Vriesea tubipetala Leme & R.Moura, 2014

Leme, Elton M. C., Till, Walter, Kollmann, Ludovic J. C., De Moura, Ricardo L. & Ribeiro, Otávio B. C., 2014, Miscellaneous New Species of Brazilian Bromeliaceae, Phytotaxa 177 (2), pp. 61-100 : 97-99

Vriesea tubipetala Leme & R.Moura , sp. nov. ( Figs. 20 O–S , 23 )

This new species is closely related to Vriesea claudiana and V. marceloi , differing by the purple-wine spotted leaf blades (vs. greenishglaucous with darker green irregular cross-veins or purple toward the apex and without spots), the longer stipes of the lateral branches (2.5–3 cm vs. 1–2.1 cm), the longer petals (ca. 38 mm vs. 32–35 mm) and the shape and apex of their basal appendages and stamens shorter to equaling the petals (vs. exceeding the petals).

Type:— BRAZIL. Minas Gerais: Tiradentes, Serra de São José , way to the summit, ca. 1300 m elevation, 21º 04’ S, 44º 08’ W, 23 June 2001, B. R . Silva 731 & F. Tatagiba , cult. E . Leme 5237 (holotype RB!) .

Plants rupicolous, flowering ca. 70 cm high. Leaves ca. 16 in number, thin in texture, rosulate, forming a funnelform rosette; sheaths elliptic, 11–14 × 6–9.5 cm, subdensely and minutely brown lepidote on both sides, bearing purplishwine spots near distal end, castaneous toward the base; blades linear-oblong, 16–23 × 4–5.5 cm, not narrowed at the base, apex subacute to rounded and apiculate, green and bearing subdensely arranged purplish-wine spots throughout on both sides, sparsely and inconspicuously white lepidote. Peduncle 35–37 cm long, 5–7 mm in diameter, erect, glabrous, sulcate, green; peduncle bracts the basal ones subfoliaceous, the upper ones oblong-ovate, acute to rounded and apiculate, 4–5 × 2.3 cm, erect except for the subspreading apex, almost completely hiding the peduncle, slightly exceeding the internodes, greenish with irregularly arranged purplish-wine colored spots, the apex sometimes wine colored, glabrescent. Inflorescence simple to compound, once-branched, 14–20 cm long, 9–10 cm in diameter; main axis yellowish-green, slightly angulose, glabrous, 0.3–0.4 cm in diameter, internodes ca. 2.5 cm long; primary bracts broadly ovate to suborbiculate, subacute, 30–35 × 25 mm, concave, subcoriaceous, greenish-yellow except for the pale castaneous basal-central portion, nearly erect, slightly shorter to equaling the stipes; branches to 4 in number (including the terminal one), the lateral ones 10–12 cm long, forming an angle of 20°–30° with the main axis, densely flowered, 6–8 flowered; stipes 2.5–3 × 0.5–0.6 cm, slightly complanate, green, glabrous, bearing at distal end a single sterile bract similar to the floral bracts; rachis flexuous, green, glabrous, obtusely angulose, internodes 0.5–1 × 0.4–0.5 cm; the terminal branch erect, 15–17 cm long, with 9–13 densely arranged flowers; stipe ca. 4 cm long, bearing ca. 2 sterile bracts; floral bracts suborbiculate, 23–27 × 22–24 mm, apex obtuse-emarginate, greenish-yellow except for the pale castaneous basal-central portion, adaxially inconspicuously and sparsely lepidote, abaxially glabrous, reaching 1/2 to 4/5 of the sepal length, strongly convex, divergent before anthesis to slightly secund with the flowers at anthesis, the basal ones obtusely carinate, the upper ones ecarinate. Flowers distichous, diurnal-nocturnal, opening in the afternoon around 2 pm and remaining open to 2 pm of the next day, odorless, downwardly secund at anthesis, densely arranged, ca. 4.7 cm long; pedicels obconic, green, glabrous, 8–9 mm long, ca. 7 mm in diameter at distal end; sepals oblongelliptic, apex rounded, emarginate, 26–27 × 15–16 mm, inconspicuously and sparsely white lepidote inside, glabrous outside, free, ecarinate, cymbiform, greenish-yellow, subcoriaceous except for the apical margins, thicker at the base; petals narrowly elliptic, apex narrowly rounded, emarginate, 38 × 11–12 mm, yellow, subfree, erect at anthesis and forming a tubular corolla of 6–7 mm in diameter, bearing 2 appendages at the base; appendages obovate, rounded, 5–7 × 2 mm, adnate to the petals for ca. 2 mm; stamens shorter than to equaling the petals, radially arranged at anthesis; filaments slightly complanate and not at all dilated toward the apex, yellow, subfree; anthers linear, base bilobed, apex obtuse, 6–8 mm long, dorsifixed near the base; pistil slightly shorter than the petals; stigma convolute-bladed, densely papillose, yellow, ca. 2 mm in diameter; ovules long caudate. Capsules unknown.

