genus Orthophytum Beer
Literature references:
Comments:
- Sitientibus Serie Ciencias Biologicas 6 (1): 03-08. 2006.
NOTAS TAXONOMICAS E UMA NOVA ESPECIE DO GENERO ORTHOPHYTUM BEER (BROMELIACEAE) DA CHAPADA DIAMANTINA, BAHIA, BRASIL
By MARIA DAS GRACAS LAPA WANDERLEY & ABEL AUGUSTO CONCEICAO (Taxonomic notes and a new species of the genus Orthophytum Beer (Bromeliacese) from Chapada Diamantina, Bahia, Brazil) - A new species of Orthophytum from "Parque Municipal Sempre-viva" (Mucuge, Chapada Diamantina, Bahia, Brazil) is described and illustrated and its taxonomic relationship with O. humile L.B. Sm. and O. navioides (L.B. Sm.) L.B. Sm. are discussed. In addition, new records and more complete description of O. navioides (L.B. Sm.) L.B. Sm. are provided. A key to scapeless species of Orthophytum occurring in the Chapada Diamantina is also included.
INTRODUCTION
The genus Orthophytum Beer is included in the subfamily Bromelioideae (Bromeliaceae), being endemic of the areas Northeast and Southeast of Brazil, with center of diversity along the Cadeia do Espinhaco, in the States of Bahia and Minas Gerais (WANDERLEY, 1990; LEME, 2004; VERSIEUX, 2005).
The representatives of the genus are rupicolous or terricolous, frequently inhabiting open areas subject to strong light, in dry soils, on rocky areas in rupestral fields of the Cadeia do Espinhaco, in the escarpments of the Atlantic Forest or in the domains of the Northeastern savanna (Smith & Downs, 1979).
Flora Neotropica (Smith & Downs, 1979) mentioned 17 species for Orthophytum, of which 4 have sessile inflorescences: O. amoenum (Ule) L.B. Sm., O. humile L.B. Sm., O. navioides (L.B. Sm.) L.B. Sm. and O. vagans M.B. Foster. After that publication, several taxa were described, and the genus now constitutes 35 species and seven varieties (Luther, 2004).
Two groups of Orthophytum are clearly distinct, one with conspicuous scape and the other with no scape. However, in spite of being an evident characteristic for recognition of the species, in O. saxicola (Ule) L.B. Sm., the scape is either short or absent, showing the variability of this characteristic (Smith & Downs, 1979). Most of the taxa recently described , were included in the group of species with a scape, treated in a nominated informal group of " compound with a scaped inflorescence " (Leme, 2004, 2004a).
For the group of species of Orthophytum with sessile inflorescence coming from Chapada Diamantina five taxa have been added recently. Other than O. amoenum (Ule) L.B. Sm. and O.navioides (L.B. Sm.) L.B. Sm., already referred to in Smith & Downs (1979), the group now has the following taxa: O.albopictum Philcox, O. burle-marxii L.B. Sm. & R. W. Read, O. hatschbachii Leme and O. heleniceae Leme. These species were included by Leme (2004, 2004a) in the " compound with sessile inflorescences-subcomplex amoenum ".
Inside the group of species of Orthophytum with sessile inflorescence, O. navioides stands out and was described under Cryptanthopsis (SMITH, 1939), transferred later to Orthophytum by the same author (Smith, 1955). It is an endemic species of Chapada Diamantina, characteristic for the delicate habitat, and only known from the type collection and cultivated material.
The taxonomic problems in relation to the limitations of the genus Orthophytum has been suggested by various authors (Wanderley, 1999; Leme, 2004, 2004a; VERSIEUX, 2005), indicating the need of a deeper study of the genus and the verification of the revalidity of Sincoraea, a genus that contained a single species (Sincoraea amoena Ule), now included in Orthophytum, in line with Smith (1955), who proposed the combination Orthophytum amoenum (Ule) L.B. Sm.
The present work presents the description and illustrations of the new species, Orthophytum mucugense Wand. & Conceição, coming from the Parque Municipal Sempre-viva, in the municipal district of Mucuge, and expands the identity of O. navioides. In addition an identification key for the taxa with sessile inflorescences of that genus, occurring in Chapada Diamantina.
Key
1. Plants small, stoloniferous. Leaves with narrow blades, up to 4mm wide, edges
spinulose.
2. Stolons short, ca. 3cm long. Leaves coriaceous, 1,5-5,5cm long, blades triangular-
lanceolate to linear-lanceolate with micronulate tip. Leaves, bracts and sepals with
glandular trichomes. Inflorescence predominantly witout branches... 0. mucugense
2'.Stolons long, ca. 6,5cm long. Leaves subcoriaceous, 5,5-25cm long, blades linear, tip
long attenuate. Leaves, bracts and sepals without glandular trichomes Inflorescence
branched in the outer part, not branched in the central part........ 0. navioides
1'. Plants large (rarely small except in caes of O. amoenum), with rhizomes. Leaves with
wide blades, over 8mm wide, but generally over1 cm wide, edges spinescent or
conspicuously serrate.
