Corresponding author: Rodrigo Alejandro Hernández-Cárdenas (
Academic editor: Leonardo Versieux
Based on morphological evidence, we propose to raise
Con base en evidencia morfológica, proponemos elevar a nivel de especie a
Hernández-Cárdenas RA, Serrato Díaz A, López-Ferrari AR, Espejo-Serna A (2019) Novelties in the genus
The genus
It should be mentioned that, in all the phylogenies reconstructed so far,
As a result of botanical explorations for the project Phylogeny of the genus
Plants were collected in Hidalgo and Oaxaca, Mexico. The material was dried and measurements and descriptions were prepared from herbarium specimens. The vouchers were deposited in UAMIZ. The morphological terms used in the descriptions were based on
MEXICO. Hidalgo: Metztitlán, 1300 m a.s.l., 12 February 1992,
Plants saxicolous, flowering 10–13 cm tall, 12–14 cm diameter; rosettes acaulescent, solitary or caespitose, falcate in outline. Leaves numerous, longer than the inflorescence; sheaths pale brown on both surfaces, broadly oblong to nearly square, 1–1.2 cm long, 0.8–1.1 cm wide, glabrous towards the base on both surfaces; blades falcate, densely white-greyish lepidote, narrowly triangular, 4.5–7 cm long, 0.5–0.8 cm wide, apical portion long attenuate. Inflorescence short pedunculated, falcate, one-branched, with 3–5 spikes; peduncle 1–1.5 cm long, 3–5 mm diameter, covered by the peduncle bracts; peduncle bracts similar to the leaves but reducing in size towards the apical portion, densely white-greyish lepidote; spikes reddish-rose, erect and appressed, flattened, elliptic, 2.5–3.5 cm long, 1–1.5 cm wide; flowers distichous, erect and appressed, 3–5 by spike; floral bracts reddish-rose at the apex, yellowish-green towards the base, ovate, 1.8–2 cm long, 0.7–1.2 cm wide, apex acute to acuminate, ecarinate to slightly carinate at the apex, lepidote abaxially; sepals pale green, lanceolate, 1.2–1.5 cm long, 0.3–0.4 cm wide, apex acute, the two adaxial ones carinate, lepidote abaxially; petals dark green, narrowly oblong, 2–2.5 cm long, 0.25–0.3 cm wide, apex rounded to obtuse; filaments white, 1.4–1.6 cm long; anthers pale to dark green, 2.5–3 mm long; ovary broadly ovoid, 3.5–4.5 mm long, 2.5–3.5 mm diameter; style white, 6–10 mm long, included; style branches green. Capsules 1.5–1.8 cm long, 5–8 mm diameter; seeds fusiform, 3–4 mm long, coma 0.8–1.2 cm long.
Morphological comparison between
Geographical distribution of the genus
Blooming in January and February.
Morphological differences amongst
Characters |
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Rosettes shape in outline | Spherical | Spherical | Spherical | Falcate | Spherical |
Leaf sheaths size (cm) | 1–2 × 0.5–0.7 | 1.5–2.5 × 1–1.5 | 1.8–2 × 1.5–1.7 | 1–1.2 × 0.8–1.1 | 1–1.5 × 0.8–1.1 |
Leaf sheaths shape | Narrowly oblong | Broadly elliptic | Broadly oblong to square | Broadly oblong to square | Ovate |
Leaf blades width (mm) | 3–4 | 7–11 | 4.5–6 | 5–8 | 5 |
Floral bracts size (cm) | 1.7–2.5 × 0.6–1 | 1–1.5 × 1–1.5 | 1.5–2 × 1–1.2 | 1.8–2 × 0.7–1.2 | 1–1.5 × 0.6 |
Floral bracts keel | Present | Present | Present | Absent or visible only in the apex | Present |
Sepals width (mm) | 4–6 | 3–5 | 4–6 | 2.5–3.5 | 3 |
Sepals shape | Ovate | Ovate | Ovate | Lanceolate | Narrowly elliptic |
Anthers colour | Green | Black | Green | Pale to dark green | Green to black |
MEXICO, Hidalgo: municipio de Metztitlán. 28 km sobre el camino que va de Metztitlán a Tolantongo (
MEXICO. Oaxaca: Distrito de Juxtlahuaca, municipio de Santos Reyes Tepejillo, en los alrededores del boquerón de Santos Reyes Tepejillo (
Plants saxicolous, flowering 7–10 cm tall, 7–9 cm diameter; rosettes acaulescent, solitary or caespitose, falcate in outline. Leaves numerous, shorter or equalling the inflorescence; sheaths pale brown on both surfaces, nearly square, 0.8–1 cm long, 0.7–1 cm wide, glabrous towards the base on both surfaces; blades falcate, densely greyish lepidote, narrowly triangular, 3–6 cm long, 0.3–0.4 cm wide, apical portion long attenuate. Inflorescence pedunculated, falcate, one-branched, with 3–5 spikes; peduncle 2.5–3.5 cm long, 0.2–0.3 cm diameter, covered by the bracts of the peduncle; peduncle bracts similar to the leaves but reducing in size towards the apical portion, densely greyish lepidote; spikes green, erect and appressed, flattened, elliptic, 1.3–1.5 cm long, 0.4–0.5 cm wide; flowers erect and appressed, only one per spike; floral bracts green to green-brownish, ovate, 1–1.5 cm long, 0.5–0.6 cm wide, apex acute to acuminate, ecarinate to slightly carinate at the apex, glabrous adaxially, lepidote abaxially; sepals green, lanceolate, 1–1.3 cm long, 0.3–0.4 cm wide, apex acute, the two adaxial ones carinate, both surfaces glabrous or lepidote abaxially mainly on the keel; petals dark green, narrowly oblong, 1.5–1.8 cm long, 0.2–0.3 cm wide, apex rounded to obtuse; filaments white, 0.8–1.2 cm long, included; anthers pale green, 1.2–1.5 mm long; ovary green, ellipsoid, 2.5–3 mm long, 2–3 mm diameter; style white, 8–10 mm long; style branches green. Capsules not seen.
