Commemorating a conservation trifecta: Three new species of Glossoloma (Gesneriaceae) honoring a donor, a family of forest stewards, and a conservation visionary

During a 2016 field course in the Cerro Candelaria Reserve in the Pastaza Valley on the eastern slopes of the Ecuadorian Andes, three new species of Glossoloma (Gesneriaceae) were discovered along a single trail in one day. All three species are nomadic climbers, contrasting with the more typical subshrub habit in the genus. They 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 specific epithets commemorate their contributions to protecting these rapidly disappearing forests. The new species are Glossoloma jostii J. L. Clark, sp. nov., G. puroana J. L. Clark, sp. nov., and G. recaldeorum J. L. Clark, sp. nov.