Hohenbergia alba and Hohenbergia sparsiflora, two striking new bromeliads from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest Author Cavalcante, Brayan Paiva Universidade de São Paulo (USP / CENA), 13416 - 903, Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil, Author Silva, Clécio Danilo Dias Da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), 59078 - 900, Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Author Souza, Everton Hilo De Universidade Federal do Recôncavo da Bahia (UFRB), 44380 - 000, Cruz das Almas, Bahia, Brazil, Author Versieux, Leonardo M. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), 59078 - 900, Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Author Martinelli, Adriana Pinheiro Universidade de São Paulo (USP / CENA), 13416 - 903, Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil, text Phytotaxa 2024 2024-09-24 665 3 233 242 https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.665.3.5 journal article 306652 10.11646/phytotaxa.665.3.5 784e7cb7-54e5-4df3-86f3-67b8ddc9c87c 1179-3163 14518747 Hohenbergia alba B.P. Cavalcante, E.H. Souza & Versieux , sp. nov. ( Figs. 1–2 ) Diagnosis : — Hohenbergia alba is closely related to H. blanchetii , but easily distinguished by its broader yet smaller leaf blades (38–50 × 20–24 cm vs. 90–120 × 14–16 cm ), pink ( vs. green) ovoidal inflorescence (widely pyramidal), delicate and thinner peduncle ( ca. 1 cm vs. 2 cm ), flower size ( ca. 13 mm long vs . 7–9 mm ), white-colored and patent to ascendant petal blades ( vs. lilac and reflexed). Type:— BRAZIL . Bahia : Itamaraju, road that connects Itamaraju to Porto Seguro, in a cacao plantation near Itamaraju downtown, ca. 123 m elevation, 16°59’47.3”S 39°33’04.9”W , 25 May 2019 , E . H . Souza & B . P . Cavalcante 61 ( Holotype HURB ! isotype : ESA ! and UFRN !). Plant epiphytic, 100–125 cm tall when flowering, rarely propagating by basal shoots. Leaves ca. 18 in number, arcuate to spreading, forming an open crateriform rosette 40–55 × 70–100 cm ; leaf sheath 21–25 × 14–17 cm , elliptic, sparsely white lepidote on both sides, light castaneous except for the green distal part, stiff coriaceous, margins entire; leaf blade 38–50 × 20–24 cm , linear-oblong to lingulate, broadly canaliculate, apex cuspidate ending in a rigid but not spinose apex ca. 8 mm long, conspicuously brownish contrasting with the basal green portion of the blades, coriaceous, sparsely white-lepidote abaxially, margins spinulose, pale red, marginal spines black, rigid, very close to each other. Peduncle 45–60 cm long, ca . 10 mm diameter, erect, stiff, pink, white lanate, covered by its bracts; peduncle bracts 15–18 × 1.5–1.9 cm , lanceolate-aristate, brownish-stramineous, densely imbricate, exceeding the internodes and concealing the peduncle, glabrous. Inflorescence fertile part 43–65 cm long, 50–70 cm in diameter at its widest portion, paniculate, ovoidal, 3-4-branched, 2-branched distally, erect, pinkish stipes and rachis, densely white-lanate; primary bracts 4.5–6.2 × 1.4–1.7 cm , resembling the peduncle bracts in shape and color, but smaller, exceeding the sterile base of the branches; primary branches 24–34 cm long, the stipes 3–7 cm , divergent to spreading, densely white-lanate, with short-stipitate to sessile secondary branches, laxly and polystichously arranged along the reproductive axis; secondary bracts ca . 2 × 1.4 cm , elliptical, apex acuminate, resembling the primary bracts in color but smaller, shorter than the branches; secondary branches 6–10 cm long, distinctly stipitate to sessile, stipes (0–) 2–3 cm long, bearing sessile spikes at the distal portion; tertiary bracts resembling the primary and secondary bracts but smaller, ca. 1 cm long, shorter than the branches; spikes 2.5–4 cm long, short globose, 5–11-flowered; floral bracts ca . 4 × 11 mm , green, widely triangular-ovate and convexly embracing the ovary, caudate, nerved, margins entire, covered by white and blackish lanate indument, surpassing the sepals in length. Flowers ca . 