Vriesea (Bromeliaceae, Tillandsioideae): a cladistic analysis of eastern Brazilian species based on morphological characters

Vriesea, with about 280 species distributed in two sections, Vriesea and Xiphion, is recognized as polyphyletic. We provide the cladistic analysis based on morphological data, with emphasis on species from eastern Brazil, its main center of diversity, which emerged as a monophyletic group in previous molecular and combined analysis. The data matrix contained information of 60 species of Vriesea, and two of Alcantarea, for a total of 62 terminal taxa and 66 characters. The analysis produced one tree with 652 steps. The classic infrage- neric division of the sections was not corroborated. Characters traditionally used to separate the two sections supported clades containing species from both sections. Morphologically related monophyletic groups were recognized. Some characters have been highlighted as potentially important in the circumscription of small groups of species and have not yet been much used in the systematics of Vriesea.