Bromelia nordestina Leme & J.A. Siqueira, 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 : 12-15

Bromelia nordestina Leme & J.A. Siqueira , sp. nov. ( Fig. 4 A–O )

Diagnosis:––This new species is closely related to Bromelia lagopus but differs from it by the shorter flowers (8–9 cm vs. ca. 5.7 cm long), sepals longer (30–35 mm vs. ca. 25 mm long), and petal longer (38–40 mm vs. ca. 32 mm long), lilac-purple (vs. rose), with obtuse apex (vs. subacute).

Type: –– BRAZIL. Alagoas, Chã Preta, Serra Lisa , 815 m elev., 09º13’01” S, 36º20’59.1” W, 21 March 2005, E . Leme 6633, J. A . Siqueira-Filho & M. S . Leite (holotype RB!) .

Description:–– Plant terrestrial, propagating by short rhizomes. Leaves ca. 32 in number, suberect before anthesis, subspreading at anthesis, coriaceous; sheath subreniform to subtrapeziform, 4–5 × 6–7 cm, thick, abaxially densely brown lepidote with irregularly stellate, lacerate trichomes with ribbon-like prolongations, adaxially glabrous and lustrous toward the base, margins spinose at the distal end; blade sublinear, attenuate toward the apex, 180–210 × 3.5–3.7 cm, not narrowed toward the base, strongly canaliculate toward the base, nearly flat near the apex, abaxially densely white lepidote, distinctly nerved, adaxially densely to sparsely white lepidote, green except for the inner ones being bright red near the base forming a large ring around the inflorescence, apex long caudate, pungent, recurved, margins laxly spinose, spines greenish to reddish near the base, castaneous toward the apex, strongly antrorse-uncinate, complanate, pungent, 4–8 mm long, 3–4 cm apart. Peduncle inconspicuous, 2–3 × 4.5 cm, thick; peduncle bracts the basal ones foliaceous, red toward the base and forming a large ring around the inflorescence, the median to upper ones with a basal sheath oblong, 8–10 × 4.5–5 cm, adaxially castaneous, glabrous and lustrous near the base, densely nerved, abaxially densely brown lepidote near the base with irregularly lacerate stellate trichomes with ribbon-like prolongation, the median to distal margins spinose, spines thin in texture to rigid, spreading to antrorse-uncinate, castaneous, 2.5–4 mm long, the distal blades narrowly lanceolate, red, abaxially subdensely white lepidote, adaxially inconspicuously and sparsely white lepidote, 15–30 × 1 cm (at the base), apex caudate-attenuate. Inflorescence once branched but resembling simple, capitate-corymbose, apex nearly flat, sunk in the center of the rosette, densely once-branched at the base, 13–14 cm long (not including the petals), 10.5–12 cm in diameter at the apex; primary bracts the outer ones resembling the upper peduncle bracts but with shorter blades, the inner ones oblong-spathulate, acute and apiculate, paleaceous, castaneous, erect, slightly shorter than the sepals, abaxially very densely brown lepidote toward the apex, margins spinose near the apex with spines thin in texture, 1–2 mm long; fascicles the outer ones complanate, flabellate, slightly elongate, 10–12 × 7 cm, 10–12-flowered, inconspicuously stipitate, stipes trapeziform, ca. 2.5 × 2 cm, the apical fascicles inconspicuous and the inflorescence appearing simple; floral bracts equaling the middle of the sepals, narrowly spathulate, 6–7 × 1 cm, nerved, abaxially densely brown lepidote, adaxially glabrous, apex acute, margins densely spinulose toward the apex, spines thin in texture, irregularly curved, the floral bracts of the fascicles carinate, cymbiform, those of the apical simple part of the inflorescence obtusely if at all carinate. Flowers diurnal, odorless, 8–9 cm long (including the petals), erect, inconspicuously pedicellate, pedicel merging with the ovary, 7–10 × 3–4 mm, densely brown lepidote; sepals symmetrical, sublinear, apex obtuse, slightly cucullate, 30–35 × 6–7 mm, subfree, carinate toward the apex, navicular, nerved, white-vinaceous near the base, castaneous toward the apex, adaxially glabrous, abaxially densely brown lepidote with trichomes irregularly lacerate with ribbon-like prolongations, margins entire; petals erect to slightly suberect at anthesis and forming a tubular corolla, distinctly exceeding the sepals, lilac-purple (including the margins) at anthesis, lilac-rose afterward, glabrous, 38–44 mm long, connate at base for 15–17 mm in a common tube with the filaments, blades lingulate, obtuse, 6–7 mm wide; filaments terete, white, ca. 32 mm long, equaly free above the common tube with the petals; anthers sublinear, 9–11 mm long, base, bilobed, apex long apiculate, apiculus strongly incurved mainly before anthesis, dorsifixed near the base; stigma conduplicate-spiral, lilac with white margins, blades ca. 5 mm long, margins scalloped, papillose; ovary subcylindrical, trigonous, subangulose, 32–37 × 5–6 mm, densely brown lepidote with trichomes irregularly lacerate, stellate with ribbon-like prolongation; epigynous tube distinctly but narrow, ca. 4 mm long; placentation basal; ovules globose, obtuse, sparsely arranged. Fruits narrowly ellipsoid, yellowish, 6.5 × 2–2.5 cm, not including the persistent sepals and pedicel, densely brown lepidote with trichomes irregularly lacerate with ribbon-like prolongations. Seeds 7–15 in number, suborbicular to broadly elliptic, 6–6.5 × 5–6 mm, complanate, dark brown.

