The Reestablishment of Bakerantha, and a New Genus in Hechtioideae (Bromeliaceae) in Megamexico, Mesoamerantha

Abstract

The most recent phylogenetic analyses using molecular and morphological data of Hechtioideae revealed the presence of three well-supported, morphologically distinct clades related to each other as follows: (Hechtia tillandsioides complex [Hechtia guatemalensis complex (Hechtia s.s.)]). (1) H. tillandsioides complex is recognized here at the generic level (under the reestablished name Bakerantha), characterized by its grass-like leaves, which are almost entire or minutely dentate, central inflorescences with pedicellate flowers, and papyraceous, pendent fruits; this clade includes four species confined to the Veracruzan, Sierra Madre Oriental, Balsas Basin, and Transmexican Volcanic Belt biotic provinces. (2) The H. guatemalensis complex, here proposed as the new genus Mesoamerantha, is characterized by the presence of central inflorescences and flowers with ¾ superior ovaries and is confined to the Pacific Lowlands, Veracruzan, Mosquito, and Chiapas Highlands provinces (in Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua). The remaining sampled taxa are grouped into a clade (3) that consists of three well-supported lineages: the Hechtia glomerata complex distributed in the drainage of the Gulf of Mexico; a clade conformed by two species (H. deceptrix and H. epigyna) from the Sierra Madre Oriental that share an inferior ovary, and a poorly resolved internal clade (Core Hechtia) with the remaining species containing several well-supported, geographically restricted clades.