Sincoraea humilis
was Orthophytum humilis (See DD02/17: for all new (DNA resolved) species & Cultivars.)
Click thumbnails for full size, scaled to a new window.
Sincoraea humilis
| Mitch Jones 12/24 as "aff. humilis" |
Sincoraea humilis (L.B. Sm.) Louzada & Wand., comb. nov (Fig.6) Journ Brom Soc 66(1):6-19. 2016
Basionym: Orthophytum humile Smith, Phytologia 15:75. 1968.
Type: Brasil. Minas Gerais: Grao Mogol, 18 August 1960, B. Maguire, G.M. Magalhaes & C.K. Maguire 49288 (holotype: US!, isotype: NY!).
Orthophytum humile L. B. Smith, Phytologia 16:75, pl.1, figs.13,14. 1968.
Detail from Dissertation by R Louzada 2008
translated by Butcher
Herb rupicolous of small size, stoloniferous, sometimes associated with white-ants; short stem, 0.8-2 x 1-2 cm.
Leaves numerous, densely imbricates, lightly arched, suberect when young, 3-22.3 cm;
Sheaths greenish, triangular, base a little enlarged, 0.4-1.2 x 0.4-1.0 cm, margins spinescent, spines antrorse, 0.1-0.3 mm long;
Blades subcoriaceous, the outermost green, passing, towards the centre of the rosette, vinaceous to rose, white to green, linear - triangular, 2.5-21.5 x 0.2-0.5 cm, densely lepidote, margins spinescent, spines antrorse, 0.7-14 cm long, apex mucronate.
Inflorescence sessile, simple, ca. 20 flowers;
Involucral bracts totally green or green with a whitish apex, triangular-lanceolate, ca. 2.2 x 0.8 cm, margins spinescent, sparsely lepidote, apex mucronate; profile missing.
Floral bracts subcoriaceous, green, asymmetrical, triangular, 1.3-2.1 x 0.4-1 cm, lepidote with captiate trichomes, margins spinescent in the upper half, in the lower part with small scattered spines, apex mucronulate.
Sepals green, asymmetrical, carinate, narrow triangular, ca. 1.5 x 0.3 cm, capitate trichomes, margins entire, apex mucronulate.
Petals white, linear-spatulate, ca. 1.8 x 0.6 cm, lobes with simple trichomes, apex obtuse, petal appendages sacciform, fimbriaye-digitate, to ca. 4 mm from the base of the petals, evident lateral callosities.
Epigynous tube ca. 1 mm long. Stamens of the first ring adnate to the petals in the basal part, portion free from the filaments ca. 0.4 mm long, the second ring forming a circle at the base of the sepals, ca. 1.1 cm long, anther ca. 3.5 mm long.
Ovary trigonoou, style ca. 1.1 cm long.
Fruit and seeds not seen.
Distribution and habitat: BRAZIL. Minas Gerais: Cristalia and Grao Mogol. It inhabits rupestrial fields about 850-1,000 m.s.m., at the edge of streams or rivers, as a rupicole, associated white ants in the cracks in the rocks.
Phenology: Found with flowers in February, October and November.
Specimens examined: BRASIL. MINAS GERAIS: CRISTALIA, 14.ix.1991, MGC 575 (SP) GRAO MOGOL, 25.ii.1986, Semir et al. CFCR 9659 (RB, SPF); Bacia do Ribeirao da Morte, 4.xi.1987, Cordeiro et al. CFCR 11484 (SPF); Corrego das Mortes, 13.x.2006, Louzada & Moreira 41 (SP).
Orthophytum humile is intimately related to Orthophytum sp., differing essentially by the densely lepidote leaf blades, and for the green colouration of the leaves, with the centre of the rosette red in Orthophytum sp. The inflorescence is simple in O. humile, while in Orthophytum. sp. the inflorescence has outside branches, each branch with two to three flowers.
Orthophytum humile occurs close to rivers and streams in the municipal district of Grao Mogol, many times associated with white-ants, together with other species of Bromeliaceae, as Vriesea oligantha (Baker) Mez and O. aff. mello-barretoi L.B. Sm.
Orthophytum humile L. B. Smith, Phytologia 16:75, pl.1, figs.13,14. 1968.
desc from S&D
Plant short-caulescent but branched.
Leaves numerous in a spreading rosette at the apex of the stem, 9 cm long;
sheaths broadly ovate, thin, nerved, glabrous;
blades linear, filiform-attenuate, 2.5 mm wide, covered on both sides with appressed, white scales, laxly serrate with spreading spines over 1 mm long.
Inflorescence terminal, sessile, capitate, many-flowered, 15 mm wide.
