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A new species of Racinaea (Bromeliaceae) from the
province of Azuay in southern Ecuador.
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| Abstract: |
The authors describe and illustrate Racinaea strobeliorum
Manzanares & W Till as a new species of Ecuadorian Bromeliaceae, and
also provide morphological data that distinguishes it from related taxa,
R. quadripinnata (Mez & Sodiro) M.A. Spencer & L.B. Smith and
R.pectinata (Andre) M.A. Spencer & L.B. Smith. The most important
morphological character of Racinaea strobeliorum is the long stem which
can grow to 2m. This is an unusual character for the genus Racinaea,
since the majority of the species are stemless, or have a stem reduced
to a short stolon. Key words: Ecuador, Bromeliaceae, Racinaea, new species. Los autores describen e ilustran Racinaea strobeliorum Manzanares & W. Till como una nueva especie de Bromeliaceae ecuatoriana, tambien proporcionan la information morfologica que la distingue de las especies mas relacionadas, la R quaidnpinnata (Mez & Sodiro) M.A. Spencer & L.B. Smith y la R. pectinata (Andre) M.A. Spencer & L.B. Smith. La caracteristica morfologica mas importante que presenta la Racinaea strobeliorum es un tallo que puede alcanzar hasta 2 m de largo, algo inusual en el genero Racinaxa carentes de tallo en la mayoria de las especies, en el caso de poseerlo se reduce a un corto estolon. Palabras clave: Ecuador, Bromeliaceae, Racinaea, nueva especie. |
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| Article Type: | Report |
| Subject: |
Bromeliaceae
(Discovery and exploration) Bromeliaceae (Physiological aspects) Bromeliaceae (Identification and classification) Bromeliaceae (Natural history) Botany (Identification and classification) Botany (Research) Botany (Nomenclature) |
| Authors: |
Manzanares, Jose M. Till, Walter |
| Pub Date: | 05/01/2009 |
| Publication: | Name: Journal of the Bromeliad Society Publisher: Bromeliad Society International Audience: Academic Format: Magazine/Journal Subject: Biological sciences Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2009 Bromeliad Society International ISSN: 0090-8738 |
| Issue: | Date: May-June, 2009 Source Volume: 59 Source Issue: 3 |
| Topic: | Event Code: 310 Science & research |
| Geographic: | Geographic Scope: Ecuador Geographic Code: 3ECUD Ecuador |
| Accession Number: | 219822496 |
| Full Text: |
Introduction In 1997 Elizabeth Patterson showed to the senior author a photograph of a bromeliad cultivated by Elizabeth Strobel in Cuenca, Ecuador. The species was growing up the trunk of Eucalyptus globulus (Fig. 1). Its long stem reached approximately 1.5 m, which is unusual for most species of bromeliads. Initially I commented that it could have been a species belonging to the genus Greigia. In May 1998 we made a trip to Cuenca and went to see the species in the photograph; its leaves had entire margins that indicated an unusual species of Tillandsia. Finally, in March 2001, it flowered in Quito in the senior author collection. The plant displayed the typical flowers of the genus Raicinaea, resulting in it being named as a new species: Racinaea strobeliorum Manzanares & W. Till, sp. nov. TYPE: Ecuador, province of Azuay: without exact locality, collected by Jose Strobel (deceased), cultivated by his wife Elizabeth Strobel in Cuenca, flowered in cultivation in Quito by Jose M. Manzanares, Mar. 2001, Jose M. Manzanares 6961 (holotype: QCNE; isotype: WU). [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] [FIGURE 2 OMITTED] [FIGURE 3 OMITTED] [FIGURE 4 OMITTED] Discussion Racinaea strobeliorum is similar to R. quadripinnata, which is endemic to the central and northern Ecuadorian Andes. It differs from R quadripinnaa by the following characteristics: R. strobeliorum is larger in overall size (2.66 m vs. 1 m), with long stems of 1.5-2.0 m covered with dry leaves (vs. stemless), leaf-sheaths are much larger, the apex of the leaves is attenuate and recurved (vs. acute and erect), the inflorescence is branched to 2-branched (vs. 3-branched), floral bracts are larger (7 mm vs. 5 mm long) and orbicular (vs. subreniform), sepals are longer (6 mm vs. 5 mm long) and slightly asymmetric (vs. strongly asymmetric). Racinaea strobeliorum also resembles R. pectinata, but can be easily distinguished by its long stem (vs. stemless) and flowers that are not secund (vs. secund). It is the first species found in the genus Racinaea with a long stem. The stem cannot support the weight of the plant, but thanks to the plants around it can reach the upper part of the vegetation and have sufficient light. It was noted that in cultivation the plant does not initiate flowering until it reaches a bright area above surrounding vegetation. If the apical section dies or flowers, 4 to 6 new shoots are emitted in the superior part of the stem, where the green leaves are found (most of the stem is covered with dried leaves). The fruits are unknown because the only inflorescence was used to make a dry specimen. [FIGURE 5 OMITTED] Little is known about the habitat of this species. Sra. Strobel mentioned that her husband Jose found it on one of his expeditions to an Andean forest in the province of Azuay. He collected it because of its unusual growth habit, which allowed it to rise above the surrounding dense shrub vegetation. Since then no collection has been made to concretely ascertain the habitat locality. It is named after the Germans Jose Strobel (deceased) who discovered the bromeliad, and Elizabeth Strobel (deceased), his wife who cultivated it in Cuenca, Ecuador. Acknowledgments The first author thanks Elizabeth Patterson who introduced this plant to him during a visit to the garden of Elizabeth Strobel in Cuenca, capital of the Azuay province, in southern Ecuador. The authors thank David Neill for reviewing earlier drafts of this paper, Jason R. Grant, Jason Bradford, and the anonymous reviewers, and David Neill and Elizabeth Patterson for the translation from Spanish. References Luther H.E., 2002. An Alphabetical List of Bromeliad Binomials. Eighth edition. The Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, Sarasota, Florida. Smith L.B. & Downs R.J., 1977. Bromeliaceae (Tillandsioideae). Flora Neotropica Monograph 14(2): 663-1492. Hafner Press. New York. Spencer M.A. & Smith L.B., 1993. Racinaea, a new genus of Bromeliaceae (Tillandsioideae). Phytologia 74: 151-160. Jose M. Manzanares: Herbario Nacional del Ecuador, Museo Ecuatoriano de Ciencias Naturales, Casilla Postal 17-09-7518, Quito, Ecuador. manzanar@interactive.net.ec Walter Till: Herbarium, Faculty Center of Biodiversity, Faculty of Life Sciences,University of Vienna, Rennweg 14, A-1030 Wien, Austria. walter.till@univie.ac.at A Racinaea quadripinnata (Mez & Sodiro) M.A. Spencer & L.B. Smith, cui versimiliter affinis, statura majore, caulibus 1.5-2.0 m longis, vaginis foliorum duplo majoribus, laminis foliorum attenuatis apicibus recurvatis, inflorescencia bipinnata usque ad tripinnata, bracteis florigeris 7 mm longis orbicularibus et sepalis 6 mm longis, paullo asymmetricis differt. A Racinaea pectinata (Andre) M.A. Spencer & L.B. Smith, cui per inflorescentiam similis, caulibus perlongis et floribus non secundis recedit. |
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