Orthophytum ulei Louzada & Wand., 2010

Louzada, Rafael Batista & Wanderley, Maria Das Graças Lapa, 2010, Revision of Orthophytum (Bromeliaceae): the species with sessile inflorescences, Phytotaxa 13, pp. 1-26 : 20-22

Orthophytum ulei Louzada & Wand. sp. nov., figs. 11A–F, 13E

Ortophytophytum albopicto affine sed bracteis primariis, bracteis floralibus et sepalis roseis (vs viridibus), bracteis floralibus carenatis (vs non carenatis) et petalis glabris basim versus (vs petalis trichomatibus praeditis basim versus) differt.

Type:— BRAZIL. Bahia: Mucugê road to Andaraí , 12 o 56’41.2”S, 41 o 17’28.5”W, ca 867 m. 9 April 2008 (fl), R.B. Louzada & M.G.L. Wanderley 91 (holotype SP, isotype HUEFS) .

Plants rupicolous, stoloniferous, stems short ca 2.6 cm long. Leaves patent or arching. Leaf sheaths greenishwhite, triangular or ovate, 1–1.4 × 1.3–2.2 cm, glabrous, margins serrate, prickles ca 0.5 mm long. Leaf blades coriaceous, slightly concave, pink at base, wine for the, very narrowly triangular, 5–15.5 × 1.2–1.6 cm, attenuate, abaxially densely lepidote, adaxially lepidote, scales densely arranged at base, margins serrate, prickles antrorse 2–3.5 mm long, apices mucronate. Inflorescences sessile, simple or compound, many- flowered. Primary bracts subcoriaceous, pink, triangular or lanceolate, 2–5 × 0.8 cm, lepidote, margins serrate, apices mucronate. Vestigial floral bract present. Floral bracts subcoriaceous, pink, asymmetrical, triangular, 1.2–1.7 × 0.7–1 cm, lepidote, margins serrate, apices mucronate. Sepals pink, asymmetrical, carinate, narrowly triangular, 1.3–1.6 × 0.3–0.6 cm, lepidote, margins entire, apices mucronate, anterior one free, posterior connate. Petals white, linear-spatulate, 1.3–1.7 × 0.4 cm, glabrous, apices obtuse. Petal appendages sacciform, lacerate, ca 5 mm from the base. Callosities conspicous. Stamens with antepetalous filaments ca 5 mm long and adnate to the petals, the antesepalous one free ca 10 mm long. Anthers, yellow, ca 3 mm long, apices apiculate, apiculus absent in dry material. Ovaries trigonous. Epigenous tubes present, ca 2 mm long. Ovules numerous. Fruits and seeds not seen.

Distribution and habitat: — Orthophytum ulei is only known from Mucugê county in Bahia. It grows rupicolous in xeric environments, frequently exposed to the sun on rocky outcrops and in grassland on rocky fields at ca 870 m elevation.

IUCN conservation status: —EN B1ab (ii, iii). Based on collections and field observations in the areas of occurrence, we noticed that O. ulei is restricted to an area estimated to be less than 5000 km 2. It is only known from one county in Bahia, occurring outside of protected areas.

Comments: — Orthophytum ulei is similar to O. amoenum and O. albopictum . It differs from O. amoenum mainly in having larger leaf blades, (1.2–1.6 vs. 0.5–1 wide), that are adaxially lepidote (vs. sparsely lepidote), lepidote floral bracts and sepals (vs. glabrous) and narrowly triangular (vs. elliptic) sepals. It differs from O. albopictum mainly in its primary bracts, floral bracts and sepals: sepals are pink (vs. green), floral bracts carinate (vs. ecarinate) and petals are glabrous (vs. trichomes below the petal appendages). Orthophytum albopictum has a white-lanate well-delimited band around the inflorescence, formed by dense scales (peltate trichomes) at the base of leaves and primary bracts, the prickles are not longer than 2 mm, while in O. ulei the prickles are 2–3.5 mm long.

Etymology: —The name of this new species is attributed to Ernst Heinrich Georg Ule (1854–1915), German botanist and explorer, who undertook botanical expeditions to southern and central Brazil at the end of the 19 th the century. In Chapada Diamantina, previously known as Serra do Sincorá, Ule discovered a new species of Bromeliaceae and described it in a new genus, Sincoraea ( Ule 1908) . Later, Smith (1955) synonymized this genus under Orthophytum ( Smith 1955) .

Additional specimens examined: — BRASIL. Bahia: Mucugê, 22 km from Andaraí in road to Mucugê , 16 February 1977 (fl), Harley 18746 ( RB) ; Serra do Capa Bode , 30 October 1972 (fl), Martinelli 5545 ( RB) ; 29 October 1978 (fl), Martinelli 5546 ( RB) .