Wittmackia fawcettii (Mez) Aguirre-Santoro (2017: 633)

Aguirre-Santoro, Julián, 2018, Taxonomic revision of the Caribbean-endemic species of Wittmackia (Bromeliaceae), Phytotaxa 336 (2), pp. 101-147 : 119-121

6. Wittmackia fawcettii (Mez) Aguirre-Santoro (2017: 633) . Basionym: Hohenbergia fawcettii Mez in Urban (1900: 254). Hohenbergia fawcettiana K. Schumann (1900: 411) [nom. nud., spelling error]. TYPE:— JAMAICA. St. Andrew Parish: Chester Vale, 1000 m, 28 December 1894, W.H. Harris 5446 (holotype B!, isotype GH!)

Plant epiphytic, cespitose or solitary; rosette broad. Leaves 79–91 cm long, coriaceous; sheaths conspicuous, elliptical, 13–26 × 8.7–14.8 cm, cream to pale brown, serrulate, occasionally entire; blades lingulate, 66–71 cm long, 6.7–8.2 cm wide at the base, 5.4–7.7 cm wide in the middle, green, smooth, lepidote abaxially, glabrescent adaxially, apex initially obtuse to rounded, then ending in a sharp and acuminate mucro, serrate, the teeth evenly distributed along the margins, hook-shaped, antrorse, castaneous, 0.8–2.8 mm long. Inflorescence erect to inclined; peduncle almost completely exposed out of the rosette, stout, rigid, 47–48 cm long, 4–9 mm in diameter, green, floccose, central internodes 3–4.8 cm, distal internodes 1–4.3 cm; peduncle bracts shorter to longer than the internodes, deciduous, membranaceous, nervose, pale brown, the central erect, lax, lanceolate to ovate, (3–)7.5–8.4 × (0.7–) 1.3–1.7 cm, floccose abaxially, glabrescent adaxially, entire, apex acuminate, the distal ones erect to suberect, lax, lanceolate, (3.1–)3.8–4.7 × 0.7– 1.2 cm, floccose abaxially, glabrescent adaxially, entire, apex acuminate; fertile part of the inflorescence conical, 18.8–46.5 cm long, 7.8–12.8 cm wide in the middle, 1-divided, occasionally 2-divided, branches 17 to 41 in number, rachis straight, green, 15.5–41 cm long, 4–7 mm in diameter, floccose. Primary bracts similar to the peduncle bracts, gradually diminishing in size towards the apex of the inflorescence, divaricate, marcescent, membranaceous, nervose, shorter than the branches; the basal ones lanceolate, (2.4–)3.8–7.4 × 0.6–1.4 cm, pale brown, floccose abaxially, glabrescent adaxially, entire, apex acuminate; the apical ones triangular, 0.8–1.6 × 0.2–0.3 cm, pale brown, floccose on both surfaces, entire, apex acuminate. Spikes cylindrical, 2.9–4.7 cm, 1.2–1.5 cm wide in the middle; stipes exposed, 11–24 mm long, 2.5–3 mm in diameter, terete, sparsely floccose, 18–35 flowered; rachis straight, 2.9–4.7 cm long. Floral bracts partially enfolding the ovaries, imbricate, suberect, concave, coriaceous, orbicular to broadly ovate, 5.9–8.2 × 7–10 mm wide, stramineous, nervose, ecarinate, sparsely floccose to glabrescent, entire, apex initially obtuse to truncate, then ending in a sharp and acuminate mucro of 0.2–0.9 mm long. Flowers suberect, 5.9–8.2 mm long. Calyx dorsiventrally compressed; sepals coriaceous, asymmetrical, 5.8–7 mm long, 2.8–2.9 mm wide at the base, the unwinged side 1–1.5 mm wide, the winged side 2.6–2.7 mm wide, light green, both surfaces smooth, glabrescent to floccose towards the apex, entire, apex initially acute, then ending in a sharp and acuminate mucro of 0.2–0.5 mm long. Corolla tubular, apically spreading; petals membranaceous, 12–14 × 2.8 mm, white, glabrous, entire, apex acute; petal appendages flanking the antepetalous stamens. Stamens included; filaments flattened, 9.7 mm long, 0.1–0.5 mm in diameter, white; anthers dorsifixed, rectangular, 2.6–3.3 × 0.4–0.6 mm, cream, mucronate. Ovary subovoid, dorsiventrally compressed, 3–3.5 mm long, 4.2–5.5 mm in diameter, light green, glabrous; epigynous tube 0.4–0.5 mm long; ovules globose. Style longer than the stamens, 13 mm long, white; stigma white, 1.2 mm long. Fruits subovoid, dorsiventrally compressed, 9.8 mm long, 4.7 mm in diameter, glabrous; sepals persistent, not fleshy. Seeds more than 10 per fruit, club-shaped, 2.1 × 0.8 mm, reddish-brown ( Fig. 8 ).

