Encholirium pulchrum and E. diamantinum spp. nov. (Bromeliaceae) from the Espinha ç o Range, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Rafaela Campostrini Forzza , Elton M. C. Leme and Ot á vio B. C. Ribeiro

R. Campostrini Forzza (rafaela@jbrj.gov.br), Jardim Bot â nico do Rio de Janeiro, Pacheco Le ã o 915, BR-22460 - 030 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. – E. M. C. Leme, Herbarium Bradeanum, BR-20031-971 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil. – O. B. C. Ribeiro, Unidade de Pesquisa e Conserva ç ã o de Bromeliaceae, Univ. Federal de Vi ç osa, BR-36570 -000 Vi ç osa, MG, Brasil.

Two new species of Encholirium from the Espinha ç o range, restricted to the Diamantina plateau of Minas Gerais state, Encholirium pulchrum Forzza, Leme & O. B. C. Ribeiro and Encholirium diamantinum Forzza, are described and illustrated, and their morphological characters are discussed and compared to those of close relatives.

Encholirium Mart. ex Schult. & Schult. f. is endemic to Brazil. Th e genus belongs to Bromeliaceae subfamily Pitcairnioideae (sensu Givnish et al. 2007) together with Abromeitiella Mez, Dyckia Schult. & Schult. f., Deuterocohnia Mez, Fosterella L. B. Sm. and Pitcairnia L ’ H é r. According to Smith and Read (1989), Encholirium has 31 species, but only 23 were accepted by Forzza (2005) in her revision. Recently, three new species have been described, all from Minas Gerais state: E. ascendens Leme, from the calcareous outcrops in the north (Leme 2010), and E. agavoides Forzza & Zappi and E. ctenophyllum Forzza & Zappi from the Espinha ç o range (Forzza and Zappi 2011). Of the 28 Encholirium species now recog-nized, 13 are restricted to the Espinha ç o range in Minas Gerais, with the highest species diversity on the Diamantina plateau and in the region of Serra do Cip ó , including the new taxa described below.

Encholirium pulchrum Forzza, Leme & O. B. C. Ribeiro sp. nov. (Fig. 1)

Ab E. pedicellatum (Mez) Rauh, cui affi nis, foliis plus numerosis, laminis foliorum longioribus glabris vel subglabris, bracteis scaporum infernis internodia superantibus diff ert. A E. disjuncto Forzza rhizomatibus brevioribus et haud prostratis, foliis latioribus marginibus spinis longioribus, infl o-rescentia longiora nec non sepalis petalisque brevioribus diff ert.

Type : Brazil. Minas Gerais . Morro do Pilar, km 29 da estrada para Itamb é do Mato Dentro, 19 ° 21′59 ″ S, 43 ° 19 ′ 56″ W, 836 m a.s.l., 14 Nov 2005, fl . cult. Dec 2008, O. Ribeiro and C. C. Paula 48 (holotype: RB).

Plants 70 – 78 cm tall, saxicolous, propagating by short rhi-zomes. Rosettes ca 40 cm in diameter. Leaves spreading to

slightly refl exed; sheaths unknown; blades 20.0 – 25.0 � 2.5 cm, narrowly triangular to lanceolate, green to reddish, glabrous and lustrous abaxially, adaxially glabrous except for the margins which are inconspicuously white-lepitote, margins spinose; spines 3 – 8 mm long, narrowly triangular, spreading to retrorse-uncinate. Scape 30 – 35 cm long, ter-minal, green, erect, glabrous; lower scape bracts similar to the leaves, equaling to exceeding the internodes, 8 – 10 cmlong, erect; the upper scape bracts shorter than the inter-nodes, 3.0 – 4.5 cm long, green at the base and stramineous at the apex or completely stramineous, erect, lanceolate, apex acute to attenuate, glabrous, entire, clasping the scape. Infl orescence 37 – 45 cm long, racemose, simple, laxly fl ow-ered, erect; rachis, green, glabrous; fl oral bracts shorter than the pedicels, 8 – 22 � 1 – 6 mm, completely stramineous, glabrous, lanceolate to ovate or fi liform, with apex acute to attenuate and margin entire to slightly serrulate. Flowers glabrous, polystichously arranged, suberect to spreading, completely exposing the rachis. Pedicels 25 – 57 mm long, green. Sepals 6 – 10 � 4 – 6 mm, green, imbricate, ovate to broadly oblong-elliptic, symmetrical, with rounded or cre-nate apex and margins entire or remotely and irregularly denticulate near the apex. Petals 9.5 – 12.0 � 8.0 – 10.0 mm, green, imbricate, oblong to orbicular, symmetrical, with rounded to obtuse-emarginate apex and entire margins; stamens 10 – 11 mm long, included. Filaments free, green; anthers oblong, ca 1.5 mm long. Ovary 7 – 8 mm long, green; style 2 – 4 mm long, green, included; stigma conduplicate-spiral, green. Capsules unknown.