Floral bracts subfoliaceous, exceeding the sepals;
flowers sessile.
Sepals free, straight, symmetric, narrowly triangular, attenuate, 9 mm long;
petals free;
ovary broadly obconic, 3 mm long, epigynous tube very shallow.
Type. Maguire, Magalhaes & Maguire 49288 (holotype, US; isotype, NY), locally frequent on rocks, slopes below (north) Grao Mogul, Minas Gerais, Brazil, 18 Aug 1960.
Distribution. Known from the type collection only. Also Chapada Diamantina according to Leme 10/2002
Orthophytum humile: an Endangered Species of Brazilian Flora.
by Otavio Batista de Castro Ribeiro and Claudio Coelho de Paula in J Brom Soc 58(3): 101-4. 2008
The genus Orthophytum Beer is endemic to the northeastern and southeastern regions of Brazil, with a center of diversity along the Espinhaco Range, in the states of Bahia and Minas Gerais (Wanderley 1990; Leme 2004; Versieux and Wendt 2006). The members of this genus are rupicolous, saxicolous, or terrestrial, frequently found in open places that have much light and dry soil, on top of the rocky outcrops of the grasslands of rocky soils in the Espinhaco Range, in the scarps of the Atlantic Rainforest or in the domains of the Caatinga (Smith and Downs 1979)
There are 53 known species of Orthophytum and seven varieties (Louzada 2008), forming two easily distinguished groups: one with a well-developed scape, informally called "complex with scapose inflorescence", and the other group with a sessile inflorescence (Leme 2004, 2004a). The taxonomical problems involving Orthophytum are largely derived from the shortages of good herbaria collections and limited field investigation. The majority of the characteristics of the species are lost in herbaria specimens, especially in the congested inflorescence of the scapeless taxa (Wanderley and Conceicao 2006).
Orthophytum humile L.B.Sm. is one of the most delicate members of the genus, with a restricted distribution in the municipalities of Grao Mogol, the type region, and Cristalia, both in Minas Gerais state (Louzada, 2008). It propagates by means of short stolons, with rosettes 10-25 cm. in diameter and filiform leaves with appressed trichomes and marginal spines about 2 mm. in length. When in bloom, the rosettes exhibit a greenish-white coloration forming a narrow inner ring around the green inflorescence and an outer much broader ring of pink color, contrasting with the green to purplish distal portion of the leaves. (Figure 1).
According to Wanderley & Conceicao (2006), the species closely related to it are Orthophytum navioides L.B. Sm. and O. mucugense Wand. & Conceicao. O. humile differs from those species by having short rhizomes, filiform leaves, and short and appressed scales whereas O. navioides has long rhizomes, longer leaves, glabrous to sparse lepidote, and O. mucugense has triangular-lanceolate to linear-lanceolate leaves glabrous to sparse lepidote.
The grasslands on rocky soils of the Parque Estadual da Serra de Grao Mogol is characterized by the predominance of deciduous shrub vegetation among large rocks of sandstone (Figure 2) streaked with coarse sand and deposited with (Pirani, Mello Silva et al. 2003). Its species are typically xerophytes with numerous Cactaceae, as well as typically xerophytic Bromeliaceae like Dyckia and Encholirium.
The rocky outcrops in the area of occurrence of O. humile are made up of sandstone rocks approximately 5 m in height with a large number of concavities and cracks, where the species is established on shallow organic material.
Practically all of the individuals of O. humile are inter-twined with tunnels made by termites, which was also reported by Louzada (2008) (Figure 4). It has been observed that the termites do not eat any parts of O. humile. According to Thorne et al. (Thorne, Haverty et al. 1996) these foraging tunnels link the distant colony to the foraging area and are made by partially digested plant material, fecal material, soil, and water. Apparently the termites are not damaging the root system of the bromeliads, and their association may favor the nutrition of the plant. In contrast, the spines of the bromeliad can discourage predators of the termites, as observed with Dyckia and Encholirium in the Brazilian grasslands of rocky soils (Thorne et al., 1996). Studies aiming to clarify, the relationship of the termites with this species are important to help its conservation.
Orthophytum humile is included on the List of Endangered Species of the Brazilian Flora, together with another four Orthophytum species, under the "Deficient Data" (DD) category. This categorization was made despite O. humile being included in the List of Endangered Species of the Extinction of the Fauna and Flora of Minas Gerais categorized as "Critically in Danger" (CD) because of its limited area of occurrence (Fundacao Biodiversitas, 2007). Even considering its habitat in the State Park of Serra de Grao-Mogol, created in 1998, O. humile is not fully protected due to the periodic fires that affect the local vegetation during the dry season.
Updated 16/12/24