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| Waltillia hatschbachii
(L. B. Smith & R. W. Read) Leme, Barfuss & Halbritter
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Abstract
A new monotypic genus of Bromeliaceae, Waltillia, is described to accommodate a single rediscovered species, Waltillia hatschbachii, thought to be extinct and formerly placed in either Vriesea or Alcantarea. This new genus is ecologically and morphologically distinct from the remaining genera of subfamily Tillandsioideae in its unique combination of characters including those of habit, leaf rosette, leaf blades, flowers, petals, anthers, pollen, stigma, and seeds. Phylogenetic DNA sequence analyses indicate that the individuals of W. hatschbachii form a monophyletic, highly supported group in sister position to Alcantarea s.str., with Alcantarea and Waltillia being sister to the clade containing Vriesea s.str. and Stigmatodon.
Keywords: Alcantarea hatschbachii, Brazil, Campos Rupestres, Diamantina Plateau, DNA sequence phylogeny, morphology, new genus, Stigmatodon, Tillandsioideae, Vriesea hatschbachii, Vrieseinae, Monocots
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| Flowering individuals of Waltillia hatschbachii in the Campos Rupestres at the type locality near Gouveia, Minas Gerais state. |
TAXONOMY
Waltillia Leme, Barfuss & Halbritter, gen. nov.
Diagnosis:— This new genus differs from Alcantarea, Stigmatodon, and Vriesea by its unique combination of morphological characters, such as unappendaged petals 4 to 6 times longer than wide, forming a narrow campanulate corolla, pollen with the sulcus margins more or less well defined but not sharply cut, the sulcus covered with a kind of operculum of almost smooth exine elements with some perforations, stigma of the convolute-blade II type, and seeds with a basal appendage equalling to distinctly shorter than the apical appendage.
Type:—Vriesea hatschbachii L. B. Sm. & R. W. Read.
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| A. Flowering individulas of Waltillia hatschbachii in its Campos Rupestres habitat, along a spring, in Santana do Pirapama county. B. General view of Campos Rupestres vegetation in the habitat of Waltillia hatschbachii at the type locality near Gouveia, Minas Gerais state. C, D. Detail of a simple inflorescences of Waltillia hatschbachii from Gouveia county. |
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| Flowering individuals of Waltillia hatschbachii in the Campos Rupestres at the type locality near Gouveia, Minas Gerais state. |
Etymology:— This new genus honors the botanist Walter Till, Curator of the Herbarium of the Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna, leading authority in Bromeliaceae in general, and in subfamily Tillandsioideae in especial.
Waltillia hatschbachii (L. B. Smith & R. W. Read) Leme, Barfuss & Halbritter, comb. nov.
Basionym:—Vriesea hatschbachii L. B. Smith & R. W. Read, Phytologia 30(5): 292. 1975. Type:—BRAZIL. Minas Gerais: Gouveia, side of a rock slope by BR 259, 21 January 1972, G. Hatschbach 29085, L.B. Smith & E. Ayensu (holotype US!, isotype MBM!). ≡ Alcantarea hatschbachii (L. B. Sm. & R. W. Read) Leme, Bromélia 2(3): 22. 1995, syn. nov.
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Elton M. C. Leme, Heidemarie Halbritter and Michael H. J. Barfuss. 2017. Waltillia, A New Monotypic Genus in Tillandsioideae (Bromeliaceae) Arises from A Rediscovered, Allegedly Extinct Species from Brazil. Phytotaxa. 299;(1); 1–35. DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.299.1.1