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Lozania nunkui (Lacistemataceae), a new species from the sandstone plateaus of the Cordillera del Cóndor in Ecuador and Peru

Abstract:

Lozania nunkui D. A. Neill & Asanza (Lacistemataceae), a new species from the Cordillera del Cóndor region of southeastern Ecuador and adjacent northern Peru, is described and illustrated. It is distinguished from other species in the genus by the glabrous, entire, relatively thick and coriaceous, sclerophyllous leaves, and uniquely, by the five or occasionally six sepals, rather than four sepals as in all other known species. The new species is restricted to nutrient-poor, highly acidic sandstone plateaus within its range, and the thick sclerophyllous leaves appear to be an ecological adaptation to that edaphic condition.