A Taxonomic Revision of the Central American Genus Mesoamerantha (Bromeliaceae: Hechtioideae)

Abstract

A taxonomic revision of the Central American genus Mesoamerantha I. Ramírez & K. Romero is here presented. Each species entry includes full nomenclature, a morphological description, distributional and phenological data, a discussion of affinities, illustrations, and a conservation assessment following IUCN guidelines. In addition, epitypes are proposed for M. dichroantha (Donn. Sm.) I. Ramírez & K. Romero, a species endemic to Guatemala, and for M. malvernii (Gilmartin) I. Ramírez & K. Romero, a species restricted to Honduras and Nicaragua, the holotypes of which represent a single sex and are not sufficient for unambiguous identification. An artificial key is also included in order to identify live as well as herbarium specimens of all taxa.