Abstract
A new species of Glossoloma is described from the western Andean slopes of the Pichincha Province in northern Ecuador. Glossoloma wiehleri J.L.Clark & Tobar is differentiated from all other congeners by an epiphytic habit, elongate scandent shoots that exceed four meters in length, and coriaceous leaves with a velutinous indument on the lower leaf surface. The new species is illustrated, featured with field images from recent expeditions, and assigned the category of Endangered (EN) according to IUCN Criteria.
Keywords: Ecuador, Gesneriaceae, Glossoloma, taxonomy
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| Glossoloma wiehleri J.L. Clark & F. Tobar. A Mature flower B Stem with foliage C Stem with axillary clusters of flowers D Hans Wiehler holding the holotype (A, B from Tobar & Gavilanes 3521 C, D from H. Wiehler et al. 93228). Photos A, B by F. Tobar, C by M. Riley D by G. Robinson. |
Glossoloma wiehleri J.L.Clark & Tobar, sp. nov.
Diagnosis. Differs from all other congeners by the presence of elongate scandent shoots that exceed four meters in length, coriaceous leaves that are velutinous on lower surface, and a corolla tube that is broadly ampliate on the dorsal surface.
Etymology. The specific epithet is in reference to Hans Wiehler (1930–2003). Wiehler was a practicing Mennonite from East Prussia (now Poland) and immigrated to the USA in the 1950s. He attained a Bachelor’s degree from the Eastern Mennonite College in 1954 and a Bachelor of Divinity degree in 1956 from Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana (Clark 2003). He eventually left the Mennonite church and pursued his passion for botany. Wiehler earned a Master’s degree from Cornell and obtained his Ph.D. in Botany from the University of Miami. Wiehler’s advanced degrees focused on the taxonomy and classification of Gesneriaceae. Wiehler was one of the first botanists hired by the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens where he served as the associate editor and business manager of the garden’s journal, Selbyana (1975–1981). He left Selby in 1982 and established the Gesneriad Research Foundation (GRF) in Sarasota, Florida where he directed annual seminars that were attended by horticulturists, taxonomists, students and plant enthusiasts. Wiehler also organized and directed 14 study trips to South and Central America, including the 1993 expedition that resulted in the discovery of Glossoloma wiehleri. The first author met Hans Wiehler in 1994 and corresponded with him regularly until he died in 2003. Wiehler’s passion for Gesneriaceae was contagious.
John L. Clark and Francisco Tobar. 2021. Glossoloma wiehleri (Gesneriaceae), A New Species from the northwestern Andes of Ecuador. PhytoKeys. 186: 1-9. DOI: 10.3897/phytokeys.186.73554
Resumen: Se describe una nueva especie de Glossoloma de las laderas occidentales de la provincia Pichincha en el norte de Ecuador. Glossoloma wiehleri J.L.Clark & Tobar se diferencia de todos sus otros congéneres por su hábito epífito, ramas escandentes alargadas que superan los cuatro metros de longitud y hojas coriáceas con un indumento velutino en la superficie inferior de la hoja. La nueva especie se ilustra con imágenes de campo de expediciones recientes y se le asigna la categoría de En Peligro (EN) de acuerdo a los criterios de la IUCN.
