Vriesea baturitensis Versieux & Tomaz, 2013

Versieux, Leonardo M., Tomaz, Eduardo C., Fortunato, Márcia & Verola, Christiano, 2013, A new yellow-flowered ornithophilous Vriesea and an illustrated collection of the bromeliads from Pico Alto, Serra do Baturité, Ceará State, Northeastern Brazil, Phytotaxa 117 (2), pp. 42-50 : 45-48

Vriesea baturitensis Versieux & Tomaz , spec. nov. ( Figs. 2–4 ).

Vriesea baturitensis is related to V. rodigasiana but differs by the yellow primary bracts and by the wider and longer floral bracts and sepals, by the rounded leaf apex (in vivo), by the slightly spreading petals and spreading anthers (vs. erect corolla and strict anthers) and by the shape of the inflorescence. It is also similar to V. friburgensis , but can be separated by the shorter flowers and yellow primary bracts.

Type:— BRAZIL. Ceará state: Guaramiranga, Estrada de acesso às torres de TV, 42.261° S, 38.933° W, 8 May 2012, L. M . Versieux 525, M. E. M . Fortunato & I . Costa (holotype [2 sheets] UFRN!, isotype EAC!) .

Epiphyte, heliophyte or semi-sciadophyte. Leaves 15–19 cm long, yellowish green, nearly symmetrically arranged in a dense funnel-form or crateriform rosette. Leaf sheath (4–)5.6–7.1 × 4– 5.8 cm, elliptic, densely brown lepidote in the center to pale brown along the margins on both surfaces. Leaf blade 10–17 × 2.6–3 cm, ligulate with apex rounded in vivo, apiculate, lustrous, coriaceous, subdensely lepidote abaxially and sparsely lepidote adaxially. Peduncle 14–31 × ca. 0.4 cm, slender, stiff, sparsely lepidote, internodes 3–4 cm long. Peduncle bracts 3.8–4.5 × 1.5–1.8 cm, nearly ovate, apex obtuse to apiculate, sparsely brown lepidote toward the apex, erect with the apex recurved, enfolding the internodes, the proximal ones slightly longer than the internodes and the distal ones shorter. Inflorescence (excluding the peduncle) 20–30 cm long, compound, oncebranched of 3–9 branches, erect, internodes of the axis 1.7–4 cm long; branches 9–14 cm long, 5–7- flowered, divergent. Primary bracts 2–4 × 1.9–2.1 cm, ovate, apex acute to shortly acuminate, subdensely lepidote adaxially and sparsely lepidote to nearly glabrous at the base abaxially, yellow, exceeding the stipes of the branches. Stipes 0.9–1.6 × 0.2–0.3 cm. Floral bracts 2.1–2.3 × 1.6–2.1 cm, ovate, apex obtuse, carinate, sparsely lepidote adaxially, the abaxial surface with a few scales concentrated centrally on the keel mainly near the apex. Flowers 3.9–4 cm long, distichous, sessile. Sepals 2.6–3.2 × 0.8–1.1 cm, symmetric, free, yellow, subdensely lepidote adaxially, glabrous abaxially, ecarinate, but with a thicker central area. Corolla nearly tubular with the petal apex recurved. Petals 3–3.5 × 0.4–0.5 cm, ligulate, apex retuse, yellow. Petal appendages 0.8–0.9 × 0.1 cm, narrowly triangular, asymmetric, the distal part free for 3–4.5 mm. Stamens exserted, distinctly spreading. Filaments 3–4 cm long, yellowish. Anthers 4–5 × ca. 0.5 mm, linear, dorsifixed at the base, blackish, the pollen grains yellow. Style 3.4–3.6 cm long. Stigma 0.2 cm diam, with convolute blades, yellow. Ovary ca. 4 mm long, nearly conical. Capsule 3–3.5 cm long, ovoidal, pale brown.

Distribution and conservation:— So far restricted to the Baturité mountain range, Ceará. The species appears to grow only at the higher elevations (> 800 m. a.s.l.) where mist formation is frequent. More field studies are necessary in order to clearly establish the conservation status of the species, but we observed a decline in the habitat quality and that adult individuals are being collected from the wild by collectors.

Ecology:— Vriesea baturitensis is a heliophilous or semi-sciadophilous epiphyte. Anthesis is diurnal, with the flowers opening at 06:00 AM and withering at 06:00 PM the same day. The flowering is continuous, with a peak in the dry season (December to May). Fruiting is also continuous and the fruit ripening period takes about four months. The morphology of the flowers indicates ornithophily and they are visited by three different species of hummingbirds. A continuous supply of floral resources by this species favors the maintenance of the pollinator guild.

Etymology:— The species is named after the Baturité mountain range.

Paratypes:— BRAZIL: Ceará, Mun. Pacoti, Serra do Baturité , 17 June 1989, Figueiredo s.n. ( EAC 20333!) ; Serra do Baturité, Morro Alto , 22 November 1974, Fernandes s.n. ( EAC 2520 !) ; Mun. Guramira: Baturité, Pico Alto , 28 December 1997, Otoch s.n. ( EAC 26156!) ; Serra de Baturité, Pico Alto , 8 February 1990, Fernandes & Fontella s.n. ( EAC 16286!) ; Estrada do Pico Alto , 24 April 2000, Lima-Verde s.n. ( EAC 31513!) .

Figures

FIGURE 2. Vriesea baturitensis. A. Habit of the plant used to prepare the holotype; B. Detail of young inflorescence with divergent branches; C. Flower (frontal view); D. Flower (side view); E. Vriesea rodigasiana, blooming individuals photographed in Santa Catarina State, southern Brazil (Photos: A: L.M. Versieux; B–D: M. Fortunato; E: L.A. Funez).

FIGURE 3. Vriesea baturitensis. A. Leaf; B. Peduncle bract (middle one); C. Primary bract; D. Floral bract; E. Sepal (abaxial view); F. Sepal (adaxial view); G. Stigma; H. Petal with antisepalous and antipetalous stamen; I. Details of the petal appendages. (From the holotype).

FIGURE 4. Holotype of Vriesea baturitensis deposited in the UFRN herbarium.