also Crypt Soc Journ 15(2): 52-3. 2000
This species belongs to subgenus Eucryptanthus. It is related to C. bromelioides with which it shares the same habit. The serration pattern of the foliar-blades is, however, very different (there are larger spines in C. bromelioides), and the stem is longer than in C. bromelioides. Floral differences, if any, are hard to assess since all known collections of C.. ubairensis are sterile.
Cryptanthus ubairensis or sorry about that by Harry Luther in Crypt Soc Journ 17(1): 28. 2002
On the front and back covers of the Cryptanthus Society Journal for July-September 2000, there appeared color photographs of a Cryptanthus species tentatively identified as C. ubairensis (C. cf. ubairensis SEL 96-532). Plants of this collection were also distributed to members of the Cryptanthus Society. I am sorry to say that the name given to these collections was wrong; they are NOT C. ubairensis but are an undescribed species known from a number of rain forest sites in Bahia, Brazil. This new species will soon be published by Elton Leme.
Cryptanthus ubairensis has only recently been refound in the wild by Sandra Linhares, a notable and enthusiastic collector from Salvador, Brazil. Luckily her collections, which were forwarded to Elton Leme, included fruiting plants. Two dozen seedlings are now growing at the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. I hope that a few will be large enough to go to St. Petersburg this May.
True Cryptanthus ubairensis is an odd, very caulescent, scandent plant somewhat resembling a member of the Commelinaceae (Wandering Jew family). Notice that I have not used the word "attractive". Readers can come to their own conclusions; see photographs on the front cover and page 29.
Cryptanthus ubairensis by Harry Luther in Crypt Soc Journ 21(10: 12-13. 2006
Cryptanthus ubairensis is at least as variable as C. acaulis, sinuosus or warren-loosei. This species has been collected from a variety of habitats from Caatinga-Atlantic Forest transitional vegetation to tall restinga forest to true Atlantic forest on low mountains, all in Bahia State. The plants may be stemless, short to long caulescent with very short to moderately long interfoliar stolons. Foliage can be green to dark bronze. The most consistent features seem to be the rather broad, flat-topped inflorescence with prominently carinate floral bracts and the densely white lepidote abaxial leaf surface.
The Many Faces of Cryptanthus ubairensis By Larry Giroux
Longtime subscribers to the Cryptanthus Society Journal will recall that on the front and back covers of the Cryptanthus Society Journal Vol. XV, No. 3, July-September 2000, there appeared color photographs of the Cryptanthus species tentatively identified as Cryptanthus ubairensis (C. cf. ubairensis SEL 96-532). In that same issue was reprinted from the Harvard Papers in Botany, Vol 3 No.2, 1998, pp.215-224, the description of this species by Ivon M. Ramirez. The description is still valid. Although at that time it was felt the specimen SEL 96-532 submitted in 2000 to the BIC at The Marie Selby Botanical Gardens was representative of this described species, additional plants arriving in 2001 cast doubts that SEL 96-532 was C. ubairensis as described by Ramirez.
Based on examination of the fruiting plants (SEL 2001-388B), collected by Sandra Linhares of Salvador, Brazil and forwarded by Elton Leme to Harry Luther, in the Cryptanthus Society Journal Vol. XVII No. l, January-March 2002, Harry Luther stated that the name given to SEL 96- 532 was incorrect. SEL 96532 was an unidentified species known from a number of rainforest sites in Bahia, Brazil. A description of this new species would be published by Elton Leme sometime in the future.
Subsequent to this announcement, the BIC received several other plants from Bahia, Brazil including SEL 2002-0079A, 0080A, and 0081 A (also pictured on the front cover of this issue). Each of these possess the definitive characteristics to classify them as Cryptanthus ubairensis. In addition, SEL 96-532 (see picture on front cover) has been reexamined and meets the criteria for inclusion in the species Cryptanthus ubairensis.
Within the genus Cryptanthus there are several species such as Cryptanthus acaulis, Cryptanthus sinuosus, Cryptanthus warren-loosei and Cryptanthus correia-araujoi, which are quite variable and there exist several different appearing plants included in each of the species. We are now discovering that Cryptanthus ubairensis is also one of these variable species. —SeeJ. Crypt. Soc.