Habitat, distribution and conservation status Encholirium pulchrum is a typical rupicolous species, grow-ing on usually plain quartizitic rock oucrops. Th e popula-tion is formed by isolated individuals sparsely distributed,

Nordic Journal of Botany 30: 153–158, 2012 doi: 10.1111/j.1756-1051.2011.01472.x,

© 2012 Th e Authors. Nordic Journal of Botany © 2012 Nordic Society Oikos Subject Editor: Bertil Ståhl. Accepted 3 November 2011

Date of publication: 20 April 2012

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Figure 1. Encholirium pulchrum Forzza, Leme & O. B. C. Ribeiro sp. nov. (A) habit, (B) leaf, (C) scape and infl orescence, (D) fl oral bract, (E) fl ower, (F) sepal, (G) petal and stamen, (H) stamen and gynoecium (Ribeiro 48).

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Figure 2. Encholirium diamantinum Forzza sp. nov. (A) habit, (B) leaf, (C) scape and infl orescence, (D) fertile portion of infl orescence, (E) fl oral bract, (F) fl ower, (G) sepal, (H) petal, (I) stamen, (J) gynoecium (Forzza 4858).

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Figure 3. (A) – (C) Encholirium pulchrum sp. nov. (A) plant in fl ower, (B) rosette, (C) fl ower. (D) – (E) E. pedicellatum. (D) plant in fl ower, (E) rosette. (F) – (H) E. diamantinum sp. nov. (F) rosette, (G) plant in fl ower, (H) fl ower, (I) – (J) E. refl exum . (I) habitat, (J) fl ower. Photos by: E. Leme (A) – (C), M. Saavedra (F) – (H), L. Menini Neto (E), R. C. Forzza (D), (I) – (J).

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acute apex and entire margins. Petals 11 – 13 � 3 – 4 mm, green, not imbricate, narrowly elliptic, symmetrical, with rounded apex and entire margins. Stamens 14 – 16 mm long, exserted; fi laments free, green; anthers oblong, 1.0 – 1.5 mm long. Ovary 5 – 8 mm long, green; style 3 – 5 mm long, green, exserted; stigma conduplicate-spiral, green. Capsule 1.0 – 1.3 mm long, globose, chestnut brown; seeds ca 3 mm long, fl attened, broadly falcate, brown, surrounded by a continuous wing.

Habitat, distribution and conservation status Encholirium diamantinum grows on rock outcrops as isolated individuals or in small groups of plants with four to six rosettes (Fig. 3F , G). Currently, only two distinct populations separated by about 14 km on the Diamantina plateau are known. Th is new species has a restricted occur-rence range ( � 10 km 2 ) consisting of two distinct localities within a single municipality (i.e. Diamantina). It is impor-tant to stress that one of the populations is located along the road from Milho Verde to Diamantina, which increases its risk of extinction. Encholirium diamantinum is consid-ered a ‘ Vulnerable ’ (VU) species (D2, IUCN 2001).

Similar species Th e habit of E. diamantinum is very similar to its close relative E. refl exum (Fig. 3F, I). Th is similarity lead to the inclusion of fruiting stage specimens of E. diamantinum as a paratype of E. refl exum by Forzza and Wanderley (2001). Despite their vegetative resemblance these species pres-ent very distinct fl oral characteristics (Fig. 3H –J ), mainly concerning the shape of the sepals and petals, as well as the arrangement of the stamens.

Additional specimens examined (paratypes) Brazil. Minas Gerais: Diamantina, estrada Diamantina – Milho Verde, Dec 1997, fr., R. C. Forzza et al. 538 (MO, SPF); 15 km southeast of de Diamantina, caminho a Milho Verde, ca 18 ° 20 ′ S, 43 ° 33′ W, Feb 1991, fr., M. M. Arbo et al. 5145 (CTES, SPF, US); estrada S ã o Gon ç alo do Rio das Pedras – Diamantina, 14 km da ponte sobre o rio Jequitinhonha em dire ç ã o a Diamantina. Curta estrada vicinal em campo limpo arenoso at é encosta rochosa com brejo, 18 ° 21 ′ 12 ″ S, 43 ° 32 ′ 36 ″ W, 1166 m a.s.l., Nov 2007, fr., R. C. Forzza et al. 4865 (RB).

Acknowledgements – Th e authors thank Gregory K. Brown for reading the manuscript and giving valuable advice; Paulo Ormindo for providing the white line drawings; Renato de Mello-Silva, Mariana Saavedra and Raquel F. Monteiro for their support during fi eldwork, and the Brazilian Research Council (CNPq) for the grant (Bolsa de Produtividade) to the fi rst author.

References

Forzza, R. C. 2001. Filogenia da tribo Puyeae Wittm. e revis ã o taxon ô mica do g ê nero Encholirium Mart. ex Schult. & Schult. f. (Pitcairnioideae – Bromeliaceae). – PhD thesis, Univ. de S ã o Paulo.

