Aguirre-Santoro & Betancur 2021 (Article) Ronnbergia

Taxonomic novelties of Ronnbergia (Bromeliaceae: Bromelioideae) from Colombia

Author(s):—J. Aguirre-Santoro & J. Betancur

Corresponding email:—jaaguirresa@unal.edu.co

Publication:—Brittonia 20(10): 1–13 (online). (2021) — DOI

Abstract:—Three new species of Ronnbergia (Bromeliaceae: Bromelioideae) and two new records of the same genus for Colombia are described. The three new species correspond to (1) Ronnbergia igneosepala from the slopes of the Western Cordillera in Nariño (Colombia), which is unique by its orange floral bracts and sepals; (2) R. robusta from the Pacific Littoral of Colombia, which can be easily recognized by its involucrate peduncle bracts that only cover 1/3 of the inflorescence, green to dull-purple sepals and long sepal mucros; and (3) R. veitchioides, a species from the isolated mountain peak of Cerro del Torrá (Chocó) that can be identified by its serrulate, purple, reflexed floral bracts, and long sepals. We report the occurrence of R. campanulata in the department of Cauca, almost 800 km apart from the already known populations in the Cordillera del Condor of southern Ecuador. Moreover, we register R. aciculosa in Colombia and provide a short discussion on the differentiation of this species from R. tonduzii.

Keywords:—Berry-fruited bromeliads, Chocó biogeographic region, endangered species, Neotropical plants.

Published names (3):

Ronnbergia igneosepala
Ronnbergia robusta
Ronnbergia veitchioides