Dyckia walteriana Leme, 2012

Leme, Elton M. C., Ribeiro, Otávio B. C. & Miranda, Zenilton De J. G., 2012, New species of Dyckia (Bromeliaceae) from Brazil, Phytotaxa 67 (1), pp. 9-37 : 34-36

Dyckia walteriana Leme , sp. nov. ( Figs. 14 , H–P, 15 , A–H)

This new species has morphological affinity with Dyckia agudensis differing by the densely white lepidote leaf blades, longer lateral branches, shorter sepals, and longer petals. It also resembles D. selloa , but can be distinguished by the upper peduncle bracts shorter than the internodes, inflorescence densely castaneous lanate and not twice-branched, and by the perfect flowers.

Type:— BRAZIL. Paraná: Londrina, Leroville, Campo das Pedras, Fazenda Santa Cruz, 712 m elevation, 23º 38’ 18.4” S, 51º 05’ 11.6 W, 21 April 2006, W . Kranz 13 (holotype RB!, isotype HB!) .

Plants rupicolous, flowering ca. 210 cm high, propagating by basal shoots. Leaves ca. 50 in number, densely rosulate, stiffly coriaceous, succulent; sheaths inconspicuous; blades narrowly triangular, attenuate and slightly canaliculate toward the apex, suberect-arcuate, 75–90 × 3.0– 3.4 cm at the base, ca. 5 mm thick near the base, green, abaxially finely nerved, densely white lepidote with trichomes arranged along the nerves and not obscuring the leaf color, adaxially densely white lepidote with trichomes partially obscuring the leaf color, abaxial and abaxial surfaces slightly contrasting in color, apex acuminate, terminating in a pungent spine, margins densely lepidote, laxly spinose; spines 3–10 × 2.5–5.0 mm at the base, 15–25 mm apart, narrowly triangular, complanate, densely white lepidote, castaneous at the apex, prevailingly antrorse-uncinate. Peduncle erect, ca. 80 cm long, 1.3–1.6 cm in diameter, subdensely to sparsely pale castaneous lanate and densely covered by white wax, greenish-purple; peduncle bracts narrowly triangular, acuminate and spinescent, stramineous, canaliculate toward the apex, subdensely white lepidote, nerved, exceeding to slightly shorter than the internodes, 6–11 × 2.0– 2.5 cm, margins densely spinulose, spines 1–3 mm long, prevailingly antrorse-uncinate. Inflorescence broadly paniculate, once-branched, ca. 120 cm long, ca. 100 cm in diameter at late anthesis; rachis straight to slightly flexuous, greenish-purple, subdensely pale castaneous lanate to glabrous and covered by a dense layer of white wax, 0.8–1.3 cm in diameter, internodes 3–7 cm long; first order bracts resembling the upper peduncle bracts, subspreading, 3–5 × 1–2 cm, distinctly shorter than the stipes of the branches; first order branches ca. 12 in number, laxly arranged, 40–60 cm long, bearing 100–140 densely arranged flowers, stipes 4–8 × 0.5–0.7 cm, subcomplanate, greenish, densely castaneous lanate but soon glabrous and covered by a dense layer of white wax; terminal branch not at all distinct from the lateral ones, rachis 2–7 mm in diameter, straight, terete, greenish-purple, densely castaneous lanate; floral bracts triangular-ovate to broadly triangular, acute, nerved, stramineous, shorter than the sepals, densely castaneous lanate, margins, 3–5 × 3–4 mm. Flowers densely and polystichously arranged, subverticillate, 16–17 mm long, spreading or nearly so, odorless; pedicels inconspicuous, green, densely castaneous lanate, ca. 1 mm long, ca. 3.5 mm in diameter at the apex; sepals orbicular, apex obtuse-emarginate, ecarinate, strongly convex, 3.5–5 × 4–5 mm, greenish, densely castaneous lanate with the trichomes obscuring the sepal color, margins entire; petals symmetric, elliptic to oblong-eliptic, apex obtuse-emarginate, connate at the base for 1–2 mm to form a common tube with the filaments, 12 × 6–7 mm, ecarinate, yellow, margins entire, glabrous, subspreading at anthesis and forming a broadly companulate corolla 17–20 mm in diameter at the apex; stamens slightly exceeding the petals by a fraction of the anthers but completely exposed at anthesis; filaments terete toward the apex, erect or nearly so, connate at the base for 1–2 mm to form a common tube with the petals, free above it, 11–12 × 1–1.5 mm, yellow; anthers suboblong, ca. 3 mm long, slightly recurved at anthesis, base bilobed, apex acute, fixed near the base; pistil 13–15 mm long, slightly exceeding the anthers; ovary narrowly ovoid, ca. 6–7 × 3 mm, yellow; stigma conduplicate-spiral, blades ca. 1 mm long, yellow, margins crenulate; style ca. 5–7 mm long, yellow. Capsules subglobose, acute, dark castaneous, lustrous, 14 × 10 mm. Seeds sub triangular, strongly complanate, ca. 3 × 2 mm.

Distribution and habitat:—This species is known only from the Atlantic Forest domain in the region of Londrina, Paraná, southern Brazil, at an elevation of ca. 700 m, where it is rupicolous on nearly horizontal granitic outcrops, forming large and dense clumps. The rocks where D. walteriana grows are under threat due to mining and pasture activities, which is severely affecting the survival of this only known population.

Etymology:— Dyckia walteriana honors its collector, the bromeliad (Dyckia-Encholirium) grower Walter Kranz from Paraná state, who has introduced many unusual and new Dyckia species into cultivation.

Observations:— Dyckia walteriana is similar to D. agudensis Irgang & Sobral (1987: 5) and D. selloa ( Koch 1874: 7) Baker (1889:136) both from the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. When compared to D. agudensis , this new species differs by the densely white lepidote leaf blades (vs. glabrous), longer lateral branches (40 – 60 cm vs. 9 – 17 cm long), shorter sepals (3.5–5 mm vs. ca. 10 mm long) and by the longer petals (6–7 mm vs. ca. 3 mm long). Dyckia walteriana has similarities with D. selloa , but can be distinguished by its upper peduncle bracts being shorter than the internodes (vs. much exceeding the internodes), the densely castaneous lanate inflorescence except for the petals (vs. glabrous), being only once-branched (vs. to 3- branched), and by the perfect flowers (vs. unisexual flowers on different plants).

Figures

FIGURE 14. A–G. Dyckia secundifolia (Kranz 129) A. Leaf blade. B. Floral bract. C. Floral bract and Flower. D. Sepal. E. Petal. F. Stamens. G. Pistil. H–P. Dyckia walteriana (Kranz 13). H. Basal portion of the leaf. I. Primary bract. J. Floral bract. K. Flower. L. Sepal. M. Petal. N. Stamens. O. Anther. P. Pistil. Scale bars = 1 cm.

FIGURE 15. A–F. Dyckia walteriana (Kranz 13). A. General view of the habitat. B. Elongated old stems produced by long term vegetative propagation. C. Leaf rosettes. D. Habit of flowering specimen. E. Flowers. F. Details of the flowers. G. Association of D. walteriana with Aechmea sp. at the type locality. H. Cattle ranching is one of the threats that is contributing to the fast decline of the known population of D. walteriana.