Morphological comparison between
The plants of
The specific epithet refers to the presence of one flower per spike, condition only known in the proposed taxon.
Plants of
Morphological differences amongst
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Leaf sheaths size (cm) | 0.9–1.4 × 0.8–1 | 0.6–1 × 0.7–0.8 | 0.8–1 × 0.7–0.8 |
Leaf sheaths shape | Ovate to triangular | Broadly ovate to square | Square |
Leaf blades size (cm) | 4–7 × 0.3–0.4 | 2.5–4 × 0.2–0.3 | 3–6 × 0.3–0.4 |
Spikes colour | Green with red | Red to pink | Green |
Spikes number | 5–7 | 1 | 3–5 |
Flowers number per spike | 2–5 | 2–3 | 1 |
Spike size (cm) | 1.5–3.5 × 0.7–1.3 | 2–3 × 0.8–1 | 1.3–1.5 × 0.4–0.5 |
Floral bracts size (cm) | 1.2–1.7 × 0.5–0.8 | 1.5–2 × 0.5–1 | 1–1.5 × 0.5–0.6 |
Floral bracts shape | Elliptic | Ovate | Ovate |
Floral bracts keel | Present | Absent or visible only in the apex | Absent or visible only in the apex |
Sepals size (cm) | 1–1.3 × 0.3–0.35 | 1.3–1.5 × 0.3–0.5 | 1–1.3 × 0.3–0.4 |
Sepals shape | Narrowly elliptic | Ovate | Lanceolate |
MEXICO, Oaxaca: Distrito Santiago Juxtlahuaca, municipio de Santos Reyes Tepejillo. 3 km al N de Santos Reyes Tepejillo rumbo a Corral de Piedra (
To facilitate the identification of the species of
1 | Rosettes irregular or falcate in outline |
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– | Rosettes spherical in outline |
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2 | Inflorescence branched |
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– | Inflorescence simple |
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3 | Flower one per spike, spikes 1.3–1.5 cm long |
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– | Flowers two or more per spike, spikes longer than 1.6 cm |
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4 | Leaf blades 3–4 mm wide; floral bract elliptic |
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– | Leaf blades 5–8 mm wide; floral bract ovate |
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5 | Rosettes falcate, blades falcate |
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– | Rosettes irregular, blades squarrose |
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6 | Plants longer than 5.1 cm; spikes terete |
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– | Plants shorter than 5 cm; spikes elliptic, flattened |
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7 | Leaf sheaths broadly ovate to oblong; peduncle (in anthesis) longer than 4.1 cm and lesser than 2 mm diameter |
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– | Leaf sheaths broadly oblong to square; peduncle (in anthesis) shorter than 4 cm and larger than 4 mm diameter |
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8 | Inflorescence conspicuously pedunculate, peduncle longer than 4.1 cm |
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– | Inflorescence sessile or peduncle shorter than 3.5 cm |
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9 | Inflorescence simple, longer than 3.1 cm, flattened to terete, rarely with two small lateral spikes |
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– | Inflorescence branched, shorter than 3 cm long, flattened |
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10 | Leaf blades wider than 2.1 mm; floral bracts triangular to ovate, carinate |
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– | Leaf blades narrower than 2 mm; floral bracts elliptic to oblong, ecarinate to carinate only at the apex |
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11 | Leaf blades wider than 7.1 mm; anthers black |
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– | Leaf blades narrower than 7 mm; anthers green |
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12 | Plants short caulescent; floral bracts elliptic |
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– | Plants acaulescent; floral bracts variable in shape but never elliptic |
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13 | Spikes longer than 3.1 cm and wider than 1.1 cm |
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– | Spikes shorter than 3 cm and narrower than 1 cm |
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14 | Leaf sheaths broadly ovate to square, blades wider than 4.1 mm; sepals shorter than 1.5 cm |
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– | Leaf sheaths narrowly oblong, blades narrower than 4 mm; sepals longer than 1.6 cm |
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15 | Spikes 3 or less; floral bracts shorter than 1.5 cm; sepals lanceolate |
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– | Spikes 4 or more; floral bracts longer than 1.6 cm; sepals narrowly elliptic |
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To the people of Santos Reyes Tepejillo for the facilities to explore their lands. To the curators of herbaria CHAPA, FCME, GH, IBUG, IEB, MEXU, UAMIZ and WU for allowing us the access to their collections. We thank Atcire Martínez Sarabia, Aurelio Nicolás Hernández Rábago, Ángeles González Adán, Felipe Gómez Noguez, Elir Negri Lavín and Jazmín Conde Demeza for their support in the field trips. To Leonardo Versieux for the editorial comments. To Carlos Luis Leopardi Verde, Talita Mota Machado and the anonymous reviewer for the observations and suggestions that greatly improved the text. Part of this study is a result of the PhD thesis of the first author, which was funded by the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACyT) through the scholarship 402421.
Examined specimens.