Nidularium fulgens Lem.
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- Distribution & Habitat
According to Lemaire (1854), M. Libon collected this species in 1849 in Petropolis, Rio de Janeiro, from the trunks of large trees. Nidularium fulgens is endemic to Rio de Janeiro state and its populations are most heavily concentrated in the Serra dos Orgaos near Petropolis and Teresopolis. However, it may range farther north to the forests around Sao Fidelis near the Santa Maria Madalena border.
Nidularium fulgens grows preferentially as an epiphyte in slope forests at altitudes that vary from 100 to 1 ,500 m. The plants are usually found growing alone on tree trunks and branches. Although it is more common in the lower layer of the forest, it has also been observed in the canopy, which is unusual for this genus. Nidularium fulgens has been mercilessly harvested for over 50 years from the mountains of Petropolis, together with Vriesea psittacina, V. inflata and Neoregelia carolinae, to be sold by the roadside (Leme & Marigo, 1993). In 1999, the Rio de Janeiro State Forest Institute practically eliminated this illegal activity and apprehended dozens of plants that were returned to the Wild.
The Serra dos Orgaos National Park, in the municipalities of Petropolis and Teresopolis, is the most important conservation unit providing protection for this species.
Rio de Janeiro state and its populations are most heavily concentrated in the Serra dos Orgaos near Petropolis and Teresopolis. —See Leme 2000a