Distribution and habitat:––This new species is a terrestrial inhabitant of the Atlantic Forest biome of northeastern Brazil, where it grows in partially shaded sites. It occurs in the region of Serra Lisa, county of Chã Preta, Alagoas state, in areas of 200-815 m elevation. Probably it also grows in the neighbouring state of Pernambuco. For a precise indication of its geographical range it is mandatory to perform a carefull revision of herbarium material to point out eventual misnamed specimens of potentially close related species, like Bromelia grandiflora Mez (1919: 3) , B. lagopus Mez (1891: 188) , B. magnifica Esteves & Gouda (2017: 228) , and B. villosa Mez (1901: 3) , which is far beyond the scope of this work.

Etymology:––The name of Bromelia nordestina is a reference to the region related to its geographical range, in northeastern Brazil, based on the the Brazilian word “nordestino”, which means “from northeast”.

Additional specimens examined (paratypes):–– BRAZIL. Alagoas: Chã Preta, Serra Lisa, 21 March 2005, J. A . Siqueira-Filho et al. 1483 ( UFP!); Murici, Est. Ecol. de Murici , 23 July 2008, R . Moura 624 ( R!); Murici, Serra do Ouro , 200‒500 m elev., 09º14’56” S, 35º50’40” W, 3 May 1999, G . Martinelli et al. 15335 ( RB!) .

Distinctive characters:—This new species was circumscribed, illustrated, and provisionally identified by Leme & Siqueira-Filho (2006) as Bromelia karatas sensu Jacquin (1770 : pl. 31, 32) because at that time it was not known for sure which plant material would typify B. karatas , and no name could be safely attributed to it without first carrying out an ample revision of the genus. It was also verified by them that more than one taxon in northeast Brazil could be included in the rather imprecise concept of B. karatas then used.

The solution to the problem was proposed 10 years later by the typification of Bromelia karatas Linnaeus (1753: 285) by Monteiro & Forzza (2016) who designated a lectotype for the species ‒ the type species of Bromelia Linnaeus (1753: 285) ‒ and narrowed its concept to be only applicable to the populations of Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, and northern South America. Monteiro & Forzza (2016) also concluded that the specimens of Bromelia collected in northeastern and central-western Brazil contradict the concept of B. karatas and are likely to belong to a new species.

Subsequently, Pereira & Gouda (2017) described Bromelia magnifica Esteves & Gouda (2017: 228) as a new species from the Cerrado vegetation of the northeastern state of Bahia, near the São Francisco river, belonging to the so called “ Bromelia karatas complex”. According to the authors, B. grandiflora is its closest morphological relative. However, the precise identity of Bromelia species with inconspicuously pedunculate, nidular, and capitate inflorescence, like B. grandiflora , as well as B. lagopus , and B. villosa , remains challenging because the protologues and type-specimens do not provide all needed morphological information to accurately circumscribe them, e.g., the color of the corolla as currently attributed to these species.

