Pitcairnia gracielae Gonz.

González-Rocha, Edith, López-Ferrari, Ana Rosa, Espejo-Serna, Adolfo & Carrillo-Reyes, Pablo, 2024, Novelties in Pitcairnia (Bromeliaceae; Pitcairnioideae): three new species from Mexico, Phytotaxa 660 (3), pp. 205-224 : 211-214

Pitcairnia gracielae Gonz. -Rocha, López-Ferr. et Espejo, sp. nov. ( Figs. 1 , 5 )

Type:— MEXICO, Morelos: municipality of Tepoztlán, sendero a la zona arqueológica del Tepozteco 18º59’50.5’’N, 99º05’58.4’’W, 1890 m, 16 April 2016, E. González-Rocha & F. Bonilla 383 (holotype UAMIZ!; isotypes IBUG!, MEXU!) .

Diagnosis: — Pitcairnia gracielae is similar to P. palmeri but differs in the indument of the photosynthetic leaves (sparsely white-lepidote on the margins vs. sparsely white-lepidote on abaxial surface), in the shape and size of the floral bracts (ovate, 4–11 mm wide vs. narrowly triangular, 2–5 mm wide), and in the orientation of the flowers at anthesis (secondly spreading to nutant vs. erect to ascending).

Description: — Plant saxicolous, cespitose, 21–48 cm high in flower. Roots fibrous. Stem bulbous, 4–9 cm long, 3–7 cm diameter; stolons present, terete, 2–3 cm long, 4–5 mm diameter. Leaves not petiolate; sheath dark brown abaxially, light brown adaxially, oblong, 2.5–4 cm long, 1.8‒3 cm wide, entire; leaf blades of three different kinds: the first and main ones foliaceous, green, linear, 20‒40 cm long, 6‒10 mm wide, entire, except the persisting base, conspicuously nerved, glabrous on both surfaces except the white-lepidote margins on both sides, not present during flowering season, deciduous by a transverse line of abscission well above the sheath and the persistent portion denselly white-lepidote adaxially, sparselly white-lepidote abaxially and with retrorse spiny-teeth ca. 1 mm long on the margins; the second ones reduced and sheath like, papiraceous, 2–6 cm long, 1–1.5 cm wide, lanceolate to narrowly triangular, entire, acuminate, conspicuously nerved, sparsely lepidote adaxially, densely to sparsely white lepidote abaxially; the third ones non-photosynthetic, with a stiff persistent brown linear blade, of 1–8 cm long, ca. 1 mm wide, densely white-lepidote on both sides, with retrorse spiny-teeth of ca. 1 mm long on the margins. Inflorescence racemose, often slightly curved; peduncle brownish to reddish distally, 13–34 cm long, 2–3 mm diameter, sparsely to densely white-lepidote at the nodes, for most part visible; peduncle bracts green, narrowly triangular to ovate-lanceolate, 1.6–11 cm long, 4–12 mm wide, entire, glabrous adaxially, sparsely white-lepidote to glabrescent abaxially, decreasing in size distally; the basal ones long-acuminate, just exceeding the internodes; the distal ones slightly longer than internodes, sometimes shorter; raceme 7–17 cm long, with 9–24 flowers loosely arranged along the rachis, secund; rachis nearly fully exposed, sparsely white-lepidote, internodes up to 2.3 cm long; floral bracts pale green or tinged reddish, narrowly ovate, 1.3–2.6 cm long, 4–11 mm wide, entire, acuminate, glabrous adaxially, sparsely white-lepidote abaxially, decreasing in size distally, usually shorter than the pedicels or slightly longer; flowers secund, spreading to nutant at anthesis or shortly afterward, slightly zygomorpic, pedicellate; pedicel slender, divergent to curving at age, 4–23 mm long, sparsely white-lepidote; sepals reddish, lanceolate, 2–2.7 cm long, 5–7 mm wide, acuminate, glabrous adaxially, sparsely white-lepidote abaxially, the two adaxial ones carinate; petals red to orange-red, very narrowly oblong, 5.3–6.1 cm long, 8–12 mm wide, rounded then obtuse or broadly acutish, turning to one side forming a cap over the stamens, short unguiculate, the claw 5–7 mm long, whitish, without a nectary scale at the base; stamens 5.2–6 cm long, shorter than the petals; filaments white, linear, 4.3–5 cm long; anthers yellow, linear, 8–10 mm long, basifixed. Capsules dark brown, ovoid, trigonous, 14–15 mm long, 5–6 mm diameter, rostrate; seeds reddish brown, fusiform, without appendages 1.5–2 mm long, bicaudate, the caudae filiform, ca. 1 mm long.

Distributon, habitat and phenology: — P. gracielae is endemic to the biogeographic Transmexican Volcanic Belt province, in the states of Morelos and Estado de México ( Fig. 1 ), where it grows on rocky walls in coniferous and Quercus forests, in relicts of cloud forests, and in tropical deciduous forests, at elevations between 1700 and 2500 m. The species flowers during March to June.

Etymology: —The specific epithet honors Dra. Graciela Calderón Díaz Barriga (1931–2022), professor and eminent botanist specialised in various families of angiosperms, whose dedication and constant work contributed significantly to the knowledge of Mexican Flora ( Fig. 4B ).

