Species Boundaries in the <i>Vriesea incurvata</i> (Bromeliaceae) Complex After a Broad Morphometric and Taxonomic Study

The genus Vriesea encompasses many species of difficult delimitation, including Vriesea incurvata, which shows wide morphological variation throughout its distribution in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Six other taxa are morphologically similar to V. incurvata: V. atrococcinea, V. joyae (with two varieties), V. sucrei, andV. taritubensis (with two varieties), which comprise the species complex. Our aims were to evaluate morphological variation through a morphometric study of natural populations to establish the limits and validity of those taxa, and to produce a taxonomic treatment. A total of 23 morphometric variables were measured among 241 individuals from 15 natural populations. The morphological evidence led to the recognition of five taxa: V. incurvata, V. sucrei, V. taritubensis var. taritubensis, V. taritubensis var. brevisepala, and V. taritubensis var. patens (a new variety). Three synonyms are proposed: V. atrococcinea (under V. sucrei), V. joyae var. joyae, and V. joyae var. parvula (under V. taritubensis var. taritubensis). The resulting taxa were re-circumscribed and data on their geographic distributions is updated.