Distribution and habitat:— Vriesea tubipetala lives in sun-exposed areas dominated by Campos Rupestres vegetation, at the summit of Serra de São José, Tiradentes county, Minas Gerais state. Scattered individuals were observed on rock outcrops at about 1300 m elevation, drawing attention by their purplish-wine spotted leaves and the inflorescences highly elevated above the leaf-rosette.

According to the available information on V. tubipetala and using the criteria “B1a” and “B2a” adopted by IUCN (2010), this species can be considered critically endangered.

Etymology:—The name chosen for this new species is a reference to its tubular corolla, which is a important identification feature in comparison to several other Vriesea species living in similar habitat in Minas Gerais state.

Additional specimen examined (paratype):— BRAZIL. Minas Gerais: Tiradentes, Serra de São José , 14 October 2009, R . Moura 961, R. J. V . Alves & N. G . Silva ( R!) .

Observations:— This new species closely related to V. claudiana Leme, Trindade-Lima & Ribeiro (2010c: 19) , but can be distinguished from it by the purple-wine spotted leaf blades (vs. greenish-glaucous with darker green irregular cross-veins), primary bracts shorter to equaling the stipes (vs. equaling to slightly exceeding the stipes), longer stipes (2.5–3 cm vs. 1–2 cm), longer and narrower petals (38 × 11–12 mm vs. 35 × 13–14 mm), bearing rounded basal appendages (vs. acute, subobtuse to obtusely and irregularly bidentate), stamens shorter than the petals (vs. exceeding the petals by a fraction of the anthers) and filaments not at all dilated toward the apex (vs. distinctly dilated). This new species can also be compared to V. marceloi Versieux & Machado (2012: 37) , differing from it by the larger size when in bloom (ca. 70 cm vs. 40–60 cm), leaf blades green with purplish-wine spots throughout (vs. purple toward the apex and without spots), the usually longer peduncle (35–37 cm vs. 13.5–25(–39) cm), peduncle bracts exceeding the internodes (vs. shorter), stipes of the lateral branches longer (2.5–3 cm vs. 1.1–2.1 cm), longer flowers (ca. 47 mm vs. 31–40 mm), longer petals (ca. 38 mm vs. ca. 32 mm) with obovate and rounded basal appendages (vs. lanceolate, acute to acuminate) and the stamens shorter to equaling the petals (vs. distinctly exceeding).

Figures

FIGURE 20. A–E. Vriesea bifida (Leme 7368 et al.). A. Apex of the leaf blade. B. Floral bract. C. Flower. D. Sepal. E. Petal with two basal appendages and stamens. F–I. Vriesea magnibracteata (Leme 7357 et al.). F. Apex of the leaf. G. Floral bract. H. Sepal. I. Petal with two basal appendages and stamen. J–N. Vriesea lilliputiana (Linhares s.n.). J. Leaf. K. Floral bract. L. Flower. M. Sepal. N. Petal with two basal appendages and a stamen. O–S. Vriesea tubipetala (Silva 731 & Tatagiba). O. Flower. P. Floral bract. Q. Sepal. R. Petal with two basal appendages and two stamens. S. Apex of the leaf.

FIGURE 23. Vriesea tubipetala. A–C (Silva 731 & Tatagiba). A. Habit. B. Inflorescence. C. Flower. D–E (Moura 961 et al.) D. Paratype and its rupicolous habitat in Campos Rupestres vegetation at type locality. E. Distal portion of the inflorescence and flower. F (Silva 731 & Tatagiba) Leaf rosette