Despite the morphological obscurities that involve this complex of species, it is possible to recognize similarities and distinguish Bromelia nordestina from B. lagopus , its putative closer relative due to its leaf blades with large marginal spines, the inner leaf blades being bright red near the base forming a large ring around the inflorescence, which is capitate-corymbose and sunk in the rosette, and the flowers densely brown lepidote except for the glabrous petals. This new species, however, differs from it by the longer flowers (8–9 cm vs. ca. 5.7 cm long), longer sepals (30–35 mm vs. ca. 25 mm long), petal longer (38–40 mm vs. ca. 32 mm long), lilac-purple (vs. rose), with apex obtuse (vs. subacute), and ovary longer (32–37 mm vs. ca. 20 mm long). Since there is no precise data in its protologue, the geographical range of B. lagopus is still not clearly known.

This new species can be also compared to Bromelia grandiflora , which does not have any geographical data associated to its protologue, since it was described from cultivated material of Victoria Hortus, in Cameroon, Africa. Based on the protologue and the analysis of the type specimen, it is possible to distinguish B. nordestina from B. glandiflora by its smaller floral bracts (6–7 × 1 cm vs. ca. 8 × 2 cm), which are brown lepidote (vs. villose), flowers brown-lepidote (except for the petals) with lacerate trichomes with ribbon-like prolongations (vs. long villose, trichomes more or less subspreading), shorter pedicel (7–10 mm vs. ca. 15 mm), and longer sepals (30–35 cm vs. ca. 26 mm long).

In relation to Bromelia magnifica , this new species is distinctly different due to its longer leaf blades (180–210 cm vs. ca. 120 cm long) with antrorse spines (vs. the basal ones retrorse), floral fascicles with more numerous flowers (10–12 vs. 2–4 in number), floral bracts longer (6–7 cm vs. ca. 4.5 cm long), narrowly spathulate (vs. sublinear), and acute (vs. obtuse and cucullate), flowers longer (8–9 cm vs. 6.2–7 cm long), sepals longer (30–35 mm vs. ca. 22 mm), entire (vs. minutely serrulate), and petals obtuse, not cucullate (vs. slightly cucullate), longer ovary (32–37 mm vs. ca. 15 mm), and fruits narrowly ellipsoidal (vs. ellipsoidal to obovate) and yellowish (vs. bright yellow). According to the protologue of B. magnifica , it is a typical species of the Cerrado vegetation of the northeastern state of Bahia, along the São Francisco river, while this new species is known from the Atlantic Forest of the states of Alagoas.

Despite more distantly related, Bromelia nordestina can be compared to B. karatas differing by its spathulate floral bracts (vs. narrowly oblong to linear-lanceolate), sepals obtuse (vs. subacute), petals shorter (38–40 mm vs. 45–55 mm long), lilac-purple (vs. pinkish to magenta), not cucullate (vs. cucullate), and fruits yellowish (vs. rose to dark red). The non-Brazilian geographical range of B. karatas (i.e., Caribbean, Mexico, Central America and northern South America), greatly contrast with the exclusive Brazilian Atlantic Forest range of B. nordestina .

Identification key for the species of the Bromelia karatas complex

1. Flowers 6.2–9 cm long .......................................................................................................................................................................2

- Flowers up to 6 cm long .....................................................................................................................................................................5

2. Sepals 30–35 mm long .......................................................................................................................................................................3

- Sepals 22–26 mm long .......................................................................................................................................................................4

3. Petals lilac purple; fruits yellowish ................................................................................................................................ B. nordestina

- Petals pinkish to magenta; fruits rose to dark red................................................................................................................ B. karatas

4. Floral bracts ca. 4.5 × 1.5 cm, much exceeded by the sepals.......................................................................................... B. magnifica

- Floral bracts ca. 8 × 2 cm, about equaling the sepals.................................................................................................... B. grandiflora

5. Leaves up to 1 m long; sepals ca. 17 mm long; petals purple............................................................................................... B. villosa

- Leaves longer than 1 m; sepals 25–27 mm long; petals rose .............................................................................................. B. lagopus

Figures

FIGURE 4. Bromelia nordestina (Leme et al. 6633): A. Habit. B. Inflorescence. C. Details of the abaxial surface of the leaf sheath with castaneous ribbon-like trichomes. D. Longitudinal section of the inflorescence. E. Basal fascicle. F. Distal portion of the flowers. G. Flowers and floral bracts. H. Floral bracts. I. Petals and stamens. J. Anthers. K. Seeds. L. Stigma. M. Sepal. N. Longitudinal section of the ovary. O. Fruits. Bars = 20 mm (C–E, G, O). Bars = 10 mm (H–I). Bars = 5 mm (M–N). Bars = 2 mm (J–L).