Malvaceae neotropicae novae vel minus cognitae X. New species of Quararibea from Colombia and Ecuador

Abstract

In this advance of the taxonomic revision that is being carried out in the genus Quararibea (Malvaceae) for the north of South America, three new species are described in this contribution, which are compared morphologically with the species considered related in each case. A first, Q. cornejoi, known from the wet forests of western Ecuador that we associate with Q. grandifolia and Q. casasecae, taxa also distributed in the Pacific corridor of Ecuador and Colombia. A second species, Q. latilimbata, from the sub-Andean forests of the Central Cordillera of the Department of Antioquia, Colombia, related to the previous species and to the Amazonian species Q. duckei. All of them with an unusual trait in the genus, an androecium with the long staminal branches. Finally, Q.villanuevae, from the dry forests of the upper Magdalena Valley in the Department of Tolima, Colombia, associated with the Andean species Q. foenigraeca and Q. caldasiana. These last three species, which have androecium with smaller staminal branches, are assigned to a different morphological group. Illustrations and detailed photographs of the new species are included as well as keys to the identification of the treated species.