Dyckia kranziana Leme, 2011

Leme, Elton M. C. & Kollmann, Ludovic J. C., 2011, New species and a new combination of Brazilian Bromeliaceae, Phytotaxa 16 (1), pp. 1-36 : 12-14

Dyckia kranziana Leme , sp. nov. ( Figs. 4 , D–F, 6 , A–G)

Species nova a Dyckia velascana , cui affinis, laminis foliorum marginibus spinis leviter retrorso-curvatis, inflorescentia apice abrupte subpatente, bracteis floriferis suberectis longioribusque et sepalis haud mucronulatis, totaliter dense albolanatis differt; a D. tomentella , cui similis, inflorescentia perdense florida et apice abrupte subpatente, bracteis floriferis erectis et petalis aurantiacis differt; a D. beateae , affinis, laminis foliorum spinis brevioribus, inflorescentia apice abrupte subpatente, ramulis primariis stipitatis, sepalis perdense albolanatis, staminibus manifeste exsertis recedit.

Type:— BRAZIL. Mato Grosso: Rondonópolis, Serra Petrovina, BR 364, km 44 a leste da Pedra Preta, próximo a rodovia, 16º 48’ 02.58” S, 54º 10’ 09.82 W, ca. 500 m, 28 April 2006, Kranz 122, fl. cult. Leme 6826 (holotype RB, isotype HB) .

Plant terrestrial or rupicolous, flowering ca. 85 cm high, propagating by basal shoots. Leaves ca. 12 in number, densely rosulate, stiff coriaceous, slightly succulent; sheaths inconspicuous; blades narrowly triangular, attenuate and strongly canaliculate toward the apex, suberect-arcuate, 29–32 × 2.0– 3.5 cm at base, ca. 3.5 mm thick near the base, green, opaque, abaxially finely nerved, densely and inconspicuously white lepidote with trichomes arranged along the nerves and not at all obscuring the leaf color, adaxially subdensely white lepidote with trichomes inconspicuously arranged along the nerves, abaxial and abaxial surfaces slightly if at all contrasting in color, apex acuminate, terminating in a pungent spine, margins inconspicuously lepidote to glabrous, subdensely to laxly spinose; spines 2.5–5.0 × 1–2 mm at the base, 6–15 mm apart, narrowly triangular, complanate, subdensely white lepidote at the base, castaneous at the apex, straight to slightly retrorse. Peduncle lateral, erect, ca. 65 cm long, 0.4–0.6 cm in diameter, sparsely white lanate to glabrous mainly toward the base, green; peduncle bracts inconspicuously white lepidote to glabrous, nerved, the basal ones with a membranaceous, subtriangular-ovate base and a long sublinear blade, acuminate and spinescent, green, strongly canaliculate toward the apex and appearing carinate, exceeding to shorter than the internodes, margins laxly spinulose, spines ca. 0.3 mm long; the upper ones ovate, long acuminate-caudate, stramineous at anthesis, erect, 18–25 × 10–12 mm, inconspicuously and densely denticulate-crenulate, distinctly shorter than the internodes, carinate toward the apex. Inflorescence simple or sometimes compound by the late development of dormant buds 10–30 cm long; primary bracts narrowly lanceolate, acuminatecaudate, white lepidote, nerved, equaling to shorter than the stipes of the branches; primary branches ca. 3 in number, laxly arranged, 3–6 cm long, spicate, bearing 5–11 densely arranged flowers, stipes distinct, 1.5–2.7 × 0.3 cm, subterate, green, densely white lanate; terminal branch abruptly subspreading and forming an angle with the erect peduncle, spicate, 10–12 cm long, 2.0– 2.5 cm in diameter, rachis 3–4 mm in diameter, nearly straight, terete, greenish to pale orange, densely white lanate; floral bracts ovate, acuminate, distinctly nerved, stramineous at anthesis, contiguous with the flowers, equaling the petals (basal ones) to slightly shorter than the sepals (upper ones), white lepidote mainly the upper ones with lacerate-fimbriate trichomes, margins remotely denticulate-crenulate to entire, 7–15 × 6–8 mm. Flowers densely and polystichously arranged, ca. 38 in number, 13–14 mm long, suberect at anthesis, odorless; pedicels inconspicuous, pale orange, densely white lanate, ca. 2 mm long, ca. 4 mm in diameter at the apex; sepals broadly ovate, apex obtuse-emarginate, ecarinate, strongly convex, 6–7 × 6 mm, yellowish-orange, densely white lanate with trichomes obscuring the sepal color, margins entire but with sparsely unifilamentous trichomes; petals symmetric, broadly obovatespathulate, apex obtuse-emarginate, connate at the base for ca. 1 mm in a common tube with the filaments, ca. 10 × 8.5 mm, ecarinate, orange, margins entire, glabrous, erect at anthesis and forming a slightly convergent corolla ca. 3.5 mm in diameter at the apex. Stamens equaling to slightly exceeding the petals by a fraction of the anthers; filaments complanate, connate for ca. 1 mm in a common tube with the petals, 7.5–8.0 × 1.5–2.0 mm, pale orange; anthers narrowly subtriangular-sagittate, ca. 3 mm long, recurved at anthesis, base sagittate, apex acuminate, fixed near the base; pistil ca. 6 mm long, distinctly shorter than the anthers; ovary narrowly suboblong, ca. 4 mm long; stigma conduplicate-spiral, blades ca. 1 mm long, orange, margins scalloped; style ca. 1 mm long, pale yellow. Capsules subglobose, broadly acute and shortly beaked, olivaceous-castaneous, lustrous, 15 × 11 mm; Seeds nearly orbicular, obtuse, strongly complanate, 4–5 × 3.5–4.5 mm.

