Vriesea mitoura Smith (1969: 32)

Kessous, Igor M. & Costa, Andrea F., 2023, Novelties in “ incertae sedis ” Vriesea (Bromeliaceae: Tillandsioideae): Redescriptions, new combinations and nomenclatural revision, Phytotaxa 585 (2), pp. 71-101 : 89

3.5 Vriesea mitoura Smith (1969: 32) .

Type : — BRAZIL. Amazonas : Rio Negro , on rocks in igarape, Serra Pirapucu , Rio Maturaca, Rio Cauaburi, 1,250–1,300 m alt, 29 January 1966, Silva & Brazão 60945 (holotype US!, isotype NY!)

Description:—Plant epilithic, flowering 58−60 cm high. Leaves 7−10 in number; sheath narrowly ovate, 7−8 × 2.5−4 cm, lepidote on both surfaces; blade 40–60 × 1–1.4 cm, apex long-attanuate to filiform, lepidote on both surfaces, slightly denser on the adaxial surface. Inflorescence simple, 6–8 flowered, 50–55 cm long, subdense to lax at anthesis, erect, with 1–2 sterile bracts at the apex; peduncle erect, ca. 40 cm long, 2.5–4.5 mm in diameter, glabrous; peduncle bracts erect, slightly imbricate, narrowly oblong, obtuse, carinate toward the apex, 35–60 × 15–20 mm, sparsely to inconspicuously lepidote on the adaxial surface, glabrous on the abaxial surface; rachis geniculate to sinuous, 7–11 cm long and 2–4 mm in diameter. Floral bracts slightly secund, elliptic to ovate, obtuse to acute, 28–33 × 14–20 mm, slightly carinate at the apex, purple, equaling or slightly exceeding the sepals, glabrous to sparsely lepidote on both surfaces. Flowers slightly secund, suberect, 8–13 mm apart, distichous; sepals narrowly oblong, 25–26 × 7.5–9 mm, free, ecarinate, symmetric to subsymmetric, sparsely lepidote; petals green; petal appendages ca. 2.8 × 1.2 mm, adnate for 1 mm to the petal base, with free lobe dentate, acute; stamens with an anther of ca. 7 × 2 mm; ovary conical, ca. 3.5 × 2.5 mm; stigma convolute-bladed. Fruits suberect, secund, ca. 27 mm long; seeds including coma ca. 11 mm long, with a minute (<0.1 mm) or without apical coma, basal coma ca. 7 mm long.

Distribution: —This species occurs in the Rio Negro region, between the Brazilian Amazonas and Venezuelan Amazonas states, from 400–1,450 m above sea level.

Taxonomic and nomenclatural notes: —Although we observed certain similarities to the genus Werauhia , such as the flowers and floral bracts secund, and seeds with or without a short apical coma, the specimen examined has a convolute-bladed stigma, possibly indicating that it can be assigned to Vriesea s.s.

Etymology: —The specific epithet “ mitoura ” probably refers to the caudate apex of the leaf blades, “ mitos ”=thread and “ oura ”=tail.

Representative Specimens Examined: — VENEZUELA. Amazonas: Rio Negro, Cerro de la Neblina, Camp XI, 6 KM. NNE of Pico, Phelps (=Neblina). 00°51’40”N, 65°58’50”W, 1,450 m elev., past fl., 27 February 1985, Nee 31170 (US) . BRAZIL. Amazonas: Morro dos Seis Lagos, Lago do Drag „o, aprox. 400/ 450 m. s.m., 14/ 15 October 1987, Farney et al. 1716 ( NY) .