Comments: —Material of this new taxon had been erroneously identified in herbarium specimens as Pitcairnia palmeri var. longebracteata (1960: 64) by L.B. Sm. in 1974 due to the presence of long pedicellated secund flowers and floral bracts slightly longer than the pedicels; in Flora Neotropica, Smith & Downs (1974) included some specimen of this species in the section of examined specimens for P. palmeri var. longebracteta , collections from Chihuahua (H. Leseur 1258, GH!; Pennington 113, US!), Michoacán (R.M. King & T.S. Soderstrom 4846, US!), Morelos (C.G. Pringle 9181, GH!, US!; O. Nagel 8092, GH!), and Nayarit (R. McVaugh 16496, MICH!, US!), which have been subsequently revised and identified ( McVaugh, 1989) with other names: P. palmeri (H. Leseur 1258; Pennington 113), P. pteropoda (R.M. King & T.S. Soderstrom 4846), and P. compostelae McVaugh (1989: 27) (R. McVaugh 16496). However, based on the results of a multivariate analysis González-Rocha et al. (2018), concluded that the specimens assigned to P. palmeri var. longebracteta actually correspond to a different species for which they proposed the name P. robert-downsii Gonz. -Rocha, Espejo, López-Ferr. & Cast.-Riv (2018: 224).Although the material from Morelos that these authors included in their analysis was grouped with P. palmeri . A detailed comparison of these specimens with the type material of this species, allowed us to observe differences in some characteristics as the indument on the main green leaves, the size of the peduncle, and in the shape and size of the floral bracts. Furthermore, in living plants of P. palmeri the flowers are always secund but then ascending, while in P. gracielae these are secund spreading to soon nutant.

Examined specimens (paratypes): —ESTADO DE MÉXICO. Ocuilan. Terracería Ocuilan-Cuernavaca km 10- 18, J. Castañeda R. 1262 (MEXU). MORELOS. Tepoztlán. Cima de los cerros al E de San Juan Tlacotenco, A. Espejo, A.R. López-Ferrari, J. Ceja & A. Mendoza R. 6089 (UAMIZ); en el camino de subida a la pirámide del Tepozteco, A. Espejo & J. Espejo T. 6945 (UAMIZ); sierra de Tepoztlán, near Cuernavaca, C.G. Pringle 9181 (GH, US); ledges of Sierra de Tepoztlán, C.G. Pringle 9182 (K); sendero a la zona arqueológica del Tepozteco, E. González-Rocha & F. Bonilla 113 (UAMIZ), 114 (UAMIZ), 383 (UAMIZ), E. González-Rocha & M.G. Hernández 234 (UAMIZ); cerca del Parque (Sierra de Tepoztlán), F. Miranda 177 (MEXU, UAMIZ); Tepoztlán, M. Martínez 150 (MO); Near Tepoztlán,

O. Nagel 8039 (GH); Mts. above Tepoztlán, near “El Parque”, in Tepoztlán, O. Nagel 8092 (GH); Tepoztlán, sin colector s. n. (FCME). Tlayacapan. Subida al cerro Las Mariposas, partiendo de San José de los Laureles, A. Espejo, A.R. López-Ferrari, R. Cerros, A. Flores Morales & R.A. Hernández 7400 (UAMIZ); cerro de las Mariposas, San José de los Laureles, R. Cerros T. 275 (UAMIZ); barranca Tepecapa, R. Hernández-Cárdenas, R. Cerros-Tlatilpa & A. Flores-Morales 329 (IEB, UAMIZ); cerro El Sombrerito, al W del poblado [Tlayacapan], V.A. Pulido E., J. Santana C. & E. Mora G. 50 (UAMIZ); barrancas al N de San José de los Laureles, V. Sánchez C., A. Espejo, M. Flores C., G. Barroso Ch. & E. Bobadilla 23 (CHAPA, IEB, MEXU, UAMIZ).

Figures

FIGURE 1. A) Combined distribution map for the species Pitcairnia aleserratoae, P. gracielae, P. pugana, P. jaliscana, P. karwinskyana P. micheliana, P. palmeri, and P. pteropoda.

FIGURE 4. A) Dra. Alejandra Serrato Díaz (1972–2021), B) Dra. Graciela Calderón Díaz Barriga (1931–2022), and C) Professor Luz María Villarreal de Puga (1913–2013). Photos: Yanin Islas Barrios (A), Sergio Zamudio Ruiz (B), and Luz María González Villarreal (C).

FIGURE 5. Pitcairnia gracielae,A) flowers and floral bract, lateral view, B) flowering plant, A.Espejo 7400 (UAMIZ!), C) inflorescence, E. González-Rocha et al. 234 (UAMIZ!), D) dissected flower: D1 floral bract, D2 sepals, D3 petals, D4 stamens, D5 pistil, E. González- Rocha 91 (UAMIZ!), E) flowering plant in habitat, A. Espejo 6089 (UAMIZ!), F) inflorescence in habitat, E. González-Rocha 113 (UAMIZ!). Photos:A. Espejo (A, B, E), and E. González-Rocha (C, D, F).