Notes
Hoplocryptanthus Mez is a subgenus of Cryptanthus Otto & A. Dietr., which can be distinguished from the typical subgenus by some important features The plants usually have strongly perfumed flowers which are perfect, with petals broadly spatulate or obovate, length up to three times the width of the lobes, which may be almost orbicular. The stigma is compact, simple-erect, with short, wide blades; or the stigmatic blades are slenderly tubular and conduplicate at extreme apex. The fruits have more numerous and smaller seeds. Species of Hoplocryptanthus usually grow in higher altitudes (i.e., above ca. 500 m elev.) when compared to the typical cryptanthus, and have a more restricted geographical distribution, being found only in wet sites in the Atlantic Forest of Espirito Santo State and in wet to drier conditions in the "Campos Rupestres" of the Espinhaco range of Minas Gerais State. Also, these species are morphologically more similar to the species of Orthophytum Beer than the remaining typical cryptanthus.
In the Espinhaco range of Minas Gerais State, the most commonly seen Hoplocryptanthus member is Cryptanthus schwackeanus Mez. However, recent field collections in different and sometimes isolated mountains of the Espinhaqo range have revealed some new taxa closely related to C. schwackeanus, but distinguishable by a set of subtle morphological characteristics, including the three species described as C.lavrasensis, C. regius, and C. tiradentesensis —SeeJ. Bromeliad Soc.
