Hohenbergia kollmannii Leme & A.P. Fontana, 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 : 31-33

Hohenbergia kollmannii Leme & A.P. Fontana , sp. nov. ( Fig. 13 A–L )

Diagnosis:—This new species is morphologically related to Hohenbergia loredanoana Leme & L. Kollmann (2011: 14) , but differs from it by the primary branches shorter (14–16 cm vs. 25–40 cm long), floral bracts larger (15–17 × 12–13 mm vs. 6–7 × 8–9 mm), exceeding the sepals (vs. distinctly shorter than the sepals), and by the longer petals (ca. 15 mm vs. 10–11 mm long).

Type:— BRAZIL. Bahia: Guaratinga, road Guaratinga to Cajuíta , via Jacutinga , 285-350 m elev., 16º 38.48’ S, 39º 47.86’ W, 23 April 2009, E . Leme 7791, L . Kollmann , A. P . Fontana & C . Esgario (holotype RB!) .

Discription:— Plants terrestrial, flowering ca. 115 cm tall. Leaves ca. 15 in number, coriaceous, forming a broadly crateriform rosette; sheath elliptic, 119–20 × 11–11.5 cm, densely pale castaneous lepidote on both sides, dark castaneous toward the base, entire; blade linear, suberect-arcuate, 60–120 × 6–7 cm, densely to subdensely and inconspicuously white lepidote on both sides but mainly abaxially with trichomes not obscuring the color of the blade, green, apex acuminate and terminating in a long somewhat pungent point, margins sparsely spinose; spines the basal ones 2–4 × 1–2 mm, narrowly triangular, dark castaneous, spreading to slightly retrorse, 7–20 mm apart, sparsely and inconspicuously spinulose toward the apex, ca. 0.5 mm long, 30–45 mm apart. Peduncle erect, stout, ca. 40 cm long, ca. 1.2 cm in diameter, greenish to red, densely white lanate; peduncle bracts narrowly lanceolate, acuminate, erect, 9–10 × 3.5 cm, exceeding the internodes, stramineous, nerved, white lanate at the base and glabrous toward the apex, entire to inconspicuously and sparsely spinulose near the apex. Inflorescence (fertile part) broadly subpyramidal, twice to 3-times branched, ca. 48 cm long, ca. 29 cm in diameter at the base, erect, rachis 0.6–1.1 cm in diameter, straight, red, subdensely white lanate; primary bracts resembling the upper peduncle bracts, spreading, distinctly exceeding the stipes; primary branches ca. 6 in number (excluding the apical portion of the inflorescence which resembles a basal primary branch), spreading, the basal ones 14–16 cm long, distinctly stipitate with stipes 2–3 × 0.8–1 cm, slightly complanate, dark red, sparsely white lanate, bearing 10 to 12 shortly stipitate to sessile secondary branches, the basal to median primary branches laxly arranged, 4–4.5 cm apart, the upper ones subdensely arranged, 0.5–1.5 cm apart, resembling the secondary branches, 2.5–5 cm long, shortly stipitate to sessile; secondary bracts subtriangular-lanceolate, narrowly acuminate, red but soon drying, 1.5–2 × 0.8–0.9 cm, equaling to shorter than the secondary fascicles, papyraceous, distinctly nerved, ecarinate, sparsely white sublanate to glabrous, subspreading to spreading with the secondary branches; secondary branches narrowly ovate, shortly stipitate to sessile, 2.5–3 × 1.2–1.7 cm, the basal ones sometimes bearing at the base 1 tertiary branches, the upper ones narrowly ellipsoid to subcylindrical, sessile, bearing 6 to 10 densely arranged flowers; tertiary bracts resembling the basal floral bracts, shorter than the branches; tertiary branches resembling the upper secondary branches but smaller, bearing 3 to 5 densely arranged flowers; floral bracts erect to suberect, exceeding the sepals, broadly subtriangular to ovate-lanceolate, dark red, 15–17 × 12–13 mm, including the apical spines, thinly coriaceous, distinctly nerved, glabrous except for the inconspicuously white sublanate margins, lustrous, carinate toward the apex (basal ones) to ecarinate (upper ones), acute with a 2–3 mm long spinescent apex, margins entire. Flowers 20–22 mm long, sessile, densely and polystichously arranged, suberect, odorless; sepals distinctly asymmetric with the membranaceous lateral wing shorter than the apex, 9 × 3–3.5 mm, including the 1.5–2 mm long apical mucro, connate at the base for ca. 3 mm, glabrous, lustrous, red, ecarinate; petals spathulate, apex acute, ca. 15 × 3 mm, free, purple, bearing 2 sublinear, dentate-digitate appendages ca. 3.5 mm above the base, without any callosities. Stamens included; filaments slightly complanate, the antepetalous ones adnate to the petals for ca. 3 mm, the antesepalous ones free; anthers oblong, base bilobed, apex apiculate, dorsifixed slightly below the middle, ca. 2.5 mm at anthesis, ca. 4 mm long before anthesis; stigma conduplicate-spiral, subcapitate, light blue, margins crenulate, ca. 2 mm long; ovary subglobose, terete, ca. 4 mm long, ca. 4.5 mm in diameter, whitish, glabrous; placentation apical; ovules long apiculate; epigynous tube infundibuliform, ca. 1 mm long. Fruits unknown.

