Bromelia amplifolia Leme & W.Till, 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 : 81-83

Bromelia amplifolia Leme & W.Till , sp. nov. ( Figs. 12 F–K , 13 )

This new species can be distinguished from the closest relative, Bromelia binotii , by the two times broader leaf blades (5.2–7.5 cm vs. 2.5–4 cm wide), inflorescence branches forming an internal angle of 45° with the main axis (vs. spreading to reflexed) and the shorter and broader sepals (6–8 × 7–8 mm vs. 10 × 3–4 mm), which are broadly ovate to suborbiculate (vs. oblong).

Type: –– BRAZIL. Bahia: Itapetinga , road BA 670 to Potiraguá, secondary road to Palmares , terrestrial in “Cipó” Forest , 218 m elevation, 15º 25’ 13” S, 39º 55’ 38” W, 16 August 2001, E .Leme 5314, R.Reis Jr., J. C. M.Falcon & R. Silva (holotype HB!, isotype CEPEC!) .

Plants terrestrial, propagating by short and stout rhizomes. Leaves ca. 30 in number, arcuate before anthesis and afterwards, thick coriaceous, green except for the inner ones becoming bright red toward the base at anthesis; sheaths trapeziform, ca. 8 × 7 cm, thick coriaceous, abaxially densely and coarsely ferruginous lepidote near the base and densely white lepidote toward the apex, adaxially glabrescent; blades linear-triangular, attenuate, 90–100 × 5.2–7.5 cm (not including the spines), slightly narrowed and canaliculate toward the base but not petiolate, densely white lepidote and finely nerved abaxially, sparsely and inconspicuously white lepidote to glabrous and coarsely nerved adaxially, apex acuminate-caudate, margins laxly and coarsely spinose; spines dark brown near the apex, strongly uncinate, complanate, the basal ones retrorse, the apical ones antrorse, 0.5–0.9 × 0.4–0.8 cm, 2–4 cm apart. Peduncle inconspicuous, stout, ca. 5 × 3 cm, densely pale brown lanate. Inflorescence paniculate, subdensely once-branched, narrowly ellipsoid, ca. 48 cm long, ca. 16 cm in diameter at the middle; primary bracts decaying at early anthesis, the basal ones distinctly exceeding the branches, subfoliaceous or the base oblong-subobovate, papyraceous, ca. 10 × 5 cm, pale lanate mainly abaxially, white, coarsely and densely spinose at the apex; spines 3–4 mm long, antrorse, thin in texture and not pungent; the blade narrowly triangular, acuminate, coriaceous, red, 8–23 × 2–2.5 cm, glabrous adaxially, densely lepidote abaxially with trichomes concentrated between the nerves, coarsely and laxly spinose, spines antrorse, 2–5 cm long; the upper primary bracts narrowly ovate, acute, distinctly shorter than the branches, papyraceous, white, soon stramineous, slightly corrugated, inconspicuously lepidote, nerved, 3–6 × 1.5–3 cm, entire to inconspicuously spinose at the apex; branches forming an internal angle of 45° with the main axis, laxly to subdensely flowered with 3 (upper branches) to 12 (basal branches) flowers, 8–15 × 4.5–5 cm (including the petals), nearly sessile to shortly stipitate; stipes stout, complanate, 0.6–2.5 × 0.8–1.6 cm, green, subdensely white furfuraceous to glabrescent, trichomes shortly fimbriate; rachis angulose, distinctly visible, green, ca. 1 cm in diameter at the base, ca. 0.3 cm in diameter at the apex, straight to slightly flexuous distally, white furfuraceous, trichomes shortly fimbriate; floral bracts broadly ovate, apex acute or bidentate, ecarinate, 5–10 × 6–8 mm, membranaceous, whitish, from equaling the pedicel to distinctly shorter than the ovary, finely nerved, entire, inconspicuously and sparsely lepidote mainly along the margins with fimbriate trichomes. Flowers 4.2–4.6 cm long, odorless, indistinctly pedicellate; pedicel very stout and merging into the ovary, 3–8 × 3–6 mm, green, subdensely white furfuraceous; sepals symmetrical, broadly ovate to suborbiculate, 6–8 × 7–8 mm, free, ecarinate, flat, entire, nerved, apex obtuse, green and verrucose near the base, subdensely to sparsely white lepidote, whitish and glabrous and soon stramineous toward the apex; petals 25–27 mm long, erect to slightly recurved toward the apex at anthesis, glabrous, purple toward the apex and margins, whitish toward the base, connate for ca. 4 mm and forming a thick tube, without any callosities, lobes linear-oblong, rounded to slightly emarginate or cucullate, 21–24 × 7 mm; filaments at the base forming a common tube with the petals for ca. 4 mm and free for 5–6 mm above it; anthers linear, 8–9 mm long, base obtuse, apex apiculate, dorsifixed at 1/5 to 1/6 of its length above the base; pollen globose, sulcate, sulcus with margins weakly if at all defined, exine foveolate, muri thickened; stigma conduplicate-erect, weakly spiral, pale lilac; ovary subclavate-cylindrical, nearly terete, 17–19 × 7 mm, green, densely white lanate; epigynous tube funnelform; placentation from apical to near the base; ovules globulose, obtuse. Fruits much enlarged, obovoid, ca. 7 × 3.5 cm, orange.

Distribution and habitat:–– Bromelia amplifolia was found growing terrestrially in a seasonally dry and semideciduous open forest known as “Mata de Cipó”, in the county of Itapetinga, Bahia. It forms medium-sized groups of plants in partially shaded sites.

According to the “B1a” and “B2a” criteria adopted by IUCN (2010), B. amplifolia is considered a critically endangered species.

Etymology:––The name of this new species is a reference to its quite broad leaf blades which gives it a unique, ornamental value.

Observations:––This new species is closely related to B. binotii Morren ex Mez (1891: 192) , differing from it by the two times broader leaf blades (5.2–7.5 cm vs. 2.5–4 cm wide), branches forming an internal angle of 45° with the main axis (vs. spreading to reflexed) and by the shorter and broader sepals (6–8 × 7–8 mm vs. 10 × 3–4 mm), which are broadly ovate to suborbiculate (vs. oblong). While the known populations of B. binotii are from the wet Atlantic Forest in the north of the state of Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo, B. amplifolia was found growing in a drier environment of semi-deciduous open forest in the state of Bahia.

Figures

FIGURE 12. A–E. Billbergia matogrossensis (Kranz 209). A. Apex of the leaf. B. Basal segment of the leaf blade. C. Flower. D. Sepal. E. Petal with two basal appendages and a stamen. F–K. Bromelia amplifolia (Leme 5314 et al.). F. Median segment of the leaf blade. G. Flower. H. Floral bracts. I. Sepals. J. Petal and stamens. K. Cross-section of the ovary and style.

FIGURE 13. Bromelia amplifolia (Leme 5314 et al.). A. Details of the flowers. B. Basal branches of the inflorescence. C. Habit.