Wittmackia conduruensis Leme & E.H.Souza, 2023

Leme, Elton M. C., Souza, Everton Hilo De, Aona, Lidyanne Y. S. & Souza, Fernanda V. D., 2023, Two new Wittmackia species (Bromeliaceae: Bromelioideae) from Bahia, Brazil, Phytotaxa 583 (3), pp. 241-250 : 243-246

Wittmackia conduruensis Leme & E.H.Souza , sp. nov. ( Figs. 1 A–B , 2 )

Diagnosis:—This new species differs from W. ituberaensis by: peduncle decurved (vs. erect), inflorescence pendulous (vs. erect), and petals strongly recurved at anthesis (vs. spreading to recurved), with apex acute (vs. acuminate).

Type:— BRAZIL. Bahia: Uruçuca, Serra Grande , P. E . do Conduru, próx. BA 001 , 133 m elevation, 14º 21’ 04.8” S, 39º 01’ 19.8” W, 3 December 2020, E . Leme 9871 & E. H . Souza , flowered in cult. November 2021 (holotype RB!, isotype HURB!) .

Description:— Plant epiphytic, stoloniferous; stolons ca. 5 × 0.8 cm, rigid, bearing dark castaneous cataphylls with entire margins. Leaves 8–12 in number, rosulate, suberect, thin coriaceous, forming a subtubular to narrowly funnelform rosette, the basal ones much reduced in size; sheath narrowly oblong-elliptic to narrowly ovate-elliptic, 11–15 × 4.7–5.2 cm, purplish-vinaceous adaxially, abaxially greenish toward the base and purplish-wine near the apex, densely and minutely white lepidote on both sides, bearing a U-shaped central channel toward the apex; blade sublinear-ligulate, not at all narrowed toward the base, bearing a U-shaped central channel mainly toward the base, 45– 65 × 2–3.5 cm, abaxially purplish-wine, densely white lepidote, adaxially greenish except for the purplish-vinaceous margins and central channel, inconspicuously and subdensely white lepidote, margins entire, apex apiculate and bearing a rigid mucro, mucro 7 mm long. Peduncle decurved, 30–32 cm long, ca. 0.4 cm in diameter, green, densely to subdensely white lanate; peduncle bracts narrowly lanceolate, long acuminate, 5–6 × 0.7–0.8 cm, erect, distinctly nerved, inconspicuously and sparsely spinulose to entire, densely white lepidote mainly toward the base, distinctly exceeding the internodes, partly exposing the peduncle, thin in texture, stramineous. Inflorescence pendulous, simple, cylindrical, distinctly shorter than the leaves, 10–12 × 3.5 cm (excluding the petals); rachis 0.3–0.4 cm in diameter, straight, subangular, green, densely white lepidote with fimbriate trichomes; floral bracts subtriangular, 5–15 × 3–7 mm, acuminate-caudate, the proximal ones slightly exceeding the sepals, the distal ones slightly shorter than the ovary, spreading with the flowers, thin in texture (rather stramineous), entire, distinctly nerved, ecarinate, densely white lepidote of fimbriate trichomes. Flowers 40–55 in number, subdensely and polystichously arranged, sessile, 23–24 mm long, spreading at anthesis; sepals distinctly asymmetrical, 8–9 × 7 mm, the one sided marginal membranaceous rounded wing about equaling the midnerve, green toward the base, whitish near the apex, sparsely and minutely white lepidote with lacerate trichomes, ecarinate, connate at the base for ca. 1.5 mm, apex stramineous, mucronulate with a spreading mucro of 1–1.5 mm; petals narrowly subspathulate, apex acute, ca. 15 × 3.5–4 mm, free, white, strongly recurved toward the apex, without any appendage, bearing 2 conspicuous linear callosities about equaling the middle of the anthers; filaments ca. 8 mm long, terete, white, the antesepalous ones free, the antepetalous ones adnate to the petals for 5–6 mm; anthers 4–5 mm long, dorsifixed slightly below the middle, white, base distinctly bilobed, apex caudate; stigma conduplicate-spiral, cylindrical, white; the blades ca. 3 mm long, margins minutely crenulate; ovary subclavate, 6–7 mm long, ca. 5 mm in diameter at distal end, green, densely to subdensely and minutely white lepidote, trichomes lacerate; epigynous tube funnelform, ca. 1.5 mm long; placentation apical; ovules obtuse. Fruits and seeds unknown.

Distribution and habitat:— Wittmackia conduruensis is known from its type region only. Its occurrence was documented in the neighboring counties of Uruçuca and Itacaré, in the southeast of Bahia state, as typical inhabitant of Atlantic Forest in low-altitude areas of 100 to 200 m elevation, in the Serra do Conduru state park and adjacent areas. This new species is a typical epiphytic species of the understory, forming small groups of individuals on vertical tree trunks.

Conservation status:—Its population is composed of few individuals, distributed in small populations (ca. 15 plants), scattered in the area, totalizing about 200 individuals are observed. This new species is only known in the municipalities of Uruçuca and Itacaré. In Uruçuca, it is located within the State Park of the Serra do Conduru (Parque Estadual da Serra do Conduru). The GeoCAT ( Bachman et al. 2011) estimated the extent of the occurrence of W. conduruensis to about 7.128 km 2, while its area of occupancy is 12,000 Km² (AOO), classifying the species as critically endangered (CR). Therefor we advise to treat this species as a Critically endangered species (CR C2a (i, ii), following the IUCN criteria guidelines ( IUCN, 2022).

