For the past 30 years, the area around Pico de Macae has suffered intensely from man's influence and these activities are on the rise today. The slope forests, and even the cloud forests where V. fradense is found, are giving way to pasture and crop lands. The destruction of this vegetation also affects the high altitude grasslands since these forests serve as a buffer zone (see Martinelli et al., 1989). An entire relict flora with many endemic species is therefore endangered.
Article by Martinelli and Leme in JBS 1986 p18-20
The Serra do Mar is a range of mountains that runs along the Atlantic coast from the State of Rio Grande do Sul to the northern part of the State of Rio de Janeiro. Its length is broken into several smaller mountains that take different local names like Bocaina, Orgaos, and Macae. The typical vegetation of these mountainsides is the damp Atlantic forest, and its exuberance has always appealed to biologists, naturalists, and to the lovers of nature in general.
In view of the combination of several favorable biological factors, the family Bromeliaceae is one of the most represented in such ecosystems. The great diversity of species and varieties of bromeliads found in the mountainous coast of the State of Rio de Janeiro allowed the pioneer researchers to discover countless plants previously unknown to science. One of them is the Vriesea triligulata Mez, 1894, collected in 1887 by Glaziou in an elevated part of the Serra dos Orgaos not precisely determined.
As the result of excursions begun in 1982, in the mountainous region of Macae, we have rediscovered among other species the very beautiful and rare V. triligulata . It is a medium-size plant which flowers up to 85 cm high. Its ligulate, suberect, green leaves form a narrow funnelform water reservoir at base. The scape is erect, stout, covered with erect, broadly elliptic, acute, and red bracts. The inflorescence is compound, about 25 cm long; it has about 5 spreading or suberect branches, 4-6 flowered, 5-9 cm long, elliptic or lanceolate in shape and compressed. The floral bracts are divergent, broadly ovate and acute, about 28 mm long, equalling and covering the sepals, obtusely carinate, and red. The short pedicellated flowers are divergent. The 24-mm long sepals are elliptic and obtuse. The yellow petals are ligulate, 40 mm long, shorter than the stamens, bearing 2 acute scales at the base of each one.
Part of the collected material was deposited in the Herbarium of the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden under number 210.383, collection made by C. Farney no. 58, July 30, 1982 and number 210.303, collected by G. Martinelli no.8737 and C. Farney in Sept. 16, 1982.
The .V. triligulata was so named by Mez after noticing only one ligula at the bottom of each petal instead of two, as usually happens. The famous botanist described this species as follows: " . . . petalis ligulatis, ligula singula latissima triangulari auctis,' , meaning that each petal was provided with only one ligula, very wide and triangular. Dr. L. B. Smith was unable to verify this strange detail and, consequently, states in his monograph that the morphological characteristic noted by Mez is doubtful.
Thorough studies of the newly gathered samples verified that the existence of two ligulae at the base of each petal is the usual number and not just one as Mez had reported. That Mez once had in hand a specimen bearing the abnormality is not surprising. The lack of material for comparison contributes to the fact that the discrepancy was not taken into consideration by that eminent specialist.
In its habitat, the V. triligulata was found as an epiphyte and sometimes growing on the ground in the interior of the Atlantic forest at an altitude above 1,000 meters. Its occurrence in the collecting area is relatively common. Probably this species should be more widespread geographically. We have concluded that the destruction of its former habitat has confined the species to a small area, but it is better preserved because it is hard to reach in places like the overhangs of Serra dos Orgaos-Marcae where it survives today.
Growing specimens in areas at sea level like the city of Rio de Janeiro has proved a problem making still more uncertain the survival of such a lovely and vulnerable representative of the Atlantic-mountain flora of Brazil. —SeeBromelia
