Hechtia costalegrensis Flores-Arg., Hern.- Cardenas , Espejo, Lopez-Ferr . & Rosales, 2024

Flores-Argueelles, Alejandra, Hernandez-Cardenas, Rodrigo Alejandro, Rosales-Martinez, Santiago, Espejo-Serna, Adolfo, Lopez-Ferrari, Ana Rosa & Siekkinen, Andrew, 2024, Two new species of Hechtia (Bromeliaceae; Hechtioideae) from Jalisco, Mexico, Plant Ecology and Evolution 157 (1), pp. 20-31 : 20

Hechtia costalegrensis Flores-Arg., Hern.- Cardenas, Espejo, Lopez-Ferr. & Rosales sp. nov.

Figs 2 , 3

Type.

Mexico - Jalisco • La Huerta, Boca de Iguanas ; 19°18 ’24.65” N, 104°49 ’13.79” W; 21 m; 21 Jul. 2022; R. Hernández-Cárdenas, A. Flores-Argüelles & S. Lara-Godínez 2626 ♂; holotype: UAMIZ [3 sheets: UAMIZ90042, UAMIZ90043, UAMIZ90044] .

Diagnosis.

This new species is similar to H. reticulata differing in the length of the leaf blades (22-35 vs 65-85 cm), the arrangement of the staminate inflorescence (twice branched vs once branched), the indument of its peduncle (glabrous vs sparsely lepidote), the shape of its sepals (ovate vs obtuse) and petals (elliptic to ovate vs oblong); the length of the pistillate inflorescence (155-168 vs 250-260 cm), and the shape of its sepals (ovate vs deltate) and petals (oblong to ovate vs lanceolate).

Description.

Plants saxicolous, in flower 110-200 cm tall, rosettes 20-30 cm tall, 40-50 cm diameter, forming clumps of 3-5 rosettes. Leaves 13-18, recurved towards the apex; sheaths yellowish-green, brownish-yellow to pale brown when dry, widely depressed ovate to depressed ovate, 3-3.5 cm long, 3.5-5.5 cm wide, with minute marginal sharp teeth, glabrous near the base and lepidote distally on the abaxial surface, glabrous on the adaxial surface; blades yellowish-green, brownish-yellow when dry, narrowly triangular, 22-35 cm long, 3-4 cm wide at the base, long attenuate, white lepidote on the abaxial surface, glabrous on the adaxial surface, margin with divaricate to ascending sharp teeth, brownish-yellow, 3-7 mm long, 2.5-4 mm wide, 1-1.5 cm apart. Inflorescences terminal, erect, twice branched in staminate and pistillate plants. Staminate inflorescence 90-130 cm tall; peduncle green, brown when dry, terete, 0.8-1 cm diameter, glabrous, internodes 3.5-8 cm long; peduncle bracts brownish-green to greenish-purple, brownish-purple when dry, foliaceous, sheaths triangular, 2-2.5 cm long, 1.5-2 cm wide, glabrous near the base and lepidote towards the apex on both surfaces, hyaline at the margin, blades linear, 5.5-11.5 cm long, 0.2-0.5 cm wide, lepidote on the abaxial surface, slightly lepidote on the adaxial surface, entire, the basal ones larger than the internodes, the upper ones shorter; primary bracts brown, narrowly triangular, 2.3-4 cm long, 0.6-1.1 cm wide when extended, caudate, entire and hyaline at the margin, glabrous on the adaxial surface, glabrous near the base and slightly lepidote towards the apex on the abaxial surface; primary spikes 13-16, terete, 10-17 cm long, 0.8-1 cm in diameter; secondary spikes 22-27, terete, 2-4.5 cm long, 0.8-1 cm in diameter; floral bracts greenish-brown, brownish-purple when dry, triangular, 2.5-3 mm long, 1.5-2 mm wide, longer than the pedicels, acute, entire to erose at the margin, glabrous on both surfaces. Staminate flowers numerous; pedicels 0.5-1.5 mm long; sepals green with a brown apex, pale green with purple spots when dry, ovate, 2.1-3 mm long, 1.9-2.3 mm wide, obtuse, entire to slightly erose, glabrous on both surfaces; petals white, greenish-white to brownish-white when dry, elliptic to ovate, 3.4-4.2 mm long, 2.6-3.5 mm wide, rounded to obtuse at the apex, entire, glabrous on both surfaces; stamens equal in length; filaments white, narrowly oblong, flattened, 3-4.4 mm long; anthers green in living material, greenish-brown when dry, oblong, 0.9-1.8 mm long, versatile; pistillode inconspicuous, green, brown when dry, glabrous. Pistillate inflorescence 155-170 cm long; peduncle green, brown when dry, terete, 0.8-1.2 cm in diameter, glabrous, internodes 6-8 cm long; peduncle bracts greenish-purple, brownish-white to whitish-purple when dry, foliaceous, sheaths triangular, 4.7-5.1 cm long, 2.1-3 cm wide, glabrous near the base and lepidote towards the apex on the abaxial surface, glabrous on the adaxial surface, hyaline at the margin, blades linear to narrowly oblong, 2.4-7.7 cm long, 3.3-5.2 cm wide, lepidote on the abaxial surface, glabrous on the adaxial surface, entire, the basal ones larger than the internodes, the upper ones shorter; primary bracts brown, brownish-purple when dry, triangular, 0.7-4.5 cm long, 0.2-1.2 cm wide when extended, caudate, entire and hyaline at the margin, glabrous near the base and lepidote towards the apex on the abaxial surface, glabrous on the adaxial surface; primary spikes 35-40, terete, 10-15 cm long, 1.2-1.5 cm in diameter; secondary spikes 30-40, terete, 2-6 cm long, 1.2-1.5 cm in diameter; floral bracts brownish-white, brown when dry, widely ovate, 2.2-3.9 mm long, 1.8-2.9 mm wide, longer or equal than the pedicels, caudate to mucronate, entire to erose at the margin, glabrous on both surfaces. Pistillate flowers numerous; pedicels 1-3 mm long; sepals greenish-brown, brown with purple spots when dry, ovate, 1.9-2.9 mm long, 1.6-2.6 mm wide, acute to obtuse, entire, glabrous on both surfaces; petals white, brownish-white when dry, oblong to triangular, 4-4.6 mm long, 1.6-2.3 mm wide, obtuse to acute, entire, glabrous on both surfaces; staminodes white, narrowly triangular, 3.1-3.9 mm long; ovary superior, green, brown when dry, oblong, 3.9-4.6 mm long, 2.1-3 mm diameter, glabrous; stylar branches white, brown when dry, recurved, slender, 1.1-1.4 mm long, stigma papillose. Capsules not seen.