Distribution and habitat:—This species is known only from “cerrado” vegetation in the Serra da Petrovina, Mato Grosso, central Brazil, at an elevation of ca. 500 m, where it grows terrestrially or rupicolous in reddish soils or on rocky outcrops.. Plants occur solitary, or in groups of a few individuals, across its range.

Etymology:— Dyckia kranziana honors its collector, the bromeliad (Dyckia-Encholirium) grower Walter Kranz from Paraná state, who has introduced many unusual and new Dyckia species into cultivation.

Observations:— Dyckia kranziana is similar to D. velascana Mez (1894: 476) from Argentina and D. tomentella Mez from Paraguay. When compared to D. velascana , this new species differs by the leaf blades with slightly retrorse curved marginal spines (vs. antrorse curved), inflorescence abruptly subspreading near the apex and forming a distinct angle with the erect peduncle (vs. erect or nearly so), floral bracts continuous with the flowers (vs. reflexed) and flowers longer (7–15 mm vs. ca. 5 mm long), and by the sepals without any apical mucro (vs. mucronulate) and completely covered by a dense layer of lanate trichomes (vs. ferruginouspuberulous at base only and glabrous toward the apex). Dyckia kranziana has similarities to D. tomentella Mez (1919: 69) , but it can distinguished from that species by the abruptly subspreading inflorescence, forming a distinct angle with the erect peduncle (vs. erect or nearly so), bearing numerous and densely arranged flowers (vs. sublaxly and few-flowered), floral bracts contiguous with the flowers (vs. subspreading), and by the orange petals (vs. golden yellow).

Of the Brazilian species, D. kranziana can be confused with D. beateae E. Gross & Rauh (1991:7) , known from Araguainha, Mato Grosso. However, this new species can be distinguished from it by the distinctly shorter leaf spines (2.5–5.0 mm vs. 6–9 mm long), inflorescences abruptly subspreading near the apex and forming a distinct angle with the erect peduncle (vs. erect or nearly so), primary branches bearing well developed stipes (vs. sessile or nearly so), sepals densely white-lanate (vs. glabrescent at anthesis and afterwards), and by the stamens equaling to slightly exceeding the petals by a fraction of the anthers (vs. distinctly exceeding the petals with anthers completely exposed).

Figures

FIGURE 4. A–C. Aechmea recurvipetala. A. Inflorescence of the paratype (Leme 8192). B. Inflorescence of the holotype (Leme 8207). C. Floral details of the holotype (Leme 8207). D–F. Dyckia kranziana (Kranz 122). D. Habit. E. Inflorescence. F. Floral details.

FIGURE 6. A–G. Dyckia kranziana (Kranz 122). A. Basal part of the leaf blade. B. Leaf blade apex. C. Basal peduncle bract. D. Floral bract. E. Flower. F. Sepal. G. Petal. H–N. Hohenbergia loredanoana (Leme 8193). H. Leaf blade apex. I. Basal margin of the leaf blade. J. Secondary fascicle. K. Floral bract. L. Flower. M. Sepal. N. Petal. O–S. Neoregelia dactyloflammans (Leme 7878). O. Leaf blade apex. P. Floral bract. Q. Flower. R. Sepal. S. Petal.