A new species of (Ericaceae, Vaccinieae) from the Cordillera del Cóndor in Ecuador.

BACKGROUND

The neotropical genus Ruiz & Pav. ex J.St.-Hil. (Ericaceae), comprises about 70-75 species and is distributed from Honduras in Central America, through the central Andes south to Bolivia, and eastward to Suriname and Brazil in South America. Ecuador is one of the countries with the greatest diversity of the genus, including 18 species, 12 of which are endemic. Within southeastern Ecuador, the Cordillera del Cóndor is a region characterized by exceptionally high levels of plant endemism, largely due to its unique geology. Recent botanical explorations across this area have led to the discovery of several new species in recent years. Among those was a peculiar species of that is distinct by having exclusively cauliflorous inflorescences in which the pedicel is articulated with the calyx and the filaments are connate. This species is here described and illustrated as

NEW INFORMATION

A new species, , is described from the Cordillera del Cóndor in eastern Ecuador. It is distinguished by having a scrambling habit, provided with lignotubers, lanceolate leaves that are verticillate at the apex of branches, solitary and glabrous flowers, caducous bracts and bracteoles, stamens shorter than the corolla, anthers with prognathous thecae, and laterally connate tubules. The taxonomic similarities of the new species are discussed, and information about its distribution, habitat, and conservation is provided.