Selby Gardens research botanist, John L. Clark, recently published three new plant species of tropical air plants in the genus Glossoloma (Gesneriaceae) discovered in Ecuador’s Cerro Candelaria Reserve.  During an exploratory research expedition by Clark in the Pastaza Valley on the eastern slopes of the Ecuadorian Andes, three new species were discovered along a single trail in one day, standing as living proof that collaborative conservation and local stewardship work. All three species are named in honor of three stakeholders from diverse backgrounds who collaborated to conserve one of the last remnants of Andean forests in the Pastaza Valley. The new species names commemorate their contributions to protecting these rapidly disappearing forests. The new species are Glossoloma jostii, G. puroanum , and G. recaldeorum. The species were published in the peer-reviewed journal PhytoKeys.

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