The history of the taxonomy of Pleurothallis R.Br. subsection Macrophyllae-Fasciculatae and recent descriptions in that group are summarized. The phylogenetic position of the group based on preliminary molecular data and the appropriateness of the proposed genera Acronia C.Presl. and Zosterophyllanthos Szlach. & Marg. for this group are discussed. Three new species from northern South America are described: Pleurothallis rubrifolia from southeastern Ecuador and northeastern Peru; Pleurothallis nangaritzae from southeastern Ecuador; and Pleurothallis castanea. Labellar micromorphology examined by scanning electron microscopy for P. rubrifolia and P. nangaritzae is discussed in relation to taxonomy and possible pollinator interactions.

aBstract. A new species of Platystele from the cloud forests of Northern Ecuador is described and illustrated. Platystele pamelae is compared to P. alucitae, a species that is overall similar and has been found growing sympatrically. The morphology of the leaves, the shape of the sepals and the intense sulphur-colored oblong lip, easily separate P. pamelae from P. alucitae and all other species in Platystele. Taxonomical and ecological notes are given.

A new species of Lepanthes form Ecuador, Lepanthes kayii, is described, illustrated and compared with other similar species. L. kayii is compared to the similar species L. saltatrix and is the latest discovered species from a group of species of this genus which share several unique features in flower and plant morphologies.

A new species of Lepanthes from southwestern Colombia is presented here. Lepanthes farallonensis belongs to the informal group “manabina”, which comprises species with concave and commonly pubescent leaves, flowers resting at the adaxial side of the leaves, and the synsepal with short to long tails. Lepanthes farallonensis is similar to L. smaragdina in the broadly ovate dorsal sepal but differs in the conspicuously twisted upper lobes of the petals, outwardly bent and a depression at the center of the laminae of the lip.

In 2008, Ecuador recognized the Constitutional Rights of Nature in a global first. This recognition implies a major shift in the human-nature relationship, from one between a subject with agency (humans) and an exploitable object (Nature), to a more equilibrated relationship of respect. However, the lack of a standard legal framework has left room for subjective interpretations and variable implementation. The recent widespread concessioning of pristine ecosystems to mining industries in Ecuador has set up an unprecedented conflict and test of these rights. Currently, a landmark case involving Los Cedros Protected Forest and mining companies has reached the Constitutional Court of Ecuador. If Ecuador’s highest Court rules in favor of Los Cedros and the Rights of Nature, it would set a legal precedent with enormous impact on biological conservation in Ecuador and, potentially, the world. Such a policy shift offers a novel conservation strategy, through citizen oversight and action.

aBstract. Scaphosepalum zieglerae is described from a small area near Chical in northern Ecuador. It is distinguished by the large plant, waxy yellow flowers densely spotted with brown red to blood-red, spiky tails of the lateral sepals and a dark blood-red, wingless lip. It is here compared to Scaphosepalum beluosum with which it shares most similarities, and to S. fimbriatum, another species with fimbriated sepaline tails.

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A new species of Lepanthes from north-western Ecuador is presented here. Lepanthes mashpica is similar to L. satyrica, with a long, descending, triangular process of the body of the lip but different in the simple and acute appendix versus the vertically bilobed appendix of L. satyrica. The species was found growing in several locations of Mashpi Reserve, a low-land cloud forest close to Quito.   Keywords: Ecuadorean orchids, Lepanthes mashpica, Lepanthes satyrica, Mashpi Reserve