Tillandsia montezumensis Leme & W. Till, 2025

Leme, Elton M. C., Souza, Everton Hilo De, Till, Walter, Barfuss, Michael H. J., Filho, José Alves Siqueira, Kollmann, Ludovic J. C., Couto, Dayvid R., Fraga, Claudio Nicoletti De, Fontana, André P., Farias-Castro, Antônio S., Fernandes, João B. & Silva, Da, 2025, Twenty Miscellaneous New Species and One New Nothogenus and Nothospecies in Brazilian Bromeliaceae, Phytotaxa 692 (1), pp. 1-60 : 42-44

Tillandsia montezumensis Leme & W. Till , sp. nov. ( Fig. 18 A–F )

Diagnosis:––This new species can be distinguished from its likely closest relative, Tillandsia tenuifolia Linnaeus (1759: 286) , by the leaf blades completely covered by a dense coat of white trichomes obscuring the color of the blades (vs. densely and minutely lepidote with trichomes not obscuring the color of the blades) and longer (14–17 cm vs. 5–10 cm long), and sepals longer (ca. 16 mm vs. ca. 10 mm long).

Type: –– BRAZIL. Minas Gerais: Montezuma, Brejinho, Fazenda Brejinho (prox. Faz. Alge da Savana ), 980 m elev., 15º02’42” S, 42º34’03” W, 27 May 2010, E . Leme 8332 & R . Oliveira (holotype RB!) .

Description:–– Plants epilithic, flowering 20–25 cm tall, stemless to shortly caulescent, propagating by elongate shoots developed at the base of the basal portion of the rosette, forming dense groups of plants. Leaves ca. 30 in number, densely subfasciculate, without impounding capacity; sheath inconspicuous, subtrapeziform, corrugate abaxially, 1 × 0.7–0.9 cm, completely covered on both surfaces by a dense coat of white, appressed trichomes; blade narrowly triangular, 14–17 × 0.3–0.5 cm (near the base), suberect, not secund, not narrowed at the base, subrigid toward the base, pliable toward the apex, completely covered on both sides by a dense layer of white appressed trichomes obscuring the blade color, apex filiform-caudate. Peduncle slender, ca. 8 cm long, ca. 0.2 cm in diameter, erect, glabrous, whitish; peduncle bracts the basal ones foliaceous, the upper ones with a narrowly ovate-lanceolate base 15–20 × 4 mm, partially enfolding the peduncle, reddish-rose, glabrous toward the base, and a filiform distal blade 12–30 mm long, erect, densely white lepidote, distinctly exceeding the internodes. Inflorescence (fertile part) simple, 30–35 mm long, erect, 3–5-flowered, slightly shorter than to slightly exceeding the leaves; rachis slender, flexuous, pale rose, glabrous, internodes ca. 5 mm long; floral bracts equaling to slightly shorter than the sepals, ecarinate, narrowly ovate-lanceolate, reddish-rose, 15–17 × 5–6 mm, membranaceous, thinly nerved, glabrous except for the densely white lepidote apex, apex shortly caudate (basal ones) to acute (apical ones). Flowers diurnal, odorless, subpolystichous, densely to subdensely arranged, erect, 23–24 mm long with extended petals, pedicels inconspicuous, ca. 1.5 mm long greenish, glabrous; sepals narrowly lanceolate, symmetrical, erect, apex long acuminate, 16 × 3.5–4.5 mm, glabrous, rose, thin in texture, the abaxial one free, ecarinate, the adaxial ones connate at the base for 3.5–5 mm, carinate toward the apex; petals narrowly spathulate with narrow proximal portion in contrast with the broader distal portion, apex rounded, 21 × 3–3.5 mm, white, free, erect and forming basally a subtubular corolla except for the strongly recurved distal portion, exappendiculate; stamens distinctly shorter than the petals; filaments complanate, plicate in the middle, white, free, ca. 0.8 mm wide; anthers narrowly oblong, base distinctly bilobed, apex subacute, ca. 2 mm long, dorsifixed near the base; style distinctly exceeding the anthers, ca. 12 mm long; ovary totally superior; stigma apparently conduplicate, blades ca. 0.5 mm long; ovules caudate. Capsules unknown.