Forzza, R. C. 2005. Revis ã o taxon ô mica de Encholirium Mart. ex Schult. & Schult. f. (Pitcairnioideae – Bromeliaceae). – Bol. Bot. Univ. S ã o Paulo 23: 1 – 49.

as well as small clumps bearing about 3 rosettes per clump, and shares this habitat with other Bromeliaceae, like Dyckia sp . and Vriesea oligantha Mez. Th is new species has a restricted range ( � 10 km 2 ) and is known from only one locality, within a single municipality. Th e locality is divided by a road, which, together with local cattle grazing activities, represents a serious risk to the population of E. pulchrum . It is considered ‘ Vulnerable ’ (VU) (D2, IUCN 2001).

Similar species Encholirium pulchrum is morphologically similar to E. pedicellatum , which also grows on the Diamantina plateau. However, E. pulchrum diff ers from this close rela-tive by its more numerous leaves, longer leaf blades which are glabrous or nearly so, and by having lower scape bracts that are longer than the internodes (Fig. 3A – E). Encholirium pulchrum diff ers from E. disjunctum by its shorter rhizomes which are not prostrate, broader leaf blades with longerspines, longer infl orescence, and by shorter sepals and petals.

Th is new taxon can be placed in the informal complex of species recognized by Rauh (1987) as ‘ longipedicellatum ’ , which is characterized by fl owers with long pedicels (except for E. bifl orum (Mez) Forzza and E. refl exum Forzza & Wand.), imbricate petals and included stamens (Fig. 3C). However, a preliminary phylogenetic analysis using morpho-logical characters (Forzza 2001) do not support the proposed species complex as monophyletic.

Encholirium diamantinum Forzza sp. nov. (Fig. 2)

A E. refl exum Forzza & Wand. petalis et sepalis lanceolatis haud imbricatis et staminibus exsertis diff ert.

Type : Brazil. Minas Gerais: Serro, estrada S ã o Gon ç alo do Rio das Pedras – Diamantina, 3 km de S ã o Gon ç alo, ao lado da ponte sobre o rio Jequitinhonha. Afl oramentos rochosos, 816 m a.s.l., 18 ° 24′ 23″ S, 43 ° 30 ′ 51″ W, 16 Nov 2007, fl ., R. C. Forzza et al. 4858 (holotype: RB, isotypes: K, MBM, SPF, NY).

Plants 0.8 – 1.3 m tall, saxicolous, propagating by short rhizomes. Rosettes 15 – 30 cm in diameter. Leaves refl exed; sheaths 2.5 – 3.2 � 3.8 – 5.2 cm, with margins entire; blades 13.0 – 24.0 � 1.5 – 2.7 cm, lanceolate, greyish, densely lepi-dote, with spinulose margins; spines 5 – 8 mm long, trian-gular, spreading or retrorse. Scape 45 – 62 cm long, terminal, green, erect, glabrous; lower scape bracts similar to the leaves, equaling to exceeding the internodes, 6 – 10 cm long, erect; the upper scape bracts shorter than the internodes, 1.7 – 2.6 cm long, stramineous, erect, lanceolate, apex acute to attenuate, glabrous, entire, clasping the scape. Infl ores-cence 28 – 55 cm long, racemose, simple, lax; rachis green, glabrous; fl oral bracts exceeding the pedicels, 11 – 25 � 4 – 7 mm, green at the base and stramineous at the apex or completely stramineous, glabrous, lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, with apex acute to attenuate and margins entire. Flowers glabrous, polystichously arranged, suberect, com-pletely exposing the rachis. Pedicels 8 – 10 mm long, green. Sepals 8 – 10 � 5 – 6 mm, green at the base and castaneous at the apex, not imbricate, lanceolate, symmetrical, with

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IUCN 2001. IUCN red list categories and criteria, ver. 3.1. – IUCN Species Survival Commission.

Leme, E. M. C. 2010. Miscellaneous new species of Brazilian Bromeliaceae. – Selbyana 30: 129 – 146.

Rauh, W. 1987. Bromelienstudien XIX. – Trop. Subtrop. Pfl anzen-welt 60: 907–1004.

Smith, L. B. and Read, R. W. 1989. Flora neotropica monograph 14, suppl. Encholirium. – Bradea 5: 291–312.

Forzza, R. C. and Wanderley, M. G. L. 2001. A new species of Encholirium (Bromeliaceae) from Minas Gerais, Brazil. – Novon 11: 40 – 42.

Forzza, R. C. and Zappi, D. 2011. Side by side: two remarkable new species of Encholirium Mart. ex Schult. & Schult. f. (Bromeliaceae) found in the Cadeia do Espinha ç o, Minas Gerais, Brazil. – Kew Bull. 66: 281–287.

Givnish, T. J. et al. 2007. Phylogeny, adaptive radiation and historical biogeography of Bromeliaceae inferred from ndhF sequence data. – In: Columbus, T. J. et al. (eds), Monocots:

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