New species of bromeliad discovered in Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden

An article published on November 19 in the journal Phytotaxa describes a new species of bromeliad, Wittmackia aurantiolilacina. The species is endemic to the Atlantic Forest and was collected in the Alto Cariri National Park, in Bahia, near the border with Minas Gerais. The collection was made in August 2023 by a team from the National Center for Flora Conservation, Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden (CNCFlora/JBRJ), during an expedition of the National Action Plan for the Conservation of Endangered Trees in Southern Bahia (PAN Hileia Baiana), within the scope of the GEF Pro-Species Project: all against extinction.

Collected without flowers, the bromeliad was introduced for cultivation in the Bromeliad Garden of the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden and in the Refúgio dos Gravatás in Teresópolis. Flowering occurred in July 2024 at the Botanical Garden, which allowed for its study and identification as a new species. The name aurantiolilacina comes from the colors of its inflorescences, orange and lilac.

- When I came across this plant blooming for the first time, I was amazed by the beauty of its flowers, an unusual combination of orange and lilac colors. I immediately suspected that it could be a new species because it did not resemble any bromeliad I had seen or studied in over 30 years of my career," said researcher Bruno Rezende, one of the authors of the study and curator of the scientific bromeliad collection at the Rio Botanical Garden.

Analyses suggest that it is a critically endangered (CR) species due to the pressure of human activities in its natural habitat, such as pastures and coffee and cocoa plantations, among others.