13 mm long, sessile, organized in a strobilar shape, odorless; sepals 2–3 × 5–7 mm , green, triangular-ovate, margins entire, apex acuminate and slightly spinescent, asymmetrical with a thin marginal wing equaling the spinescent apex, connate at the base (ca. 25% of the sepal length), covered by an inconspicuous white and blackish lanate indument; petals 10–13 × 3–6 mm , spatulate, base erect and blade spreading towards the apex, margins entire, free, white, nerved, apex short apiculate, bearing 2 basal and fringed appendages at the base; stamens 4–5 mm long, emerging through the corolla; filaments 2–4 mm long, white, complanate; anthers 1–2 mm long, dorsifixed, apex apiculate; ovary 3–4 × 10 mm , green, wide-ovoidal, placentation axial; ovules caudate with a prominent chalazal appendage, ca . 0.4 mm long, epigynous tube inconspicuous; style 8–9 mm long, white, erect, exceeding the stamens, exposed by the spreading petals; stigma conduplicate-spiral. Fruit ca. 12 × 12–13 mm , bluish when ripe; seeds 1–1.5 mm , nearly ellipsoid, brownish. FIGURE 1. Hohenbergia alba : A. Flowering plant. B. Leaf blade with a cuspidate apex. C. Peduncle, concealed by the imbricate peduncle bracts. D. Apical section of the inflorescence. E. Spike with immature fruits and an open-flower. Bars: A = 50 cm, B = 15 cm, C = 20 cm, D = 3 cm, E = 1 cm. Photographs: B.P. Cavalcante. Etymology: —The specific epithet “ alba ” refers to the white ( “alba ”) color of the petals, a rare trait for Hohenbergia . FIGURE 2. Hohenbergia alba drawing. A. Flowering plant. B. Leaf. C. Peduncle bract. D. Primary bract. E. Secondary bract. F. Distal peduncle portion + inflorescence branch. G. Flower. H. Petal. I. Sepal. J. Floral bract. Bars: A = 10 cm. B = 15 cm. C = 3 cm. D = 1.5 cm E = 1 cm. F = 15 cm. G = 3 mm. H = 3 mm. I–J = 1 mm. Illustration by Brayan Paiva Cavalcante. TABLE 1. Morphological comparison between Hohenbergia alba , H. sparsiflora and their morphologically related species.

Hohenbergia alba and its		Hohenbergia sparsiflora and its
morphologically related species		morphologically related species
H. alba	H. blanchetii	H. halutheriana	H. itamarajuensis	H. sparsiflora	H. hatschbachii
Rosette	40–55 × 70–100	60–85 × 90–120	90–110 × 140–	70–100 × 130–	60–75 × 100–130 cm	70–90 × 140–200
cm	cm	210 cm	180 cm	cm
Leaf-sheath	21–25 × 14–17	25–32 × 18–21	27–42 × 23–27	23–27 × 18–20	16–22 × 20–24 cm	22–24 × 23–26 cm
size	cm	cm	cm	cm
Leaf sheath	Sparsely white	glabrous	glabrous	glabrous	Sparsely white	dense white-lanate
indument	lepidote on both	lepidote or glabrous
sides
Leaf-blade size	38–50 × 20–24	90 – 120 × 14	140–200 ×	70–110 × 17–18	50–60 × 19–24 cm	90–120 × 20–23
cm	– 16 cm	20–24 cm	cm	cm

Leaf blade linear-oblong, linear-oblong, narrowly linear- linear-oblong, Linear-oblong, Linear-oblong, shape and green, cuspidate green, acuminate oblong, green, green, cuspidate brownish, acute or green, cuspidate indument and acuminate cuspidate Peduncle 45–60 cm long, 50–70 cm long, 90–130 cm 70–85 cm long, 25–40 cm long, thin, 50–80 cm long, stout, pink, stout, light- long, stout, stout, green, green, white lanate stout, yellowish, white lanate green, white- reddish, glabrous brown lanate lanate glabrous

Inflorescence	43–65 cm long,	60–85 cm	100–150 cm	65–90 cm long,	30–45 cm long,	30–45 cm long,
(fertile part)	50–70 cm in	long, 90–110	long, 110–145	85–100 cm	30–45 cm in diam.,	30–45 cm in
diam., ovoidal,	cm in diam.,	cm diam.,	diam., pyramidal,	pyramidal, greenish,	diam., pyramidal,
pinkish, densely	pyramidal, light-	pyramidal,	green, glabrous	sparsely white-lanate	greenish, sparsely
white-lanate	green, sparsely	reddish,	or glabrous	white-lanate or
white-lanate	glabrous	glabrous
Spikes	2.5–4 cm long,	1.5–2 cm long,	9–20 cm long,	5–7 cm long,	ca . 2 cm long,	8–16 cm long,
globose	globose	ellipsoid	ovoid	bearing sparsed	ellipsoid
flowers
Flower length	ca. 13 mm	7–9 mm	18–20 mm	17–19 mm	16–19 mm	17–20 mm
Floral bracts	4 × 11 mm,	2 × 5 mm,	14 × 10 mm,	12 × 11 mm,	2 × 4 mm, caudate,	15 × 12 mm,
