“The Old White Lady of Kew Gardens”, Hechtia argentea (Bromeliaceae: Hechtioideae), found her homeland in Mexico

Abstract

Hechtia argentea was described from a cultivated pistillate plant of unknown origin. The type specimen consists of a leaf fragment and a portion of a pistillate inflorescence. Hechtia argentea is part of a group of species with rosettes that bloom laterally, showing variation in dimensions and structure of the inflorescences of both sexes through the different years of flowering. Delimitation of species becomes more complicated where staminate and/or pistillate plants of different species are frequently similar, making it essential to have all plant structures available for accurate identifications. We designate an epitype for Hechtia argentea, consisting of a staminate plant, allowing for the unambiguous identification of the species. Species in Hechtia have restricted geographical distributions; thus, we provide precise locality data for H. argentea within Megamexico based on herbarium specimens. The species is endemic to the Sierra Madre Oriental and Mexican Plateau biogeographical regions, in the Mexican States of Hidalgo and Querétaro. In addition, we include for the first time a complete morphological description of both morphs, line drawings and photos of the species in situ, as well as a map showing the known distribution. Finally, we present an evaluation of the risk of extinction following the IUCN criteria.

Spatial phylogenetics in Hechtioideae (Bromeliaceae) reveals recent diversification and dispersal

“…In the only biogeographic study carried out for this group, Pech-Cárdenas (2015) identified that the biogeographic provinces with the greatest specific richness of Hechtioideae are the Pacific Lowlands, Sierra Madre del Sur, Veracruz, Balsas Basin, and Mexican Highland provinces. Most species have restricted distribution ranges and high endemism rates (Ramírez-Morillo et al 2018b); accordingly, most of these species have been assessed as under some risk category according to the criteria of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) (Pech-Cárdenas 2015, Ramírez-Morillo et al 2016, Ramírez-Morillo et al 2020, Romero-Soler et al 2022.…”