Wittmackia conduruensis lives in sympatry with W. amorimii ( Leme 1996: 22) Aguirre-Santoro (2017: 632) , W. carvalhoi ( Martinelli & Leme 1987: 79) Aguirre-Santoro (2017: 633) , W. gregaria ( Leme & Kollmann 2014: 61) Aguirre-Santoro (2017: 634) , W. ituberaensis ( Leme & Kollmann 2013: 102) Aguirre-Santoro (2017: 634) , and other species of different genera.

Etymology:— The name of this species is a direct reference to the State Park of the Serra do Conduru, a protected area where Wittmackia conduruensis was discovered.

Phenology: — This new species was observed flowering in August–September.

Additional specimen examined (paratypes):— BRAZIL. Bahia: Uruçuca , BA 001 , Serra Grande, Estrada Itacaré-Ilhéus, 116 m elevation, 14°25’39.5”S, 39°03’14.1”W, 18 January 2021, E. H .Souza 1106 & E. Leme ( HURB!, RB!); Uruçuca, Estrada Uruçuca-Serra Grande, Campo Cheiroso, 9 December 2018, L. Y. S . Aona 5853b & E.H. Souza ( HURB!); Uruçuca, road Uruçuca-Serra Grande, near km 23, 100–200 m elevation, 12 December 1982, G . Martinelli 6059 ( CEPEC); Itacaré, Fazenda Capit „o, 7.9 km west from the junction of BA 001 and road Itacaré-Ubaitaba, forest along Capit„o river, 100–125 m elevation, 14°20” S, 39°05” W , 11 November 2003, P . Fiaschi 1883, A. Amorim, J. Jardim & S Sant’Ana (CEPEC!).

Observations:— According to the identification key provided by Aguirre-Santoro(2017), Wittmackia conduruensis is the closest morphological relative of W. ituberaensis due to the shape of its rosette (narrowly funnelform to subtubular), the entire leaf blades, the size of the simple cylindric inflorescence, and the exappendiculate white sepals, but can be distinguished from it by: epiphytic habit (vs. terrestrial), leaf blades densely white lepidote abaxially (vs. inconspicuously and sparsely white lepidote on both sides), peduncle decurved (vs. erect), inflorescence pendulous (vs. erect), petals longer (ca. 15 mm vs. ca. 12 mm long), strongly recurved at anthesis (vs. spreading recurved), apex acute (vs. acuminate), antepetalous filaments higher adnate to the petals (5–6 mm vs. ca. 3.5 mm long), and ovary densely to subdensely and minutely white lepidote (vs. sparsely and inconspicuously white lepidote), and green (vs. greenishyellow).

On the other hand, despite seemingly more distantly related, this new species can be compared to W. gregaria , differing from it by the epiphytic habit (vs. terrestrial), less numerous leaves (8–12 vs. 20–28 in number), shorter leaf blades (45–65 vs. 60–102 cm long), peduncle decurved (vs. erect), inflorescence pendulous (vs. erect), which is smaller (10–12 × 3.5 cm vs. 20 × 4.5–5 cm), flowers shorter (ca. 23 mm vs. 27–32 mm long), sepals smaller (8–9 × 7 mm vs. 11–12 × 8–9 mm), and petals smaller (15 × 3.5–4 mm vs. 18–20 × 5 mm).

The pendulous inflorescence of W. conduruensis is a very distinctive character in the genus. This feature is only reported for W. pendulispica (Leme & L. Kollmann, 2013: 4) Aguirre-Santoro (2017: 637) which clearly differs from W. conduruensis by its smaller size, inconspicuously spinulose leaf blades, smaller and yellow inflorescence (except for the white petals), the smaller flowers, and the appendaged petals.

Figures

FIGURE 1. A. Serra do Conduru State Park, general view of the type locality of Wittmackia conduruensis. B. Natural population in the habitat growing as epiphyte. C. Michelin Ecological Reserve, general view of the type locality of Wittmackia guedesiae. D. Natural population in the habitat growing as epiphyte. Photos:A, C) E.H.Souza, B) E.M.C.Leme, D) T.A.Silva.

FIGURE 2. Wittmackia conduruensis. A. Habit. B. Leaf in adaxial and abaxial view. C. Leaf apex and adaxial view. D. Leaf apex and abaxial view. E. Leaf sheath showing the adaxial face. F. Median portion of the leaf blade in abaxial view highlighting the central channel. G. Inflorescence. H. Inflorescence details. I. Peduncle. J. Flowers. K. Floral bracts. L. Peduncle bracts. M. Petals. N. Sepals. O. Stamens. P. Stigma. Q. Ovary. Photos: E.H. Souza. Bars: A = 6 cm; B–D, F–G = 3 cm; E–H = 1.5 cm; I–J = 7 mm; K–L = 6 mm; M = 5 mm; N = 4 mm; P–Q = 2 mm.