Recognition of Pitcairnia corcovadensis (Bromeliaceae) at the Species Level

Pitcairnia flammea var. corcovadensis was formed by the reduction of P. corcovadensis. The re-establishment of the latter taxon is based on two points: (1) P. corcovadensis occurs sympatrically with P. flammea in many locations, and (2) a morphometric analysis on a natural population involving these two taxa showed that they were distinct and no intermediate form was found despite their overlapping flowering seasons. Herbarium collections were examined to verify that this distinction is consistent throughout their geographic distribution. Despite the apparent reproductive isolation, artificial hybrids can be produced between P. corcovadensis, and P. flammea. Five morphological traits were recorded for 221 six-month old seedlings from artificial hybrids and parental taxa that were grown under the same controlled conditions. Analysis of variance and discriminant analysis on seedlings showed the differences to be genetically based. A brief review of the synonyms related to P. flammea complex concluded that P. lancifolia var. lancifolia, P. lancifolia var. minor, and P. pumila are synonyms of P. corcovadensis. A re-description, an epitype establishment, geographic distribution, description and list of material examined are provided for P. corcovadensis. Communicating Editor: Paul Wilson