DISTRIBUTION & HABITAT
This species was originally collected in a shady restinga habitat in Maua at the back of Guanabara Bay, near the city of ¬Rio de Janeiro. That it occurs more commonly in restinga vegetation has been confirmed by several collections. Nidularium rosulatum is found mainly in arboreal restinga near sea level. It is endemic to Rio de Janeiro state from Casimiro de Abreu to Saquarema. It grows in large population groups on litter accumulated on the forest floor. The populations form a tather sparse, discontinuous plant cover.
In the past 20 years, N. rosulatum populations that once grew in the area between Cabo Frio and Casimiro de Abreu municipalities were practically extinguished, together with the restinga vegetation, due to the many summer homes that were built in the area. Last January, attempts to photograph what remains of this species in this area were not successful. In the past, other species of endemic bromeliads such as Neoregelia sapiatibensis and Vriesea pauperrima also grew in the area.
Nidularium rosulatum flowers from May to July, in contrast to most of its congeners. Apparently only one clone exists in cultivation and this is not enough to guarantee its preservation ex situ. —SeeLeme 2000a
