Alcantarea hatschbachii (L.B.Sm. & R.W.Read) Leme[as Alcantarea hatschbachii (L. B. Smith & Read) Leme]

Diagnose: —Bracteis floriferis late ovatis, 30-40 x 27 mm, ecarinatis vel apicem versus obtuse carinatis; floribus ca. 75 mm longis, flavo-virescentibus (Hatschbach !); sepalis oblongo-ellipticis, obtusis, 25-30 x 10-13 mm; petalis linearibus, apice anguste obtusis, 65 x 7 mm, nudis sed prope basin tenue bicallosis; filamentis liberis; antheris linearibus, ca. 9 mm longis, utrimque obtusis; capsulis immaturis, longe attenuatis.

Observations: —Finally, the third species in this group was discovered in a study of the bromeliads at the Municipal Botanical Museum herbarium (MBM) in Curitiba, where the isotype of Vriesea hatschbachii L. B. Smith & R. W. Read is deposited. This species was described in 1975 based on a specimen with incomplete flowers, collected near Gouveia, Minas Gerais.

Because details of the petals were not known, V. hatschbachii was not immediately related to the other species of Alcantarea. Years later, however, one of the plant's collectors, Gert Hatschbach, returned to the original site and obtained a specimen with complete flowers. The petals of this species are typical of the genus Alcantarea, and therefore, a new combination and emendation is proposed here:




A distinguishing trait of A. hatschbachii is the absence of appendages on the petals; this characteristic had not yet been reported for this group, as was observed elsewhere (Leme & Mango, 1993 ). This alone does not invalidate the incorporation of this species In the genus Alcantarea, which has well-deflned, easily recognizable traits (see article by J. R Grant in this issue). Because of its late ontological development, the presence or absence of appendages on the petals is a much more useful trait for defining infraspecific taxons than at the generic level (Brown & Terry, 1992). However, this characteristic, plus the restricted distribution of these species (paleoendemism) in ancient ecosystems (grasslands of high altitudes and on rocky outcrops), the rudimentary leaf rosettes and simple inflorescences place this species and the two closely related species in an ancestral position within the group. A. duarteana seems to link these species with the giant alcantareas. In fact, the genus has a number of interesting primitive characteristics such as apparent diurnal anthesis, strongly perfumed flowers (e.g., A. odorata) and seeds that, although plumose, are clearly heavier and less able to fly than those of other tillandsioids. All of these species are rupicolous or saxicolous, and live on rocky outcrops on the sandy coastal plains, Atlantic forest, cerrado or caatinga. They are vestiges of past geological and climatic conditions.

Edited from : Bromelia. (protologue) .