spinescent apex,	mucronate,	acuminate,	acuminate,	green, surpassed by	acuminate,
green, surpassed	green, surpassed	green,	pale-brown,	the sepals	brownish,
by the sepals	by the sepals	surpassing the	surpassing the	surpassing the
sepals	sepals	sepals
Sepals	2–3 × 5–7 mm,	ca . 2 × 5 mm,	8–9 × 11–13	9–10 × 8–10 mm,	4–6 × 5–8 mm,	6–8 × 10–12
green, ovate-	light-green,	mm, green,	yellowish, ovate,	green, ovate-	mm, yellowish,
triangular,	ovate-triangular,	ovate-triangular,	glabrous	triangular, glabrous	triangular, with
with blackish-	with white	glabrous	brown indument
indument	indument
Petals	10–13 ×	ca . 7 × 3 mm,	16–18 ×	13–14 × 6–7 mm,	13–16 × 4–6 mm,	14–17 × 6–7 mm,
3–6 mm, white,	lilac, spatulate,	7–9 mm,	greenish, linear-	lilac, spatulate, sub-	lilac, spatulate,
spatulate,	reflex at apex	purple, linear-	lanceolate, erect	erect	erect
concave towards	lanceolate,
the apex	reflexed at apex

Gynoecium surpassing surpassing both surpassing both concealed by surpassing stamens, surpassing both stamens, stamens and stamens and petals, surpassing exposed by the stamens and petals, exposed by the petals, white petals, white stamens, white spreading petals, white spreading petals, white white Measurements were based on the original description and supplemented by observations of living plants Distribution and habitat: — Hohenbergia alba is an epiphyte in the canopy, growing on trees that shade cacao plantations, but never on cocoa trees, along the extreme south of Bahia , in the Itamaraju municipality. It shares its habitat with other Hohenbergia species , easily observed throughout the highways that connect Itamaraju to Porto Seguro, or in the edge of forests in this region. The region is characterized by a hot and humid climate, typical of coastal humid forests, making it a hotspot for various bromeliad species, including representatives from different genera. However, within this habitat, only H. halutheriana Leme (2013: 299) and H. itamarajuensis Leme & Baracho (1999: 78) are observed sympatrically, being very distinct from H. alba . Hohenbergia halutheriana stands out due to its larger size and the red inflorescence with green spikes, while H. itamarajuensis is recognized by its pedunculate inflorescence with long-stipitate branches with a single apical spike (a thorough comparison can be found in Table 1 ). Phenology: —Specimens were seen flowering, in cultivation, from November through February, at the Greenhouse of Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura (CENA/USP) – Piracicaba/SP. Conservation status: — The species is so far restricted to the coastal Atlantic Forest in the southernmost region of Bahia , within the municipality of Itamaraju. Its occurrence coincides with cacao plantations and numerous bromeliads are observed in forest along the highway. By plotting the known occurrences of this species, we estimate its extent of occurrence (EOO) to be approximately 1,684.5 km ², and the area of occupancy (AOO) to be 32 km ², classifying it as Endangered (EN). Consequently, we propose that this species be treated as an Endangered species (EN B2b (i, ii, iii, iv), following the IUCN criteria guidelines (IUCN, 2020). Observations: — Hohenbergia alba is among the several giant Hohenbergia species inhabiting the coastal region of Bahia . It shares morphological similarities, particularly with H. blanchetii Mez (1891: 267) . Hohenbergia alba can be readily distinguished by its white petals, which is an uncommon trait within the genus and has only been observed in H. bellemii Smith & Read (1976: 438) , H. ituberaensis Cavalcante, Souza & Versieux (2020: 120) , H. littoralis Smith (1940: 33) , and H. viridorubra Leme (2013: 305) . (detailed comparison in Table 1 ). In sympatry with H. alba , H. halutheriana , and H. itamarajuensis exhibit significant similarities during vegetative growth, particularly in their rosette structure, however at flowering they are easily distinguished (see detailed comparison in Table 1 ).