Racinaea terrestris Manzan. & Gouda, 2010

Manzanares, José M. & Gouda, Eric J., 2010, Four new species of the genus Racinaea (Bromeliaceae) from Ecuador, Phytotaxa 3, pp. 1-18 : 9-13

Racinaea terrestris Manzan. & Gouda , sp. nov. ( Figs. 7 , 8. 9 )

A Racinaea diffusa , cui verisimiliter affinis, caule 20–50 cm longo (nec caule nullo) stolones emittente (nec stolonibus nullis), spicis indumento ferrugineo omnino obtectis (nec dense cinereolepidotis), bracteis floralibus 2 mm longis (nec 5 mm longis) sepalis brevioribus (nec sepala aequantibus), floribus secundis (nec patentibus) differt.

Type:— ECUADOR: Morona-Santiago: cantón Limón Indanza, Cerro Ijiach Naint, Cordillera de Huaracayo , to the east of the river Coangos , on a sandstone mesa « tepui », 03°15´47´´S, 78°10´32´W´, 1900 m, 20 March 2001, J. M . Manzanares, D. Neill, P . Berry, L. Jost, B. Patterson and Shuar participants from Tinkimints 7213 (holotype QCNE, isotypes MO, SEL, WU) .

Plant terrestrial, flowering 120–150 cm tall; stem 20–50 cm long, lower part covered by old leaves; propagating by stolons. Leaves, the apical ones forming a dense sub-rosette, erect, numerous, coriaceous, green; sheaths 18 cm long, 8 cm wide, elliptic, large, adaxially densely lepidote, dark castaneous; blades 20–30 cm long, 3.5–4 cm wide, ligulate, apiculate, adaxially sparsely lepidote, abaxially densely lepidote, green. Inflorescence 50–70 cm long, 30 cm wide, 2-branched, lax, primary branches 5–7 cm apart, covered with ferruginous indument except the petals, erect; axis brown-purple, slightly flexuous, cinereous lepidote. Peduncle exceeding the leaves, 40 cm long, 4 mm in diameter, erect, brown-purple, cinereous lepidote, becoming glabrous with age; peduncle bracts all bractiform, remote, 5–7 cm long, 1 cm wide, elliptic, apiculate, green, adaxially glabrous and abaxially densely lepidote. Primary bracts ovate, 1.5–4 cm long, 0.8 cm wide, the lower ones shorter than the stipes of the branches, the upper ones equaling or slightly exceeding them, involute, elliptic, apiculate, adaxially sparsely lepidote, abaxially densely lepidote, brown-purple. Primary branches 34 cm long, lax, spreading, the upper ones ascending, the lower ones slightly arching downward, slender, consisting of 3–7 spikes, totally covered with ferrugineous indument. Racemes with stipes of 2–3 cm long, with one or without sterile bracts, lax, the lateral ones 10–17 cm long, the terminal one to 22 cm long, 0.4 cm wide, 15–24-flowered, with the flowers 1–1.6 cm apart, spreading, ascending at anthesis, pendulous in fruiting stage, totally covered with ferruginous indument; rachis flexuous. Floral bracts 2 mm long, 3 mm wide, suborbicular, acuminate, ecarinate, secund with the flower, adaxially glabrous, abaxially totally covered with ferrugineous indument, shorter than the sepals, nerved. Flowers secund, short pedicellate, pedicel 1 mm long. Sepals 4–5 mm long, 2 mm wide, asymmetrical, oblong, coriaceous, free, obtuse, concave, abaxially totally covered with ferrugineous indument. Petals 7 mm long, yellow, recoiled. Capsules 1.8 cm long.

Distribution:— Ecuador, province of Morona-Santiago.

Etymology:—Referring to the terrestrial growth of the plant.

Additional specimen examined (paratype): — ECUADOR: Morona-Santiago: cantón Limón Indanza, Cerro Ijiach Naint, Cordillera de Huaracayo , east of the river Coangos , on a sandstone mesa « tepui », 03°15´51´´S, 78°10´13´W´, 2000 m, 21 March 2001, J. M . Manzanares, D. Neill, P . Berry, L. Jost, B. Patterson and Shuar participants from Tinkimints 7238 (QCNE).

