DISCUSSION
Although N. alvimii was collected, raised and sent for classification by the well-known ornamental plant merchant from Santa Catarina, Alvim Seidel, he himself was not able to locate other plants of this interesting species in his collection. And so, since nothing we have seen in the wild resembles this species, we have restricted our studies to the type specimen. This constitutes an exception to the scope of the Nidularium Project. Several specimens from Alvim Seidel's collection, such as N. fraudulentum, N.. lyman-smithii and N. edmundoi, as well as N. alvimii, showed discrepant morphological traits within the genus Nidularium and were also discordant in relation to collection data. After careful evaluation, the first three species were transferred to the nothogenus X Niduregelia (see chapter 4). It was not possible to establish a clear and convincing affinity of these three taxa with other congeners, and this is still true of N. alvimii.
As for collection data, Alvim Seidel's bromeliads were practically the only ones that were not found in the area indicated by the collector. Seidel's numbering system is not related chronologically to the collection sequence. The specimens are numbered only when they are sent to be identified which would explain occasional lapses in naming sites of origin.
Today it seems that the suite of characteristics exhibited by N. alvimii suggests an involuntary hybrid origin for this taxon, as happened in the case of the nothospecies cited above. The seminatural growing conditions that prevail in Alvim Seidel's Orquidirio Catarinense, where typical pollinators of nidularioid bromeliads (i.e., hummingbirds) have easy access to flowering plants, make potential hybridization very likely. Furthermore, Seidel also grows bromeliads from seed, so there is also the possibility that these taxa may have originated from the seedbeds. In the case of N. alvimii, the original status of this species is maintained due to the lack of live specimens for further studies.
Nidularium alvimii is closer to N. procerum in overall appearance, especially leaf texture and the pronounced serration of the floral bracts. However, the white petals suggest the influence of the N. innocentii complex. Traits such as clearly elongated branches, floral bracts spinulose trom the base upwards and free white petals without appendages place this species in a unique position within the genus.
This species is known only from the type collection near Santa Maria, Espirito Santo, a region covered by Atlantic forest Here there are areas called "Morros de Sal" where the soil is a very coarse, white quartz sand. A sparse, low Atlantic forest grows on these sites with an open, well-lighted interior, and here we tlnd a huge diversity of bromeliad and orchid species. —SeeLeme 2000a
