Vriesea tubipetala Leme & R.Moura, 2014

Vriesea tubipetala Leme & R.Moura View in CoL , sp. nov. ( Figs. 20 O–S View FIGURE 20 , 23 View FIGURE 23 )

This new species is closely related to Vriesea claudiana and V. marceloi , differing by the purple-wine spotted leaf blades ( vs. greenishglaucous with darker green irregular cross-veins or purple toward the apex and without spots), the longer stipes of the lateral branches ( 2.5–3 cm vs. 1–2.1 cm), the longer petals (ca. 38 mm vs. 32–35 mm) and the shape and apex of their basal appendages and stamens shorter to equaling the petals ( vs. exceeding the petals).

Type:— BRAZIL. Minas Gerais: Tiradentes, Serra de São José , way to the summit, ca. 1300 m elevation, 21º 04’ S, 44º 08’ W, 23 June 2001, B. R GoogleMaps . Silva 731 & F. Tatagiba , cult. E . Leme 5237 ( holotype RB!) GoogleMaps .

Plants rupicolous, flowering ca. 70 cm high. Leaves ca. 16 in number, thin in texture, rosulate, forming a funnelform rosette; sheaths elliptic, 11–14 × 6–9.5 cm, subdensely and minutely brown lepidote on both sides, bearing purplishwine spots near distal end, castaneous toward the base; blades linear-oblong, 16–23 × 4–5.5 cm, not narrowed at the base, apex subacute to rounded and apiculate, green and bearing subdensely arranged purplish-wine spots throughout on both sides, sparsely and inconspicuously white lepidote. Peduncle 35–37 cm long, 5–7 mm in diameter, erect, glabrous, sulcate, green; peduncle bracts the basal ones subfoliaceous, the upper ones oblong-ovate, acute to rounded and apiculate, 4–5 × 2.3 cm, erect except for the subspreading apex, almost completely hiding the peduncle, slightly exceeding the internodes, greenish with irregularly arranged purplish-wine colored spots, the apex sometimes wine colored, glabrescent. Inflorescence simple to compound, once-branched, 14–20 cm long, 9–10 cm in diameter; main axis yellowish-green, slightly angulose, glabrous, 0.3–0.4 cm in diameter, internodes ca. 2.5 cm long; primary bracts broadly ovate to suborbiculate, subacute, 30–35 × 25 mm, concave, subcoriaceous, greenish-yellow except for the pale castaneous basal-central portion, nearly erect, slightly shorter to equaling the stipes; branches to 4 in number (including the terminal one), the lateral ones 10–12 cm long, forming an angle of 20°–30° with the main axis, densely flowered, 6–8 flowered; stipes 2.5–3 × 0.5–0.6 cm, slightly complanate, green, glabrous, bearing at distal end a single sterile bract similar to the floral bracts; rachis flexuous, green, glabrous, obtusely angulose, internodes 0.5–1 × 0.4–0.5 cm; the terminal branch erect, 15–17 cm long, with 9–13 densely arranged flowers; stipe ca. 4 cm long, bearing ca. 2 sterile bracts; floral bracts suborbiculate, 23–27 × 22–24 mm, apex obtuse-emarginate, greenish-yellow except for the pale castaneous basal-central portion, adaxially inconspicuously and sparsely lepidote, abaxially glabrous, reaching 1/2 to 4/5 of the sepal length, strongly convex, divergent before anthesis to slightly secund with the flowers at anthesis, the basal ones obtusely carinate, the upper ones ecarinate. Flowers distichous, diurnal-nocturnal, opening in the afternoon around 2 pm and remaining open to 2 pm of the next day, odorless, downwardly secund at anthesis, densely arranged, ca. 4.7 cm long; pedicels obconic, green, glabrous, 8–9 mm long, ca. 7 mm in diameter at distal end; sepals oblongelliptic, apex rounded, emarginate, 26–27 × 15–16 mm, inconspicuously and sparsely white lepidote inside, glabrous outside, free, ecarinate, cymbiform, greenish-yellow, subcoriaceous except for the apical margins, thicker at the base; petals narrowly elliptic, apex narrowly rounded, emarginate, 38 × 11–12 mm, yellow, subfree, erect at anthesis and forming a tubular corolla of 6–7 mm in diameter, bearing 2 appendages at the base; appendages obovate, rounded, 5–7 × 2 mm, adnate to the petals for ca. 2 mm; stamens shorter than to equaling the petals, radially arranged at anthesis; filaments slightly complanate and not at all dilated toward the apex, yellow, subfree; anthers linear, base bilobed, apex obtuse, 6–8 mm long, dorsifixed near the base; pistil slightly shorter than the petals; stigma convolute-bladed, densely papillose, yellow, ca. 2 mm in diameter; ovules long caudate. Capsules unknown.

Distribution and habitat:— Vriesea tubipetala lives in sun-exposed areas dominated by Campos Rupestres vegetation, at the summit of Serra de São José, Tiradentes county, Minas Gerais state. Scattered individuals were observed on rock outcrops at about 1300 m elevation, drawing attention by their purplish-wine spotted leaves and the inflorescences highly elevated above the leaf-rosette.

According to the available information on V. tubipetala and using the criteria “B1a” and “B2a” adopted by IUCN (2010), this species can be considered critically endangered.

Etymology:—The name chosen for this new species is a reference to its tubular corolla, which is a important identification feature in comparison to several other Vriesea species living in similar habitat in Minas Gerais state.

Additional specimen examined ( paratype):— BRAZIL. Minas Gerais: Tiradentes, Serra de São José , 14 October 2009, R . Moura 961, R. J. V . Alves & N. G . Silva ( R!) .

Observations:— This new species closely related to V. claudiana Leme, Trindade-Lima & Ribeiro (2010c: 19) , but can be distinguished from it by the purple-wine spotted leaf blades ( vs. greenish-glaucous with darker green irregular cross-veins), primary bracts shorter to equaling the stipes ( vs. equaling to slightly exceeding the stipes), longer stipes ( 2.5–3 cm vs. 1–2 cm), longer and narrower petals (38 × 11–12 mm vs. 35 × 13–14 mm), bearing rounded basal appendages ( vs. acute, subobtuse to obtusely and irregularly bidentate), stamens shorter than the petals ( vs. exceeding the petals by a fraction of the anthers) and filaments not at all dilated toward the apex ( vs. distinctly dilated). This new species can also be compared to V. marceloi Versieux & Machado (2012: 37) , differing from it by the larger size when in bloom ( ca. 70 cm vs. 40–60 cm), leaf blades green with purplish-wine spots throughout ( vs. purple toward the apex and without spots), the usually longer peduncle ( 35–37 cm vs. 13.5–25(–39) cm), peduncle bracts exceeding the internodes ( vs. shorter), stipes of the lateral branches longer ( 2.5–3 cm vs. 1.1–2.1 cm), longer flowers (ca. 47 mm vs. 31–40 mm), longer petals (ca. 38 mm vs. ca. 32 mm) with obovate and rounded basal appendages ( vs. lanceolate, acute to acuminate) and the stamens shorter to equaling the petals ( vs. distinctly exceeding).