Aechmea aguadocensis Leme & L.Kollmann
Literature references:
Comments:
- The discovery of Aechmea. aguadocensis completes the biological and geographical blank between its closer relatives, both endemic species in the coastal Atlantic Forest: A. cariocae grows southern, with a restricted occurrence in Rio de Janeiro State (Leme and Silva 2002), while A. muricata dominates in the northern territory states of Pernambuco and Alagoas (Leme and Siqueira-Filho 2006). Although A. aguadocensis was found growing in an area of Atlantic Forest fragment surrounding inselbergs, comparatively more distant from the coast not far from the border of Minas Gerais est: A. cariocae grows southern, with a restricted occurrence in Rio de Janeiro State (Leme and Silva 2002), while A. muricata dominates in the northern territory states of Pernambuco and Alagoas (Leme and Siqueira-Filho 2006). Although A. aguadocensis was found growing in an area of Atlantic Forest fragment surrounding inselbergs, comparatively more distant from the coast not far from the border of Minas Gerais state, this may only represent a collection artifact due to the already reported difficult access to blooming specimens in other sites closer to the ocean. On the other hand, this discovery attests the still under-explored status of the biological diversity of the remaining areas covered by Atlantic Forest. —See Leme & Kollmann 2009
