Viridantha minuscula Hern.-Cárdenas, Espejo & López-Ferr.[as Viridantha minuscula ]

Diagnose: —The new species is similar to Viridantha lepidosepala but differs in the size of the leaf blades (4–5 × 0.3–0.4 vs. 7–12 × 0.5–0.8 cm), in the characteristics of the peduncle (conspicuous vs. inconspicuous, 1–1.5 vs. 3–4 mm diameter), in the length of the peduncle bracts (shorter than the inflorescence vs. longer than the inflorescence), and in the length of the petals (2.5–2.8 vs. 1.5–2.5 cm).

Observations: —The new species is characterized by the small size of the plants (6–8 × 7–8 cm), the clumps of many rosettes, the size of the leaf sheath (8–10 × 8–10 mm) and the leaf blade (40–50 × 3–4 mm), the size of the peduncle (10–20 × 1–1.5 mm), the size of the spike (25–30 × 8–10 mm), the length of the floral bract (1.5–2 cm), and the length of the petals (2.5–2.8 cm). Viridantha minuscula shares some similarities with V. tortilis including the shortly caulescent and irregular rosettes and the leaf blade orientation (divaricate to ascending). However, V. minuscula differs from V. tortilis in the size of the rosettes (6–8 ×7–8 vs. 15–23 ×15–20 cm), in the size of the leaf sheaths (0.8–1 × 0.8–1 vs. 1.5–2.5 × 1–1.5 cm), in the length of the leaf blades (4–5 vs. 10–18 cm), in the length of the peduncle (1–2 vs. 6–17 cm), and in the size of the spikes (2.5–3 × 0.8–1 vs. 3–4 × 1–1.5 cm), see also Table 1 and Figure 3

Edited from : Hernandez et al. 2023c. (protologue) Viridantha minuscula (Tillandsioideae; Bromeliaceae), a new species from Guanajuato, Mexico .