3. Leaves glabrous or glabrescent.
4. Leaves generally spreading, blades linear, long caudate, edges densely serrate. Centre rosette leaves with two rings circling the inflorescence, the central one green-yellow
and the outer intense red, strongly contrasting with the green of the rest of the
rosette Primary and floral bracts with glandular trichomes 0. heleniceae
4'.Leaves recurved, blades triangular to linear-triangular, lanceolate or long caudate,
edges laxly spinescent. Rosette leaves without a central ring at anthesis. Primary and
floral bracts without glandular trichomes.
5. Leaves with blades triangular-lanceolate. 0. amoenum
5'.Leaves with blades linear-triangular, long caudate. 0. hatschbachii
3'. Leaves conspicuously grey, lepidote.
6. Centre of rosette with white lepidote circle. Sepals green 0. albopictum
6'. Centre of rosette intense red (but is distinct from O. burle-marxii var. seabra Rauh).
Sepals red 0. burle-marxii
- Studies on Orthophytum, an Endemic Genus of Brazil - Part I by Elton M. C. Leme in J. Brom. Soc. 54(1): 36-7. 2004
Introduction
The species of Orthophytum are exclusively terrestrial and saxicolous, living mostly in sun exposed areas on rocky escarpments in the region of the Atlantic Forest or more often in the grasslands on rocky soils, on quartzite and sandstone outcrops that form the usually high-altitude landscape of the Serra do Espinhaco range, standing out from the savannas domain.
Taxonomic knowledge of Orthophytum is rudimentary. There are basic questions to be answered on the identity of some important historical species, as well as which morphological characteristics should be used for delimitation of the taxa. However, on the basis of the current knowledge on the genus, as well as field observations, it is possible to begin to organize complexes and subcomplexes using some outstanding features, as presented below.
1. Complex with sessile inflorescence
a. "Subcomplex amoenum" - plants stemless, inner leaves and primary bracts becoming bright colored at anthesis in contrast with the outer leaves, petals mostly white or pale colored. (6 species).
b. "Subcomplex supthutii" - plant stemless, color of the inner and outer leaves similar at anthesis, petals bright yellow. (1 species).
c. "Subcomplex vagans" - plant long-caulescent, petals green except for the apical white margins, forming a somewhat clavate corolla, apex obtuse-cucullate. (1 taxon).
2. Complex with scapose inflorescence
a. "Subcomplex disjunctum" - leaves forming a distinct rosette before and at anthesis, petals forming a tubular corolla toward base, except for the suberect apex, apex obtuse to acuminate, not cucullate. (26 taxa).
b. "Subcomplex mello-barretoi" - leaves forming a distinct rosette before and at anthesis, petals forming a clavate corolla, apex obtuse-cucullate. (2 taxa).
c. "Subcomplex leprosum" - leaves not forming any rosette neither before anthesis nor during it, and not distinguishable from the scape bracts, or leaves absent even before anthesis. (4 taxa).
There are other features which can possibly be used in dividing groups of Orthophytum taxa more naturally. A good example is the vegetative propagation mechanisms already described. Some species propagate by means of short basal shoots only (e.g., O. burle-marxii). Another group of species, besides the short basal shoots, concommitantly develops shoots from the inflorescence base, on the apex of the lateral strobilate fascicles, or a single terminal shoot at the inflorescence apex (e.g., O. disjunctum, O. magalhaesii, O. sucrez), as in some Ananas species. This may suggest an adaptation to growing conditions of nearly bare rocky surfaces. Finally, some species propagate by means of long, sometimes slender basal rhizomes, and in this case it apparently is not occurring with the concommitant production of shoots from the inflorescence (e.g., O. compactum, O. glabrum).
This is the first paper of a study on Orthophytum species with the intent of analyzing some problematic taxa and describing new ones.
34 species and 7 varieties (not including the 2 species described). It is endemic to Brazil and live ..
Ortophytum is a medium-sized genus of the subfamily Bromelioideae comprised of 34 species and 7 varieties (not including the 2 species described). It is endemic to Brazil and lives in rocky habitats that stretch from the central-north region of Espirito Santo state, southeastern Brazil (the southernmost limit, with 6 species) to the northeastern states of Alagoas, Pernambuco and Paraiba (the northernmost limit, with 2 species).The center of diversity of the genus occurs in the northeastern-southeastern states of Bahia (16 species) and Minas Gerais (12 species) —See Smith & Downs 1979
