Hohenbergia isepponae R.Oliveira & Wand., 2017

Gonçalves-Oliveira, Rodrigo César & Wanderley, Maria Das Graças Lapa, 2017, A new species of Hohenbergia (Bromeliaceae) from the Atlantic Forest of Northeast Brazil, Phytotaxa 302 (3), pp. 285-289 : 286-288

Hohenbergia isepponae R.Oliveira & Wand. , sp. nov. ( Fig. 1 )

This new species is closely related to H. ridleyi and H. ramageana . However, it differs in the ovate to sub-orbicular tightly imbricate floral bracts, ellipsoid to cylindrical spikes, obtuse to rounded spike apex (vs. subtriangular loosely imbricate floral bracts, sub-ellipsoid or strobilate spikes and acute apex in H. ridleyi and H. ramageana respectively).

Type:— Brazil. Pernambuco: Vicência, Serra do Jundiá , reminiscent of Atlantic Forest on the top of the hill, 7° 37’ 19,11” S, 35° 19’ 41,58” W, elev. 700 m s.m, 21 February 2014, Rodrigo Oliveira 50 & Mendes-Silva, H. M. Holotype SP!.

Plant epiphytic, flowering ca. 150 cm tall, short caulescent. Leaves ca. 18 in number, coriaceous, densely arranged, forming a funnelform rosette, abaxialy lepidote. Sheathes elliptic, greenish, margins entire, ca. 11 cm long, ca. 7 cm wide. Blades green, ligulate-lanceolate, ca. 120 cm long, 10 cm wide, acuminate and ending in a stout spine, margins aculeate; prickles antrorse or retrorse, dark-castaneous to nearly black, ca. 2 mm long, densely arranged toward the apex. Peduncle stout, erect, ca. 1.2 m long, 1 cm in diameter, densely yellow-gold lanate. Peduncle bracts exceeding the internodes, 6–13 cm × 1.2 cm, triangular-ovate, attenuate, with brownish, margins, pubescent to glabrescent, membranaceous, the basal ones imbricate. Inflorescence paniculate, narrowly pyramidal, compound, with branches of third order, goldish-yellow to castaneous lanate, fertile part ca. 70 cm long, 60 cm wide at the base, gradually narrowing towards the apex, bearing short pedunculate to sessile and dense fascicles of spikes. Primary bracts resembling the peduncle bracts, lanuginose, nerved, margins pubescent to glabrescent, 0.5–5.5 × 0.7 cm, exceeding the peduncle of the primary branches, triangular-ovate, attenuate. Primary branches patent, laxly arranged, 10–25 × 9 cm. Secondary branches ca. 3 × 0.6 cm. Secondary bracts like the primary bracts, triangular-lanceolate, acuminate, exceeding the peduncle of the branches, margins entire. Tertiary branches ca. 2 × 0.4 cm. Tertiary bracts ovate, mucronate, green, convex, densely lanuginous. Spikes aggregated at the apices of the branches, ellipsoid to cylindrical, apex obtuse to rounded, ca. 2 cm long × 0.5 cm wide, ca. 10 flowers. Floral bracts densely imbricate, shorter than the sepals, 5–6 × 6–7 mm, sub-orbicular, mucronulate, convex, green. Flower ca. 1.5 cm long, sessile. Sepals densely convolute, shortly connate, exceeding the floral bracts, asymmetric, unilaterally auriculate, mucronulate, mucro ca. 2 mm long. Petals ca. 1 cm long, membranaceous, purple except for the white margins and base, with two longitudinal callosities reaching ¾ of the filament lenght at the base of the petal; Stamens ca. 8 mm long; filaments complanate, the antesepalous ones free, the antepetalous ones adnate for half of its length to the petals; anthers oblong, apiculate. Stigma just exceeding the stamens, conduplicate-spiral. Ovary trilocular, placentation axial, caudate, complanate, ca. 6 × 8 mm Fruit and seeds not seen.

Observations: —This new species is closely related to H. ramageana and is part of the H. ridleyi species complex (see Table 1). A detailed study of herbarium collections and high resolution photographs of collections, revealed enough differences to conclude that this must be a new species. It differs from H. ramageana and H. ridleyi mainly by the ovate to sub-orbicular tightly imbricate floral bracts (vs. subtriangular loosely imbricate), the ellipsoid to cilindrical spikes (vs. sub-ellipsoid in H. ramageana and strobilate in H. ridleyi ) and rounded spike apex (vs. acute spike apex). Once the floral pattern (mainly the size of floral bracts and pollen morphology) are the characters used to separate H. ramageana and H. ridleyi in two taxa ( Leme & Siqueira-Filho, 2006) we argue that H. isepponae shows a unique spike pattern not shared with H. ridleyi or H. ramageana ( Fig. 2 ). Additional information can be found in Smith & Downs, 1979 and Leme & Siquera-Filho, 2006.

Additional specimens examined: — Hohenbergia ridleyi : BRAZIL, Pernambuco: Igarassu, Campina dos Macacos, 29 April 1955 (fl.), D. Andrade-lima (55–2063) ( IPA!) ; Moreno, Tapera , February 1929 Pickel (1921) ( B!) ; Hohenbergia ramageana : BRAZIL, Pernambuco: Recife, Dois Irmãos , 27 April 1995 (fl.), D. Andrade-lima (55– 2024) ( IPA!) ; Dois Irmãos, Recife , 28 July 1887, Ridley & Ramage s.n. ( BM!) .

Etmology:— H. isepponae is named after the Brazilian researcher and geneticist Professor Ana Maria Benko- Iseppon from the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, in honor of her extensive work to enhance the knowledge about cytogenetics and evolution of Bromeliaceae .

Habitat and distribution: — Hohenbergia isepponae is a species from medium high elevation of the Atlantic Forest of Pernambuco, Brazil. This species is only known from its type collection, in Vicência, Pernambuco state, growing as an epiphyte in the surrounding of a submontane Atlantic Forest remnant, at 700 m elevation. The area is characterized by a tropical submontane climate that differs of its surrounding areas, due to the elevation and orographic precipitation that provides mild temperatures throughout the whole year.

Conservation Status: —The distribution of H. isepponae is unknown. Only one flowering specimen was found at the type locality. The few individuals observed in the surrounding area, showed senescent inflorescences. Therefore we cannot draw conclusions about its conservation status, due to the lack of information. Although this species was collected in an area protected by law (APP— Área de Preservação Permanente— Area of Permanent Preservation), this is not a conservation unity that has full protection. We observed several anthropogenic disturbances of the environment such as vegetation suppression by farming, mainly by banana monoculture on the slopes.

Figures

FIGURE 1. A–I H. isepponae (Rodrigo Oliveira 50 & Mendes-Silva). A. Inflorescence, B. Leaf blade, C. secondary branch of the inflorescence, D. Flower and floral bract, E. Floral bract, showing the mucronulate apex, F. Asymmetric sepal showing the mucronate apex, G. Petal with stamen, note the two longitudinal callosities reaching ¾ of the filament length, H. Flower in longitudinal section, showing the placentation of the ovules, I. Stigma. (Illustration by Klei Sousa).

FIGURE 2. Branches of the inflorescence in the Hohenbergia ridleyi complex.A. H. ridleyi, B. H. ramageana, C. H. isepponae. Note the differences in the spikes form, spike apex and tightly imbricate spikes in H. isepponae. Illustrations by Klei Souza and Wilson Oliveira.