Observations:— Racinaea terrestris is similar to R. diffusa , but can be distinguished by the following characteristics: the stem 20–50 cm long (vs. stemless), propagating by stolons at the base of the sub-rosette after flowering (vs. propagating without stolons), the spikes are totally covered by ferrugineous indument (vs. densely cinereous lepidote), floral bracts 2 mm long (vs. 5 mm long), exceeded by the sepals (vs. equaling to the sepals), flowers secund at anthesis (vs. spreading, but not secund at all). Following the key in the monograph by Smith & Downs (1972) ‘flowers turning downward secund; ligulate leaves and floral bracts turning secund with the flowers’, R. terrestris identifies as R. pectinata (André) Spencer & Smith (1993: 156) , from which the new species differs by its stem and stolons (vs. stemless and not forming stolons); the spikes totally covered with ferruginous indument (vs. obscurely lepidote); the spikes 17–22 cm long (vs. 5–7 cm long); the floral bracts 2 mm long and shorter than the sepals (vs. 6–8 mm long and about equaling the sepals).

Racinaea terrestris only occurs at the summit of table mountains or “tepuis” in the Amazonian region of Ecuador, while R. pectinata only grows in the Inter-Andean valleys from southern Colombia to central Ecuador. In general, R. terrestris can be distinguished from all other species by the following combination of characteristics: plant forming a stem and propagating by stolons, growing terrestrially; spikes wholly covered by ferrugineous indument except the sepals; flowers 1–1.6 cm apart and becoming secund at anthesis; floral bracts 2 mm long, exceeded by the 5 mm long sepals, suborbicular and apiculate. It can be confused with R. commixa (Mez) Spencer & Smith (1993: 153) and R. flexuosa (Baker) Spencer & Smith (1993: 154) , that both have a 2-branched inflorescence as well, but they have distichous inflorescences, not at all becoming secund, and narrow triangular leaves with an attenuate apex and are thus quite unlike R. terrestris .

Comment:— Grants from the National Geographic Society gave us the opportunity of exploring the Cordillera de Huaracayos, a range close to the Cordillera del Cóndor in the province of Morona-Santiago, southern Ecuador. This area has previously not been botanically explored. The expedition began the 16 th of March and ended the 25 th of March 2001. The participants of this expedition were David Neill (MO), Paul Berry (MO), Lou Jost (orchid specialist), Elizabeth Patterson and the first author. From the community of Tinkimints, the Shuar participants were Raul Pitiur (the leader), Luis Chinkin, Luis Isamaraint, Rafael and Luis Pitiur, Adam Samik, and Pedro, Alfonso and Cristobal Sanchim. During this trip we had the opportunity to study many species growing in the dense low forest on the sandstone mesa of Cerro Injiach Naint. We found many species new to science, such as the recently described Pitcairnia bakiorum Manzanares & Till in Manzanares (2005: 479) and the new R. terrestris published here. We also found a new Guzmania that formed dense cushions at the summit, which is still undescribed.

After four days of climbing, we entered a low forest composed of shrubs and small trees. Walking on the elevated forest floor was like walking on a mass of tree branches covered with mosses and organic matter. If one did not take care, one could fall into a hole between the decaying trees and shrubs. This is the habitat of the wonderful Guzmania gracilior (André) Mez (1896: 937) , where it forms dense cushions with long stems, sometimes over a meter long. Racinaea terrestris was also found growing here; it forms dense groups joined together by stolons that emerge from the forest floor on long stems, up to 50 cm long. We were very lucky to find a dense group of about 20 flowering plants in an open area surrounded by small trees and shrubs, with hundreds of secund yellow flowers. During the expedition we also found Racinaea cf. dielsii (Harms) H.Luther , R. parviflora (Ruiz & Pav.) M.A.Spencer & L.B.Sm. , R. schumanniana (Wittm.) J.R.Grant , R. tetrantha (Ruiz & Pav.) M.A.Spencer & L.B.Sm. , R. penladii var. pedunculata (L.B.Sm.) M.A.Spencer & L.B.Sm. , R. miniata (Rauh) J.R.Grant , and R. spiculosa (Griseb.) M.A.Spencer & L.B.Sm. , along with many species of Guzmania , Mezobromelia , Pitcairnia , Puya , Ronnbergia , Tillandsia , and Vriesea . More information about this trip can be found in Manzanares (1999) and Neill (2005).

Figures

FIGURE 7. Type of Racinaea terrestris Manzan. & Gouda in habitat.

FIGURE 8. Detail of the inflorescence of Racinaea terrestris Manzan. & Gouda.

FIGURE 9. Racinaea terrestris Manzan. & Gouda –A. Spike –B. Flower bract. –C. Sepal.