Aechmea lingulatoides Leme & H.Luther[as Aechmea lingulatoides Leme and H. Luther]

Diagnose: —A A lingulata (Linnaeus) Baker, cui affinis, planta longe stolonifera, foliis barbare spinosis, ramis conferte floridis, floribus plus numeroris, odoratis, petalis solum callosis differt

Observations: —The name of this new species indicates its very close resemblance to A. lingulata, and justifies its frequent misidentification as that widespread and variable species. A good example is the photo provided by Leme and Marigo (1993) on page 116 of A. lingulatoides (as A. lingulata), taken in the region of Milagres, Bahia, which can be compared with the illustration on page 35 of a typical A. lingulata.
Aechmea lingulata is a common species in the dry, shrubby caatinga vegetation of Bahia, or sometimes grows in grasslands on rocky soils found in the same state, often living exposed to intense sunlight when its leaves turn beautifully golden-yellow. It differs from A. lingulata by its propagation by means of long stout stolons, stiffer leaf blades, the longer spines on the leaf margins, the branches more densely flowered and with a higher number of slightly smaller flowers, and by the naked petals. This new species appears to be quite variable in size as indicated by the large specimen collected by A. Amorim et al.1816, at least when compared to plants that flowered in cultivation

Edited from : Leme & Luther 1999. (protologue) Miscellaneous new species of Brazilian Bromeliaceae (II) .