Prior to 1979, when the third part of his grand monograph was published (Smith and Downs, 1979), he had described at least 50% of the species of the Cryptanthus. In the letters he would send me in reply to this beginner's insistent inquiries, he would sign himself Lyman, with the simplicity of a genius. It was in this Brazilian genus that Lyman B. Smith, in a clairvoyant gesture typical of the enlightened, published the first new species in the Bulletin of the Bromeliad Society, C. fosterianus at Christmas
1952. There he wrote: "until now the Bulletin of the Bromeliad Society has dealt in species at second hand, leaving their original publication to others. However, I feel that the species described below presents a particularly happy and appropriate beginning" (Smith, 1952).
Encouraged by Edmundo Pereira, the master who took me on as a novice, I first wrote to
Lyman B. Smith in late 1981. With the arrogant mistrust of a beginner, I sought to confirm the rectitude of Professor Edmundo's (that is how I referred to him) decision to describe as new Vriesea eltoniana Pereira & Penna. The reply arrived in April 1982, shaming me for the mistrust: "I entirely agree with my friend Edmundo... ." From 1982 until 1994, his last year of correspondence, there were exactly 15 letters, still kept as a rare treasure. There are 15 letters, that by strange coincidence remind me that exactly 15 years ago I was preparing my first paper in collaboration with Edmundo Pereira. He always kept a photograph on his office desk where he was pictured with his friend Lyman, during an expedition in Brazll. Professor Edmundo always remembered
Lyman's surprised expression when he saw the precarious conditions in which he worked: "...yes, my dear Edmundo, you do fine research with pick-axe and spade."
Lyman B. Smith always made a point of writing in Portuguese (except for the last letter, that was written in English), a language that he, by the way, spoke and wrote fluently, and was very useful to him during his trips in Brazil. In all his letters he wrote words of encouragement toward the study of living plants ["...my works are almost always written based on the study of dried plants from the herbarium. Whoever studies live plants will be able to observe much better than I, especially the varieties."], and he showed concern as to the rapid extinction of species that he recommended their cultivation whenever possible. And when he closed a letter, he always asked to be "remembered to his old friend Edmundo."
After Edmundo Pereira's death in May 1986, contact with Lyman Smith became dormant. Our contact resumed in February 1988, when upon receiving my recent publications, he manifested his satisfaction at my proposal to carry on with Edmundo Pereira's work and continue the study of Brazilian Bromeliaceae, especially based on living plants. In February 1991, Dr. Smith honored me by inviting me to write a revision of the genus Nidularium, as a supplement to his Monograph. He wrote to me: "now that our old
friend Edmundo Pereira is not with us anymore, your post now is that of head of Brazilian Bromeliaceae research." Unfortunately, I did not have the necessary conditions to live up to such generosity and therefore wasted a historic and rare opportunity to share, a little closer, the grandeur of this botanist.
However, art blends with the actual artist. Getting to know the monumental botanical
works of Lyman Smith enables us to learn more about this distinctive man, who came to inhabit the day to day of our lives as a dear and well loved friend. Everyone who has researched bromeliads refers to Lyman Smith intimately, without ever having met him face to face. Without a doubt, to study Bromeliaceae, especially the genera and species found in Brazil, is a means to experience, step-by-step, the divine genius of Lyman B. Smith.
This new species, referred to subgenus Cryptanthus, is closely related to C. beuckeri. It
differs from it by the narrowly sublinear-lanceolate leaf-blades with its entire or nearly so
petiole, and from the simple inflorescence and entire sepals.
Cryptanthus lyman-smithii has a terrestrial habit, forming small populations sparsely
spread out over the dense litter layer that cover the floor of the Atlantic Forest. It looks like a grass, which it is easily mistaken for at a distance. It is sympatric with C. vexatus Leme, the single species that has been collected with intermediate characteristics, which may be the result of natural hybridization.
A large population of Cryptanthus beuckeri with plain green (non-mottled) leaves was found about 5 kilometers from the type locality. At that time we were not able to document whether or not this population spread over to where C. lyman-smithii was originally collected. —SeeHarvard Pap. Bot.