Distribution, habitat, and ecology.

Hechtia costalegrensis is known so far from the type locality in the municipality of La Huerta, in the Pacific Lowlands biogeographic province (Fig. 3 ). It grows on southeast-facing rocky slopes exposed to sea breeze in tropical deciduous forest. Hechtia costalegrensis forms large colonies along with Agave colimana Gentry, Bursera sp., Mammillaria mazatlanensis K.Schum., Stenocereus standleyi (Ortega) Buxb., and other species, at elevations from 20 to 40 m.

Phenology.

The plants of H. costalegrensis bloom from July to August.

Etymology.

The specific epithet refers to the group of beaches, called Costalegre, located between Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco and Manzanillo, Colima.

Additional material examined.

MEXICO - Jalisco • La Huerta, Boca de Iguanas; 19°18 ’24.24” N, 104°49 ’14.20” W; 24 m; 27 Jul. 2021; A. Flores-Argüelles & G. Contreras 1298 ♀; UAMIZ; • La Huerta, Boca de Iguanas ; 18 Aug. 2021; S. Rosales 1 ♂; IBUG • same data as for preceding; S. Rosales 2 ♀; IBUG .

Notes.

Hechtia costalegrensis also differs from H. reticulata in the width of the leaf blade sharp teeth (2.5-4 vs 4-7 mm), in the length of the staminate inflorescence (90-130 vs 190-210 cm), in the number of its primary spikes (3-16 vs 35-40), in the size of its floral bracts (2.5-3 × 1.5-2 vs 3.8-4.2 × 2.5-3 mm); and in the size of the pistillate floral bracts (2.2-3.9 × 1.8-2.9 vs 3.7-4.2 × 2.9-3.3 mm), in addition to the characters cited in the diagnosis. For other details, see also Table 1 .

Figures

Figure 2. Hechtia costalegrensis. A. Habitat. B. Detail of the rosettes. C. Plants at the type locality. D. Detail of the staminate spike. E. Detail of the pistillate spike. F. Staminate flower. F 1. Floral bract. F 2. Sepals. F 3. Petals. F 4. Stamens. G. Pistillate flower. G 1. Floral bract. G 2. Sepals. G 3. Petals. G 4. Pistil. Photographs A-E by Alejandra Flores-Argueelles; F-G by Rodrigo Hernandez-Cardenas.

Figure 3. Distribution map of Hechtia chamelensis, H. costalegrensis, H. ibugana, H. iltisii, H. jaliscana, H. laevis, H. pacifica, H. pedicellata, H. reticulata, H. santanae, and H. subalata. Biogeographic provinces according to Morrone et al. (2017).