Abstract:

Bakerantha is one of the three genera of subfamily Hechtioideae (Bromeliaceae). This genus was re‐established recently, and it currently contains four species (B. caerulea, B. lundelliorum, B. purpusii, and B. tillandsioides), which are distributed throughout the central region of Mexico. Bakerantha tillandsioides has the widest geographical distribution of the four species, and some populations currently referred to it do not match the species description. In this study, we used extensive sampling (81 accessions) of four plastid regions (matK, rpl32‐trnL, rps16‐trnK, and ycf1) and the nuclear PRK gene to reconstruct the phylogenetic relationships and delimit the species boundaries in Bakerantha. Our results confirm the monophyly of Bakerantha, and the species delimitation analysis supports five evolutionary lineages within Bakerantha, showing that B. tillandsioides is nonmonophyletic as currently circumscribed. Diagnostic characters and coherent geographical distributions support the five lineages. On the basis of our results, we describe and illustrate B. hidalguense as a new species and provide evidence that B. caerulea is morphologically and ecologically different from B. tillandsioides, with which it has been confused in the past. Additionally, we provide a morphological key to the Bakerantha species.

Key words: biogeographical provinces, IUCN, Mexico, molecular phylogenetics, new species, species delimitation