The plant is known until only recently from the type locality. I am very indebted to Eddi Esteves Pereira for sending live material.
One of the most striking dyckias discovered during the last year is the new Dyckia estevesii, named in honour of Eddi Esteves Pereira (Goiania), who found it in a xerophytic bush between the town of Caiaponia and the Rio Araguaia, in the state of Goias, Brazil.
This new species differs from all of the other known dyckias by the distichous arrangement of the leaves-also in older plants-which forms a big fan. This appearance is known in the subfamily of the Pitcairnioideae only in Pitcairnia altensteinii, in which the rosette leaves are also distichous. This leaf arrangement occurs more frequently in Tillandsias of the subgenera Phytarrhiza and Diaphoranthema. Dyckia estevesii shows no relationship to other species and has a very isolated systematic position.
From Rauh in Trop Subtrop Pflanz
Dyckia estevesii is one of the most remarkable new discovery in xerophytic Dyckia in recent years. From all species known up to now, it is different by its permanent, distichous leaf arrangement. They start, initially almost upright, with intensive reddish-brown leaves forming a 2-sided fold (fig. 9, left). With very strong spines on the edges of the blades, the plant almost reminds you of Puya. The sheaths of the dying leaf remain there a long time and cover the base in an onion-like thickened shape (fig. 9, right).
Dyckia estevesii seems to be a quite isolated species, that show no relationship to any other north-east Brazilian species. The question of the origin of the distichous character cannot certainly be answered at present. To this, further examinations and notings at the location and seed raising will need to be done to determine relationships between the distichous leaved D. estevesii and the normally spirostichous leaved Dyckia.
E. Esteves Pereira sent us such a plant, that is shown in fig.12 . It already has flowered and differs - apart from the size - from the type only in it that the offsetting start with dispersed leaves, that then with increasing strength of the offsets become distichous (fig. 12). The newest leaf in fig.12, right, shows the larger rosette with a tendency towards dispersion.
That in fig. 12 shows a plant that differs from D. estevesii in that it is smaller in all parts and has a simple,( ? always), inflorescence with subsessile, orange yellow flowers.
After communication with E. Esteves Pereira, who cultivates D. estevesii together with other Dyckia, it seems that the plant shown in Fig 12 could be a hybrid. In the surroundings of D. estevesii are located numerous similar seedlings, that show all nuances from pure distichous to the spirostichous, which confirms the assumption of the hybrid nature regarding its leaf position. That in fig. 12 shows plants that should also be described, if further observations at type locality of D. estevesii are available.
Dyckia estevesii revisited by Derek Butcher July 2009
In J Brom Soc 37: 120-2. 1987 Werner Rauh introduced us to a startling distichous leaved Dyckia but in the same year he gave a more reasoned account regarding its origins in German in Trop. Subtrop. Pflanz. 60: 16-21. 1987. In the German edition he was aware that a spirostichous leaved version was in existence which produced seedlings where some became distichous as they matured. He considered that this spirostichous plant was a hybrid and yet we know that seed from a hybrid produces a hybrid not a species!
And so this fact has been left unresolved for 22 years!
2009 has been a vintage year for me regarding Dyckia because I stumbled across a ‘Dyckia blog’ compiled by a Constantino Gastaldi from Santa Catarina in Brazil.
Ever since the 1980’s I had become more and more disillusioned with the Dyckia situation. All that seemed to be happening was importation to the USA of species and unregistered hybridising being made mainly in California. I was interested in seed from species and over the years we did get some satisfaction through Heidelberg in Germany. No one in Brazil seemed interested in this complex genus where the only real record was Smith & Downs 1974.
It appears that the sale of Dyckia plants is prohibited in some States of Brazil and the few keen collectors of Dyckia in Brazil get by, by swapping, with no incentive to grow species from seed and thus reduce the problem of extractivism. Prohibition is easy and Governments can be seen as doing something for conservation. But is it the right option where prohibition can set up a black market but education on the reasons for conservation should be the way to go Extractivism only occurs when the indigenous population sees interest being paid to a particular plant, be it plant collector or scientific review. Plants are offered for sale assuming there is a market. Even when the market is non-existent the damage has been done. Extractivism to the exporter must still apply because collected plants are still getting to the USA and S E Asia. Not Australia because of our import laws, weed control ( Dyckia is considered a possible weed), gas treatment etc. I have always believed that originating from high ideals CITES is now a system for lawyers run by lawyers and in any event does not cover the fact that in plant life, nature is so wasteful in seed production. The irony of the official Brazilian attitude is that Dyckia occur in rupestral fields and water sheds where they are in direct competition with ‘farming’. Farming is on the increase because of increase in human population! And human population and employment increases where big farming projects are implemented. As Oscar Ribeiro points out in http://fcbs.org under ‘Conservation’, this is an area neglected by Brazilian authorities
Such are the problems faced but we can be assured that because of a keen but small group of specialised plant lovers in Brazil that Dyckia will not go completely down the gurgler.
Species plants are being grown from seed and D. estevesii is but one.
To my mind, the published form of D. estevesii can be likened to the monstrose crested forms of cactus where the meristem only divides distichously. I also have a feeling that the term triploid may well be applied. If this is the case then it may be a blessing in disguise because it may be the reason why hybridists in the USA have been unable to weaken its unique qualities by hybridising with it. So far, the Brazilians feel that the only seed they can get with man’s intervention is from the spirostichous form. Experiments are continuing especially in ascertaining some sort of ratio of seedlings that turn out to be either spirostichous or distichous leaved.
In the meantime I leave it to some Brazilian taxonomist to correct the present anomaly regarding the true identity of D. estevesii. —SeeJ. Bromeliad Soc.
