras , divisa com P . E . do Alto Cariri , 16º 24.80’ S, 49º 03.21’ W, 841 m, 23 March 2010, Leme 8193 (holotype RB, isotype HB) .

Plant epiphytic, flowering ca. 150 cm tall. Leaves ca. 25 in number, coriaceous, forming a broadly crateriform rosette; sheaths elliptic, 18–19 × 12–13 cm, densely brown lepidote on both sides, dark castaneous toward the base, entire; blades linear, suberect-arcuate, 60–75 × 6–9 cm, densely and inconspicuously white lepidote on both sides but mainly abaxially with trichomes not obscuring the color of the blades, greenish-yellow toward the apex and green toward the base except for the slightly dark red apex, apex acuminate and terminating in a long somewhat pungent point, margins densely and coarsely spinose toward the base; spines 2–5 × 1–2 mm, narrowly triangular, dark castaneous, prevailingly retrorse, 1–6 mm apart, subentire to entire toward the apex. Peduncle erect, stout, ca. 60 cm long, 1.2–1.5 cm in diameter, red, densely white lanate but soon glabrous; peduncle bracts narrowly lanceolate, acuminate, erect, 9–11 × 3.5–4.0 cm, exceeding the internodes, stramineous, nerved, white lanate at the base and glabrous toward the apex, entire. Inflorescence broadly subpyramidal, twice-branched, ca. 70 cm long, ca. 60 cm in diameter at the base, erect, rachis 0.5–1.0 cm in diameter, straight, red, sparsely white lanate but soon glabrous; primary bracts resembling the upper peduncle bracts, spreading, about equaling the stipes; primary branches ca. 8 in number (excluding the apical portion of the inflorescence which resembles a basal primary branch), spreading then ascending, the basal ones 25–40 cm long, distinctly stipitate, with stipes of 4–7 × 0.5–0.8 cm, slightly complate, red, sparsely white sublanate to glabrous, bearing 22 to 33 shortly stipitate to sessile secondary fascicles, the basal to median primary fascicles laxly arranged, 4–5 cm apart, the upper ones subdensely arranged, 0.5–2.0 cm apart, resembling the secondary fascicles, 1.5–8.0 cm long; secondary bracts narrowly subtriangular-lanceolate, acuminate-caudate, soon drying, 3.0–4.5 × 0.7–1.6 cm, shorter than the secondary fascicles, papyraceous, distinctly nerved, ecarinate, white sublanate to glabrous, spreading with the secondary branches; secondary fascicles subpyramidal to ovate, shortly stipitate to sessile, 1.5–2.5 × 0.8–1.8 cm, the basal ones bearing at the base 1 to 2 tertiary fascicles, the upper ones narrowly ellipsoid to subcylindrical, sessile, 1.0–1.5 × 0.8 cm (not including the petals), bearing 6 to 9 densely arranged flowers; tertiary bracts resembling the basal floral bracts, shorter than the fascicles; tertiary fascicles resembling the upper secondary fascicles but smaller, bearing 3 to 5 flowers densely arranged; floral bracts suborbicular, acute with a 1 mm long spinescent apex, erect to suberect, distinctly shorter than the sepals, 6–7 × 8–9 mm, including the 1 mm long apical spines, red, glabrous, lustrous, distinctly nerved, ecarinate, entire, strongly convex, thinly coriaceous. Flowers 14–15 mm long, sessile, densely and polystichously arranged, suberect, odorless; sepals distinctly asymmetric with the membranaceous lateral wing exceeding the apex 4.5–5.0 × 3.5 mm, including the 0.5 mm long apical mucro, subfree, glabrous, lustrous, red, ecarinate; petals spatulate, apex acute, 10–11 × 3.0– 3.5 mm, free, purple, bearing 2 sublinear, dentate-digitate appendages ca. 2.5 mm above the base, without any callosities. Stamens included; filaments slightly complanate and dilated toward the apex, the antepetalous ones adnate to the petals for ca. 3 mm, the antesepalous ones free; anthers oblong-sagittate, apex apiculate, dorsifixed near the middle; stigma conduplicate-spiral, capitate, dark purple, margins crenulate; ovary subglobose, terete, ca. 3 mm long, ca. 4 mm in diameter, green, glabrous except for the inconspicuously pale lanate base; placentation apical; ovules long caudate; epigynous tube inconspicuous. Fruits unknown.

Distribution and habitat:—This species is a epiphytic dweller of the hygrophilous Atlantic Forest, at about 700 to 900 m elevation, in one of the last forest fragments at the border between the states of Minas Gerais and Bahia, in Alto Cariri State Park and in the contiguous private reserve RPPN Fazenda Duas Barras. It was discovered during a Bromeliaceae survey in the park, supported by the Instituto Estadual de Florestas (IEF) of Minas Gerais.

Etymology:—The epithet for this species honors the lawyer and conservationist Loredano Aleixo, from Porto Seguro, Bahia, the owner of, and person responsible for, the stablishment of the private reserve RPPN Fazenda Duas Barras.

Observations:— Hohenbergia loredanoana is a species of ornamental value due to its bright red inflorescences that resemble H. sandrae Leme (2003:173) in structure and color. However, the species can be distinguished from it by the smaller fascicles (1.0–1.5 × 0.8 cm vs. 2.5–3.0 × 1.5 cm), glabrous floral bracts (vs. white lepidote except for the white lanate margins), distinctly mucronulate sepals (vs. muticous to minutely apiculate due to the procurrent midnerve), acute petals (vs. rounded to emarginate and slightly cucullate) which are purple (vs. lilac), and by the dark purple and crenulate stigma (vs. white and fimbriate.

Figures

FIGURE 5. A–B. Hohenbergia loredanoana (Leme 8193). A. Habit. B. Floral detail. C–D. Neoregelia dactyloflammans (Leme 7878). C. Habit. D. Floral details.

FIGURE 6. A–G. Dyckia kranziana (Kranz 122). A. Basal part of the leaf blade. B. Leaf blade apex. C. Basal peduncle bract. D. Floral bract. E. Flower. F. Sepal. G. Petal. H–N. Hohenbergia loredanoana (Leme 8193). H. Leaf blade apex. I. Basal margin of the leaf blade. J. Secondary fascicle. K. Floral bract. L. Flower. M. Sepal. N. Petal. O–S. Neoregelia dactyloflammans (Leme 7878). O. Leaf blade apex. P. Floral bract. Q. Flower. R. Sepal. S. Petal.