Distribution and habitat:— Hohenbergia kollmannii shares the same type locality with Cryptanthus cajuitensis described above, as well as with Neoregelia retrorsa , in the county of Guaratinga, along the way to the locality of Cajuíta. It is a typical Atlantic Forest inhabitant in the southern region of Bahia state, northeastern Brazil, where sparsely distributed individuals were found as a terrestrial, in the shaded forest floor of steep whatersheds (fig. 13 A–B). The forest at the type spot is characterized by the presence of a large formation of Syagrus sp. ( Arecaceae ), known as “licuri”.

Etymology:—The epithet for this new species honors the botanist Ludovic Jean Charles Kollmann, a specialist in Begoniaceae , Bromeliaceae , and Orchidaceae , of the National Institute of the Atlantic Forest, in Santa Teresa, Espírito Santo state, who is responsible for the discovery and description of numerous new species of the Atlantic Forest biome.

Distinctive characters:— Hohenbergia kollmanii (fig. 13 A–L) is morphologically related to H. loredanoana (fig. 13 M–N) due to its large size when in bloom and the structure and red color of the inflorescence, but differs from it by the primary branches shorter (14–16 cm vs. 25–40 cm long), floral bracts broadly subriangular to ovate-lanceolate (vs. suborbicular), larger (15–17 × 12–13 mm vs. 6–7 × 8–9 mm), exceeding the sepals (vs. distinctly shorter than the sepals), the basal ones carinate toward the apex (vs. ecarinate), flowers longer (20–22 mm vs. 14–15 mm long), sepals longer (ca. 9 mm vs. 4.5–5 mm long) with the lateral wing distinctly shorter than the apex (vs. exceeding the apex) and with a longer apical mucro (1.5–2 mm vs. ca. 0.5 mm long), petals longer (ca. 15 mm vs. 10–11 mm long), and stigma light blue (vs. dark blue).

Based on its large size when in bloom and the structure and red color of the inflorescence, this new species is also related to Hohenbergia sandrae Leme (2003: 174) (fig. 13 O–P), but can be distinguished from it by the leaf blades narrower (6–7 cm vs. 9–10 cm long), primary branches shorter (14–16 cm vs. 22–32 cm long), floral bracts broadly subriangular to ovate-lanceolate (vs. subreniform to suborbicular), larger (15–17 × 12–13 mm vs. ca. 5 × 8 mm), exceeding the sepals (vs. equaling to slightly exceeding the ovary), the basal ones carinate toward the apex (vs. ecarinate), flowers longer (20–22 mm vs. ca. 14 mm long), sepals longer (ca. 9 mm vs. ca. 5 mm long) with the apex distinctly spinescent (vs. muticous to remotely apiculate), petals longer (ca. 15 mm vs. ca. 10 mm long), acute (vs. obtuse), and stigma light blue (vs. white).

Figures

FIGURE 13. A–L. Hohenbergia kollmannii (Leme et al. 7791): A. Collectors at the type locality. From front to back, Ludovic Kollmann, Clara Esgario, and André P. Fontana. B. Individuals at the type locality. C. Habit. D. Basal primary branches. E. Secondary branch. F. Floral bract. G. Flower. H. Sepals. I. Anthers with adaxal view on the left and abaxial-lateral view on the right. J. Petal and antesepalous stamen. K. Lateral view of petal appendages. L. Conduplicate-spiral stigma type. M–N. Hohenbergia loredanoana (Leme 8193). M. Habit. N. Details of the secondary branch. O–P. Hohenbergia sandrae (Leme 7041). O. Distal portion of the basal primary branch. P. Habit. Bars = 5 mm (F–G). Bars = 2 mm (H–L).