Exploratory field expeditions to the Chocó forests in the northwestern slopes of the Ecuadorian and Colombian Andes resulted in the discovery of two new species of Columnea (Gesneriaceae). Columnea fluidifolia J.L.Clark & F.Tobar, sp. nov., is described as a narrow endemic from Bosque Protector Mashpi and surrounding areas in the province of Pichincha in northern Ecuador. Columnea pendens F.Tobar, J.L.Clark & J.F.Sm., sp. nov., is described from recently discovered populations in the provinces of Carchi and Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas (Ecuador) and the departments of Cauca and Nariño in southwestern Colombia. The two new species are pendent epiphytes with elongate shoots and shallowly bilabiate to nearly tubular corollas. Descriptions, complete specimen citations, and a distribution map are provided. Based on IUCN guidelines, a preliminary conservation status of Critically Endangered (CR) is provided for C. fluidifolia and Endangered (EN) is provided for C. pendens.
Exploratory field expeditions to the western slopes of the Ecuadorian Andes resulted in the discovery of a new species of Monopyle (Gesneriaceae). Monopyle glutinosa J.L.Clark & Keene, sp. nov. is described as a narrow endemic from lowland forests along the border of the Reserva Ecológica Los Illinizas in the Province of Cotopaxi. The new species is unique for the presence of glutinous or sticky trichomes on the calyx lobes and outer surface of the inferior ovary. Based on IUCN guidelines, a preliminary conservation status is assigned as Critically Endangered (CR).
Comparatively few species of the insectivorous genus Pinguicula L. have been recognized in South America so far. In recent years, a number of narrowly endemic taxa from the Andes have been described that simultaneously refined the broad taxonomic concepts of the “historical” species. Here, we describe two striking new species from Southern Ecuador that further condense the circumscription of Pinguicula calyptrata Kunth. Pinguicula jimburensissp. nov. and P. ombrophilasp. nov. are clearly beyond the taxonomic scope of the known species and consequently described as new to science. The deviating morphological features of the two new taxa are described and illustrated and the remaining morphological spectrum of P. calyptrata in Ecuador is outlined. The two new species add to the exceptional biodiversity in the Amotape-Huancabamba Zone and underline its importance as a biodiversity hotspot in urgent need of protection.
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