Wittrockia organensis Leme & Barfuss, 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 : 50-52

Wittrockia organensis Leme & Barfuss , sp. nov. ( Fig. 22 A–G )

Diagnosis:— This new species can be distinguished from its likely closest relative, Wittrockia cyathiformis (Vellozo 1831: pl. 144) Leme (1997: 67), by the inflorescence narrower (5–8 cm vs. 8–15 cm in diameter in the distal portion), flowers shorter (35–36 mm vs. 55– 60 mm long), and petals smaller (21–22 × 5 mm vs. ca. 43 × 11 mm), green toward the apex (vs. golden yellow toward the apex).

Type:— Brazil. Rio de Janeiro: Teresópolis, Serra dos Órgãos , 14 March 2015, E. Leme 8988, M. Barfuss & M. de La Harpe (holotype RB!) .

Description:— Plants propagating by basal shoots. Leaves 16–20 in number, thinly subcoriaceous in texture, forming a crateriform rosette; sheath elliptic-ovate, 16 × 9–10.5 cm, pale green, densely and coarsely brown lepidote toward the base adaxially, densely and minutely brown lepidote abaxially, strongly nerved; blade lingulate, narrowed toward the base, 20–40 × 5–6.5 cm, glabrescent, green, distinctly nerved toward the base and along the margins, apex acute and apiculate, margins densely spinose, spines retrorse (basal ones) to spreading (distal ones), 1–2 mm long, 2–4 mm, apart; peduncle suberect, 37–38 × 0.7–1 cm, dark red, glabrous, sulcate; peduncle bracts narrowly ovate-lanceolate, acute and apiculate, 6–9 × 2.5–3 cm, glabrescent, dark red, densely spinulose, spines 0.5–1 mm long, one near the middle of the peduncle or at 2/3 of its length above the base, the remaining concentrated around the inflorescence and involucrate, suberect, equalling to exceeding the petals. Inflorescence (fertile part) shortly corymbose, obconic, apex stellate, twice branched, distinctly elevated above the rosette, 6–7 cm long, 5–8 cm in diameter at the apex; primary bracts resembling the involucral bracts, but gradually smaller, the outer ones narrowly ovate-lanceolate, apex acute and apiculate, suberect, 5–6 × 2–2.5 cm, glabrescent, dark red, densely spinose, spines irregularly curved, 0.5–1.5 mm long; primary fascicles 5–6 in number, 40–45 × 20–28 mm, flabellate, subcomplanate, 5–8-flowered, distinctly pedunculate, peduncle 5–7 × 11–14 mm; floral bracts equalling about 3/5 of the sepals length, carinate, narrowly triangular-lanceolate, hyaline at the base and red at the apex, 26–28 × 10–11 mm, membranaceous, finely nervate, glabrous, apex long acuminate, margins entire to remotely spinulose. Flowers 35–36 mm long, sessile, diurnal, odorless; sepals narrowly lanceolate, subsymmetrical, apex long attenuate-caudate, 24–25 × 5–5.5 mm, connate at the base for 1–1.5 mm, glabrous, green, ecarinate to obtusely if at all carinate, thick at the base and thin in texture toward the base and margins; petals subspathulate, 21–22 × 5 mm, free, membranaceous, apex acute, green toward the apex, erect except for the spreading apex at anthesis, without callosities, bearing 2 suboblong appendages at the base, ca. 4 × 1.5 mm, with irregular and long laciniate apex; filaments ca. 17 mm long, free; anthers sublinear, ca. 5 mm long, base bilobed, apex acute, fixed at ¼ of its length above the base; stigma conduplicate-spiral, obovoid, ca. 3 × 2 mm, lobes with minutely crenulate margins, without papillae, greenish-yellow; ovary subclavate to rectangular, trigonous, ca. 10 × 7 mm, white, glabrous; epigynous tube 0.5–1 mm long; placentation from median to apical; ovules many, subcylindrical, obtuse. Fruits unknown.

Distribution and habitat:––This new species was found growing terrestrially in nebular Atlantic Forest above 1,500 m elevation in the county of Teresópolis, in the Orgão mountain, Rio de Janeiro state, southeastern Brazil (fig. 22 A). It forms large and dense groups of plants on the forest floor, being associated with a Vriesea sp. (fig. 22 B).

According to the additional specimens examined below, Wittrockia organensis is also encountered inside the Serra dos Órgãos National Park, in the neighbourhood of Pedra do Sino and Agulha do Diabo, about 2,000 m elevation, which represents an effective preservation of its local populations.

Etymology:––The name of this new species is a reference to the Orgãos montains, which is a portion of the Serra do Mar range in Rio de Janeiro state.

Additional specimens examined (paratypes):–– BRAZIL. Rio de Janeiro: Cachoeira do Rancho Frio, 1,400 m elev., 23 August 1940, A.C. Brade 16627 ( RB!) ; Teresópolis, Serra dos Órgãos , 14 March 2015, E. Leme et al. 8989 ( RB!) ; Parque Nacional da Serra dos Órgãos , arredores da Pedra do Sino , 2,100 m elev., 26 September 2007, G. Heiden 892 ( RB!) ; ibidem, trilha para o alojamento 4 e a Pedra do Sino , 1,190-2,130 m elev., 22º 25-32’ S, 42º 59’– 43º 07’W, 12–13 April 2011, J.A. Lombardi 8231 & Taxonomia de Campo 2011 (caderno de campo 154) ( RB!) ; ibidem, Agulha do Diabo , 21 February 2009, C.R. França 41 & R. Moura ( RB!) .

Distinctive characters:— Wittrockia organensis has been misidentified in Brazilian herbaria as W. cyathiformis , which is its close morphological relative [see material examined by Leme (1997) for Rio de Janeiro state concerning this species], due to its similar stature and leaf conformation, as well as the similar inflorescence shape and structure. Smith (1955) highlighted that in Nidularium classification based only on herbarium sheets is difficult and ambiguous, and this situation would only improve if much live material where examined. This is true for all members of the “Nidularioid complex”, including Wittrockia . It was for no other reason that the discovery of this new species was only possible due to the analysis of living species in bloom.

This new species can be distinguished from Wittrockia cyathiformis by the basal portion of the leaf blades with shorter marginal spines (1–2 mm vs. 2–5 mm long), primary bracts smaller (5–6 × 2–2.5 cm vs. 7–12 × 3–5 cm), suberect at anthesis (vs. spreading-recurved to strongly reflexed), with shorter spines along its basal portion (0.5–1.5 mm vs. 2–3 mm), inflorescence narrower (5–8 cm vs. 8–15 cm in diameter in the distal portion), flowers shorter (35–36 mm vs. 55–60 mm long), sepals shorter (24–25 mm vs. ca. 30 mm), connate at the base for 1–1.5 mm (vs. free), and petals smaller (21–22 × 5 mm vs. ca. 43 × 11 mm), green toward the apex (vs. golden yellow toward the apex), with basal appendages long laciniate (vs. irregularly denticulate).

Figures

FIGURE 22. Wittrockia organensis (Leme et al. 8988): A. General view of the montane Atlantic Forest habitat at the type region. B. Population at the type locality. C. Habit. D. Inflorescence. F. Detail of the central part of the inflorescence. G. Detail of the corolla.