Vriesea simplex (Vellozo) Beer (1856: 97)

Kessous, Igor M., Salgueiro, Fabiano & Costa, Andrea F., 2018, Nomenclature and epitypification of Vriesea (Bromeliaceae) species described in Vellozo’s Flora fluminensis, Phytotaxa 350 (1), pp. 24-32 : 28

2. Vriesea simplex (Vellozo) Beer (1856: 97)

Basionym: Tillandsia simplex Vellozo (1829: 133) . Lectotype (designated by Smith [ Smith & Downs 1977]): Original parchment plate of Flora fluminensis in the Manuscript Section of the Biblioteca Nacional, Rio de Janeiro [cat. no.: mss1198652_134], published in 3 rd Iconograph: Vellozo (1831: tab.130).

Epitype (designated here):— BRAZIL. Rio de Janeiro, Guapimirim, PARNASO, Trilha do Miudinho, fl., 22 February 2011, B.F.S. Neves & F.P. Uribbe 6 (R!).

Vriesea mesiana Jacob-Makoy Hortus (1898: 246) . nom. nud.

Taxonomic and nomenclatural notes:— The history of the basionym of V. simplex is similar to V. ensiformis var. ensiformis , however few names have been attributed to this species. The name V. mesiana ( Dauthenay 1898: 246) , mentioned in Revue Horticole has no diagnosis, herein being considered a nomen nudum, according to Art. 38 of the Melbourne Code (McNeil et al. 2012). It was just used once for sale in the Jacob Makoy garden. Mez (1894) considered V. scalaris to be a synonym of V. simplex , however, the former is currently accepted ( Smith & Downs 1977). Wawra (1880) confused V. simplex with V. psittacina and synonymized the first. This misconception may be caused mainly by the similarity of the plate of Vellozo’s Flora Fluminensis with V. psittacina . The drawing shows no pendulous inflorescence, one of the main taxonomic characteristics of V. simplex , used to distinguish it from the other species. In addition, the specimen was obviously drawn in flower bud stage ( Fig. 1E–F ). Probably, the plate was based on a dried specimen, where some features were lost. Nevertheless, this is not mentioned in Vellozo’s protologue, the flower shape and the spacing of the internodes of the rachis ( Fig. 1E–H ) strongly suggests the identity of the species. All these characteristics were considered for the epitype designation ( Fig. 1E–H ).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Vriesea ensiformis var. ensiformis and V. simplex. A–D, V. ensiformis var. ensiformis. A, Lectotype (designated by Smith [Smith & Downs 1977]): Original parchment plate of Flora fluminensis in the Manuscript Section of the Biblioteca Nacional, Rio de Janeiro [cat. no.: mss1198652_133], published in 3rd Iconograph: Vellozo (1831: tab.129). B, flower detail of the plate. C, flowering specimen used for the epitype from Miguel Pereira, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. D, flower detail. E–H, V. simplex. E, Lectotype (designated by Smith [Smith & Downs 1977]): Original parchment plate of Flora fluminensis in the Manuscript Section of the Biblioteca Nacional, Rio de Janeiro [cat. no.: mss1198652_134], published in 3rd Iconograph: Vellozo (1831: tab.130). F, bud detail of the plate. G, living specimen in the wild. H, bud detail. Images (A–B, E–F) adapted from Biodiversity Heritage Library. Photos by Igor Kessous (C–D) and Talita Mota (G–H).