Morphological variation in the Vriesea procera complex (Bromeliaceae, Tillandsioideae) in the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest, with recognition of new taxa

The family Bromeliaceae is essentially Neotropical, with high endemism and diversity in the Atlantic Rainforest Domain. Species circumscription is a major problem in the family systematics, especially in the most diverse genera. Species of the Vriesea procera complex, which occur in forests and restinga (coastal vegetation) along the South American Atlantic coast from Venezuela to southern Brazil, share the same basic vegetative and reproductive morphological patterns. However, they vary widely in the number and position of inflorescence branches as well as in the dimensions, position, and shape of the leaves and flowers in different populations. Here we aimed (i) to evaluate the morphological variation in the V. procera complex, through morphometric analyses of natural populations along the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest; and (ii) to determine the taxonomic relationships among these species, establishing the validity and the limits of variation of the taxa through
taxonomic treatment. F...