Cryptanthus vinosibracteatus D.M.C. Ferreira & Louzada, 2022

Ferreira, Débora Maria Cavalcanti & Louzada, Rafael Batista, 2022, Two new species of Cryptanthus (Bromelioideae, Bromeliaceae) from the Atlantic Forest of northeastern Brazil, Phytotaxa 571 (1), pp. 65-75 : 70-73

Cryptanthus vinosibracteatus D.M.C. Ferreira & Louzada , sp. nov. ( Figures 1 , 4 and 5 ).

Type:— BRAZIL. Bahia: Itapetinga, Fazenda Santa Cruz , antiga propriedade de Salvador, atualmente de Vardão, 308 m, 15°07’48.9”S, 40°14’38.9”W, 19 March 2018, fl. cult. 17 July 2019, D. Cavalcanti & L. Daneu 834 (holotype: UFP!) .

Diagnosis: — Cryptanthus vinosibracteatus differs from C. arelii by its leaf blades with a glabrous adaxial surface (vs. glabrous except for a few bands of pale trichomes toward the base), floral bracts 25–26 mm long (vs. 18–22 mm long), greenish white at the base and vinaceous at the apex (vs. cream or pale green), sepals 13.5–14.5 mm long (vs. 18–20 mm long), white at the base and with castaneous lobes (vs. cream to pale green), and petals connate for 15–15.5 mm (vs. 10 mm).

Description:—Plants terrestrial, rhizomes ca. 1 cm long and ca. 0.6 cm in diameter. Stems ca. 2 cm long, ca. 0.6 cm in diameter, erect. Leaves ca. 7 in number; sheath 1.5–2.4 × 1.8–3 cm, very widely ovate, abaxial surface white at the base and brown at the apex, densely lepidote abaxially, adaxial surface greenish-white at the base and greenish at the apex, glabrous; prickles 0.3–1 mm long, 0.1–0.4 mm apart, antrorse and retrorse; blade 4.5–11 × 1.9–3.2 cm, narrowly elliptic, oblanceolate or lanceolate, reddish brown, brown or brown and green, abaxial surface densely lepidote, adaxial surface glabrous, margins undulate, apex acuminate; prickles 0.2–1.5 mm long, 0.3–2.5 mm apart, antrorse. Inflorescence compound, with ca. 3 lateral sessile clusters of flowers; rachis (main axis) ca. 1 cm long; primary bracts 2.2–6.5 × 0.8–1.1 cm, foliaceous, lanceolate, reddish-brown or brown, abaxial surface densely lepidote, adaxial surface glabrous, margins undulate apex acuminate; prickles 0.1–0.5 mm long, 0.1–1 mm apart, antrorse. Staminate flowers: floral bracts 25–26.2 × 13–13.5 mm, triangular-cymbiform, greenish white at the base and vinaceous at the apex, abaxial surface glabrous except for the densely lepidote apex, adaxial surface glabrate except for the sparsely lepidote apex, apex mucronate; flowers 40.5–41 mm long (with extended petals); sepals 13.5–14.5 mm long, connate at the base for 7–8.6 mm, white; lobe castaneous, 5.4–6.3 × 2.5–2.6 mm, elliptic, mucronate; petals 32.5–34.3 × 4–4.5 mm, oblanceolate, acute or rounded, connate at the base for 15–15.5 mm, white, with 2 callosities beginning 15–16 mm mm from the base in the adaxial surface, the callosities covered with inconspicuous glandulose trichomes; filaments 27.5 mm long, basally adnate to the petals for 14.5–15.5 mm; anthers 3.5–4.5 mm long, subbasifixed, base short bilobed, apex rounded; pistillode: ovary botuliform, 6.5–7 × 4.6–5 mm, ovules lacking, epigynous tube 0.5 mm long, style reduced, ca. 0.3 mm long, stigma reduced, ca. 0.8 mm long. Perfect flowers unknown. Fruits unknown.

Etymology:— The specific epithet is a combination of the words “vinosus” and “bracteatus” and refers to the vinaceous color of the floral bracts.

Distribution and habitat:— Cryptanthus vinosibracteatus is known from one locality in the municipality of Itapetinga, Bahia State, Brazil, at 308 m elevation ( Fig. 1 ). It occurs in the Atlantic Forest phytogeographic domain and, according to the Application Area of Law number 11,428 of 2006, which is a map of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest (https://geoftp.ibge.gov.br/informacoes_ambientais/estudos_ambientais/biomas/mapas/lei11428_mata_atlantica.pdf), the vegetation type is deciduous seasonal forest. The individuals grow in partially closed forest with trees that are about 4 m tall. The population is small with less than ten individuals. The area is included in the biogeographic subregion of Diamantina (see biogeographic subregions in Silva & Casteleti 2005, Ribeiro et al. 2009).

Phenology: —Flowering in cultivation has been registered in July.

Conservation status:— Cryptanthus vinosibracteatus is only known from one location in a private property. Perhaps the species also occurs in the municipality of Jequié (W. W. Thomas et al. 12599-[NY]), Bahia State, Brazil. However, this specimen is sterile so it cannot be correctly identified. It is similar to C. vinosibracteatus due to the leaf blade shape. The record from Jequié is about 150 km from the type locality of this new species. Cryptanthus vinosibracteatus is probably threatened due to the low number of occurrence locations (one or maybe two) and few individuals in the typical population. Furthermore, the vegetation in the municipality of Itapetinga is very fragmented due to cattle farming. Thus, this species can be classified as Critically Endangered (CR) based on criterion B2 ab(ii) of the IUCN (2019).

Notes on taxonomic affinities:— Cryptanthus vinosibracteatus is morphologically similar to C. arelii due to similarities in the leaf blade shape and color, but it differs by the petals 32.5–34.3 mm long (vs. 40–45 mm long) (see Table 2 ). Cryptanthus vinosibracteatus can be confused with C. dianae Leme (1990) due to the leaf blade shape but differs by the sepals that are 13.5–14.5 mm long (vs. 16.5–21 mm long) and white at the base and castaneous at the lobes (vs. white at the base and green at the lobes) (see Table 2 ). Cryptanthus vinosibracteatu s is also morphologically similar to C. zonatus due to the leaf blade shape but differs by the floral bracts 25–26 mm long (vs. 14–20.5 mm long), greenish white at the base and vinaceous at the apex (vs. white at the base and green-pink, pink or castaneous at the apices) and petals 32.5–34.3 mm long (vs. 35–40.5 mm long) (see Table 2 ).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Distribution map of Cryptanthus pirambuensis and Cryptanthus vinosibracteatus in the Atlantic Forest of northeastern Brazil.

FIGURE 4. Cryptanthus vinosibracteatus. A. Habit. B. Leaf sheath (adaxial side). C. Leaf (adaxial side). D. Floral bract of staminate flower (abaxial side). E. Floral bract of staminate flower (adaxial side). F. Staminate flower with the floral bract. G. Sepals of staminate flower. H. Petals and stamens of staminate flower. I. Detail of conspicuous callosities on the petals of staminate flower. J. Anther of staminate flower. K. Ovary of staminate flower. Drawing by Felipe Martins.

FIGURE 5. Cryptanthus vinosibracteatus. A. Habit. B. Leaf sheath (abaxial side). C. Leaf sheath (adaxial side). D. Leaf (abaxial side). E. Leaf (adaxial side). F. Inflorescence. G. Staminate flower with a floral bract. H. Anther of staminate flower. I. Floral bract of staminate flower (adaxial side).