Distribution and habitat:––The type of Tillandsia montezumensis was found in the locality of Brejinho, county of Montezuma, near the border with Bahia, in the microregion of Salinas, north of Minas Gerais state, in the Espinhaço range, southeastern Brazil. It grows as an epilithic species on quartzitic outcrops (fig. 18 B), forming small group of plants scattered in the Campos Rupestres that prevails in the area (fig. 18 A), which is in most part well conserved due to the difficult access and the existing Montezuma State Park. It is also present in the county of Presidente Kubitschek, in Minas Gerais state.

However, the absence of data on its occurrence does not allow to accurately point out its current conservation status.

Etymology:––The name chosen for this new species is a explicit reference to the county of Montezuma, Minas Gerais state, where the type was found.

Additional specimen examined (paratype): –– BRAZIL. Minas Gerais: Presidente Kubitschek, along the road from Serro to Datas , 1 km before the bridge over the Ribeirão Andrequicé , 1,200 m elev., epilithic, 30 January 1995, W . Till et al. 11082, cult. in hort. bot. Vindob. B32 /95 (WU).

Distinctive characters:— Tillandsia montezumensis belongs to the widespread T. tenuifolia complex due to its habit, leaf, inflorescence, and flower conformation. In relation to T. tenuifolia , this new species can be distinguished by its leaf blades completely covered by a dense coat of white trichomes obscuring the color of the blades (vs. densely and minutely lepidote with trichomes not obscuring the color of the blades) and longer (14–17 cm vs. 5–10 cm long), floral bracts equaling to slightly shorter than the sepals (vs. exceeding the sepals), and by the longer sepals (ca. 16 mm vs. ca. 10 mm long).

Tillandsia iassuensis L. Hromadnik & H. Hromadnik (2021: 76) , from Bahia state, is another morphological relative. However, T. montezumensis differs from it by the stemless to shortly caulescent habit (vs. long caulescent), shorter when in bloom (20–25 cm vs. to 40 cm tall), inflorescence with fewer flowers (3–5 vs. 6–12 in number), floral bracts longer (15–17 mm vs. 10–14 mm long), sepals longer (ca. 16 mm vs. 6–12 mm long), the posterior ones connate at the base to 1/3 of its length (vs. connate for more than 2/3 of its length).

Tillandsia milagrensis Leme(1993:243) can be also considered morphologically closely related to T.montezumensis , but this new species differs by the stemless to shortly caulescent habit (vs. distinctly caulescent), shorter when in bloom (20–25 cm vs. ca. 50 cm tall), inflorescence shorter (30–35 mm vs. ca. 50 mm long), with fewer flowers (3–5 vs. ca. 10 in number), floral bracts equaling to slightly shorter than the sepals (vs. exceeding the sepals), and the posterior sepals connate at the base for 3.5–5 mm (vs. 9–11 mm).

Both Tillandsia iassuensis and T. milagrensis grows in the same region of the state of Bahia, and their populations are separated from each other by about 40 km in straight line, in the Caatinga biome. They form large population on vertical granitic outcrops. In contrast, T. montezumensis is know from Minas Gerais state, near the border with Bahia, about 380 km distant in straight line, and was observed in small groups of plants on quartizitic outcrops in the domain of the Campos Rupestres.

Figures

FIGURE 18. Tillandsia montezumensis (Leme 8332 & Oliveira): A. General view of the Campos Rupestres habitat at the type locality. B. Few epilithic individuals at the type locality. C. Habit. D. Detail of the inflorescence. E. Sepal. F. Petal and antesepalous stamen. Bars = 5 mm (E–F).