Etymology:— Wittmackia fawcettii was named in honor to the British botanist William Fawcet.

Distribution, habitat, and phenology:— Wittmackia fawcettii is endemic to the Blue Mountains in eastern

Jamaica at 1000–1400 m elevation ( Fig. 2 ). It grows as epiphyte in moist montane forest, at the edges of forests and near rivers. Wittmackia fawcettii grows sympatrically with W. penduliflora and W. polycephala . Collected in flower in June.

Conservation status:— Wittmackia fawcettii is categorized here as Endangered (EN B1ab(iii); IUCN 2001) because it is only known from a restricted area within the Blue mountains characterized for the presence of agricultural activities and aggressively invasive species such as Pittosporum undulatum and Polygonum chinense . Neverhtelss, this species still occurs within the protected area of the Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park.

Taxonomic comments and affinities:— Wittmackia fawcettii resembles W. jamaicana by its elongated spikes, obtuse to truncate floral bracts, and short sepal mucros. However, it differs from this species by its more slender peduncle (4–9 mm vs. 10–12 mm in diameter); peduncle bracts entire (vs. serrate); narrower inflorescence (7.8–12.8 cm vs. 15–25 cm wide), rachis sparsely floccose (vs. glabrous); shorter spikes (2.9–4.7 cm vs. 5.8–7- 8 cm long), bearing less flowers (18 to 35 vs. 40 to 50 flowers per spike); floral bracts sparsely floccose (vs. glabrous), with a shorter mucro (0.2–0.9 mm vs. 1.7–4.7 mm long); and longer sepals (5.8–7 mm vs. 3–4.5 mm long). Moreover, W. jamaicana is endemic and highly restricted to the western side of Jamaica. In the protologue W. fawcettii is compared to W. polycephala but mainly differs from this species by its stipitate spikes (vs. sessile) and floral bracts sparsely white-floccose (vs. brown-tomentose-lepidote).

Additional specimens examined:— JAMAICA. Without exact locality, cultivated at the New York Botanical Garden conservatories, 15 June 1909, Nash 18202 ( NY!). Portland Parish: upper gorge of the Mabess River , north of Morce’s Gap , 1220–1372 m, 28 January 1964, Proctor 24560 ( IJ!). St. Andrew Parish : along road from Clydesdale and Cinchona , 0.2 miles from Clydesdale , 1135 m, 18º4’55.4”N, 76º39’58.9”W, 21 June 2012, Aguirre-Santoro et al. 1803 (IJ!, NY!, US!) ; vicinity of Cinchona, Clydesdale to Chester Vale , 2–10 September 1906, Britton 342 ( NY!) ; Blue Mountains, Clydesdale , 21–24 September 1908, Britton 3804 ( NY!) ; trail to Morce’s Gap from St. Helen’s Gap , 19 April 1974, Freeman s.n. ( UCWI!) ; Chester Vale , 25 July 1894, Harris 5135 ( UCWI!) ; along track between Clydesdale and Cinchona , 1128 m, 7 September 1957, Proctor 16611 ( IJ!) .

Figures

FIGURE 2. Geographic distribution of the Caribbean-endemic species of Wittmackia. A. Species occurring in Jamaica and Cuba, and species endemic to the western Caribbean. Star: W. caymanensis, triangle: W. mesoamericana, circle: W. penduliflora. B. Species endemic to Puerto Rico. Star: W. portoricensis, circle: W. antillana. C. Species endemic to Jamaica. Circle: W. laesslei, triangle: W. negrilensis, star: W. polycephala.D. Species endemic to Jamaica. Circle: W. rohan-estyi, triangle: W. spinulosa, star: W. urbaniana. E. Species endemic to Jamaica. Circle: W. fawcettii, triangle: W. jamaicana, star: W. inermis. F. Species endemic to Jamaica. Circle: W. abbreviata, star: W. distans, square: W. eriostachya.

FIGURE 8. Wittmackia fawcettii. A. General habit of the plant showing a hummingbird visiting the flowers. B. Inflorescence. C. Inflorescence branch showing part of the stipe and spike.D. Flower.E. Sepals. F.Petal and antepetalous stamen. G. Calyx in cross section. H. Petal appendages. I. Apical portion of the stamen. J. Apical portion of the style and stigma. (A–K: Aguirre-Santoro 1803. Photos of living specimens: J. Aguirre-Santoro).