Vriesea minarum L.B.Sm.
Taxonomic Change:
Literature references:
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Comments:
- Vriesea citrina also grows in the "campos rupestres" of Minas Gerais and is endemic to the Pico da Piedade, near Belo Horizonte, at around 1,500 m altitude. J. B. Baker originally described the species in the genus Tillandsia, indicating Edouard Morren as the author of the name "Vriesea citrina " which was unpublished at the time. At the same time, he invalidated the combination by placing the species in synonymy. This combination was only revalidated in 1971 by the late Lyman B. Smith, who also correctly considered his species, V. minarum, from the same location, as a synonym. Some years before, Smith (1955, 1966) had treated T. citrina as a synonym of V. rodigasiana, perhaps based on Baker's (1889) statement that the species "may be a montane variety of T. tweedieana", today thought to be a synonym of V. rodigasiana.
In the protologue of T. citrina, Baker cited two different specimens, one collected by Warming 2176, and the other collected by Glaziou 16466. He did not specify which would be the holotype. Smith ( 1971) selected the first sheet, Warming's specimen 2176, as the type, correctly interpreting information available in the protologue. That designation is more in step with the concept of Art. 9.2 of the Tokyo Code, and should be considered here a lectotype.
The lectotype of V. citrina (Warming 2176), deposited in the Copenhagen Botanical Museum, consists of a leaf blade and a simple inflorescence. The corolla is only partially preserved and Baker (1889) described the petals as oblong and the "stamens much longer than the petals". The holotype of V. minarum, on the other hand, is made up of two herbarium sheets with specimens in the post-flowering stage: the first sheet contains a complete specimen with a simple inflorescence; the second sheet has two branched inflorescences. For this reason, Smith (1943), when describing V. minarum, stated that lacking precise information on petals and stamens it was impossible to place the species in a section, whether Vriesea (Euvriesea) or Xiphion. Even so, because of the general morphology of the specimen, he associated his species with V. regnellii (Xiphion) and its relatives.
Scrutiny of a specimen from the Serra da Piedade that flowered in cultivation places the species in section Vriesea, based on traits such as flowers that bloom diurnally (probably bird pollinated) and are odorless, with a tubular corolla, petals narrowly ovate and proportionately narrowed. These characteristics remove V. citrina from close proximity to V. atropurpurea and place it nearer to V. stricta morphologically. As relation to the latter, V. citrina is distinguished by its inflorescence sometimes simple, flowers ( at least those of the terminal spike or when the inflorescence is simple) divergent at anthesis (not secund), floral bracts ecarinate, obtuse, petals narrowly ovate (not sublinear) and slightly broader.
General notes
Vriesea atropurpurea is a sun -loving species from the Serra do Cipo, Minas Gerais state. It grows in the herbaceous vegetation of the "campos rupestres", at around 1,200 meters altitude. It was described in 1931 by Alvaro Astolpho da Silveira, in the second volume of Floralia Montium, but the author did not mention where the holotype was deposited, so we do not know today if there are herbarium sheets of the type material in some botanical institution or even if they ever existed.
In 1955, Lyman B. Smith listed this species as being of doubtful identity and stated that "it has not been possible to examine material of any of Silveira 's species and the description and illustration of the above are inadequate for classification". When he revised the genus Vriesea in 1966, he again did not accept the species, considering it a case of "identity not resolved". It was only in Smith & Downs' 1977 monograph that Alvaro da Silveira's work was accepted and V atropurpurea revalidated. Several taxa were placed in synonymy, including Tillandsia citrina and V minarum; the original plate of the latter was used to illustrate Silveira's species (:1233). But over the past 20 years, this synonymy has lent a whole new concept to V. atropurpurea, which conflicts with the information available in the protologue (i.e., description and plate ). This was seen recently when specimens collected at the type locality were found to fit the circumscription given by Silveira perfectly. The new material was compared to the data available on the other taxa, especially those from Serra da Piedade, the type locality of T. citrina and V. minarum, leading to the conclusion that there are two very distinct taxonomic entities involved.
see Grant, Leme, & Roguenant in J. Brom. Soc. 52(4):155. 2002
= Tillandsia citrina Baker, Handb. Bromel. 224. 1889,
= Vriesea citrina (Baker) L.B. Sm. Phytologia 21. 93. 1971, not Tillandsia citrina Burchell ex Baker, J. Bot. 17: 235. 1879 [= Canistropsis billbergioides].
Vriesea minarum L.B. Sm., the correct name for Tillandsia citrina Baker by Jason R. Grant, Elton M.C. Leme, & Albert Roguenant in J. Brom. Soc. 52(4):155. 2002
Leme (1999) updated our knowledge of the Vriesea atropurpurea complex by recognizing two species, Vriesea atropurpurea and V. citrina. However, here we correct the nomenclature to acknowledge that Vriesea minarum is the proper name for Vriesea citrina (Baker) L.B. Sm. (based on Tillandsia citrina Baker (1889), not T. citrina Burchell ex Baker (1879).
The name Tillandsia citrina Burchell ex Baker (1879: 235) was recognized in synonymy under Canistropsis billbergioides by Smith (1955: 166) and Leme (1998: 45). Yet, there is later homonym based on a different type, Tillandsia citrina Baker (1889: 224); Vriesea citrina (Baker) L.B. Sm. (1971). So, since the name Tillandsia citrina Burchell ex Baker (1879) already exists, Tillandsia citrina Baker (1889) is a homonym, and therefore illegitimate (Greuter et al., 2000: Art. 53.1, ex 3).
Smith (1943) described V. minarum, yet later placed it in synonymy under V. citrina (Smith 1971). Smith then (1977: 1232) changed his mind, and placed both V. minarum and V. citrina under synonymy of V. atropurpurea. While Smith recognized Vriesea atropurpurea, V. citrina, V. minarum as conspecific, Leme (1999) clearly distinguished Vriesea citrina (= V. minarum) from V atropurpurea taxonomically, yet did not deal with the nomenclatural issues. So here, Vriesea minarum is recognized as the next validly published name for T. citrina Baker 1889 (not T. citrina Burchell ex Baker 1879) as follow:
Vriesea minarum L.B. Sm., Arq. Bot. Estado Sao Paulo 1: 118. 1943. = Tillandsia citrina Baker, Handb. Bromel. 224. 1889, Vriesea citrina (Baker) L.B. Sm. Phytologia 21. 93. 1971, not Tillandsia citrina Burchell ex Baker, J. Bot. 17: 235. 1879 [= Canistropsis billbergioides]. —See J. Bromeliad Soc.
