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| Columnea cumanday Solano-C., Parra-Lizc. & Sierra-Ariza, in Sierra-Ariza, Parra-Lizcano et Solano‑C., 2025. |
A new species of Columnea, endemic to the Colombian Andes and discovered in very humid montane forests of the Central Cordillera, is described and illustrated. Columnea cumanday Solano-C., Parra-Lizc. & Sierra-Ariza is distinguished by its lanceolate bracts and calyx lobes with a laciniate margin, each lacinia bearing a gland (green when fresh) at the apex. Both structures are covered with a dense hirsute indumentum of red-purple trichomes. The corolla is uniformly purple, with the outer surface densely covered with transparent, multicellular, glandular trichomes. The species bears four glandular nectaries: one dorsal nectary, bilobed to trilobed, and three deltoid ones. The berry is orange-red, ovate to rounded, villose, and covered with purple-red multicellular trichomes. Discuss and compare their differences with morphologically similar species, and a preliminary conservation status is proposed according to the IUCN Red List criteria.
Keywords. Andes; Central Cordillera; Colombia; Gesnerioideae; taxonomy
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| Columnea cumanday. A, habit. B, leaf, adaxial and abaxial surface. C, flower, lateral view. D, flower, front view. E, calyx lobe. F, flower, open corolla. G, flower, androecium and gynoecium. H, fruits. Photographs and LCDP by M. A. Sierra-Ariza. |
Columnea cumanday Solano-C., Parra-Lizc. & Sierra-Ariza, sp.nov.
Etymology. The epithet cumanday is a noun in apposition; it refers to the name given by the Carrapa and Quimbaya pre-Hispanic peoples to the snow-capped Volcán Nevado del Ruiz, which means “White Mountain”, where the new species occurs. This name also honors the rich biodiversity of this region.
Mario Alexei Sierra-Ariza, Nicolas Parra-Lizcano and Carlos A. Solano‑C. 2025. A New Species of Columnea (Gesneriaceae) from the Central Cordillera in the Northern Andes (Colombia). Darwiniana, nueva serie. 13(2); 383-393. DOI: doi.org/10.14522/darwiniana.2025.132.1312
Researchgate.net/publication/396887358_A_new_species_of_Columnea_from_the_Central_Cordillera_in_the_Northern_Andes_Colombia