Glossoloma puroana J. L. Clark 2026, sp. nov.

Glossoloma puroana J. L. Clark sp. nov. Fig. 2 Diagnosis. Differs from all other congeners by the presence of a scandent subwoody habit (vs. terrestrial unbranched shrub), chartaceous leaf blades (vs. brittle leaf blades in G. jostii), presence of inflorescence bracts (vs. absence of inflorescence bracts in G. jostii), nearly tubular corolla that lacks an apical constriction (vs. ampliate and apically constricted corolla in G. jostii), a corolla tube with prominent longitudinal ridges (vs. smooth corolla in G. jostii), and cucullate calyx lobes (vs. valvate calyx lobes in G. jostii). Type. Ecuador • Tungurahua: Cantón Baños, parroquia Río Verde, Bosque Protector Cerro Candelaria (Fundación EcoMinga), upper Pastaza watershed, high ridgeline above canyon, trail between Cerro Candelaria permanent plot # 1 (2200 m) and high camp (2600 m), 1°26'26.7"S, 78°18'11.4"W, 2200–2664 m, 9 March 2016, J. L. Clark, J. A. Mayr & D. A. Neill 14812 (holotype: QCA!; isotypes: ECUAMZ!, G!, MO!, NY!, SEL! [barcode SEL 089280], US!). Description. Elongate scandent nomadic climbers. Stems elongate and quadrangular in cross section, 3–6 mm in diameter, sparsely pilose. Leaves opposite, equal in a pair; petiole 3–5.5 cm long, green, terete in cross-section, sparsely pilose; blade oblong, 15–20 × 4.5–7.0 cm, chartaceous, adaxially dark green, abaxially light green, apex acute to acuminate, base rounded, margin serrate, 5–7 pairs of secondary veins, abaxially and adaxially sericeous. Inflorescences reduced to 1 to 3 axillary flowers. Flowers resupinate, with elongate pendent pedicels, 2.8–3.7 cm long. Calyx uniformly red, sparsely pilose on the outside and glabrous on the inside, lobes 5, fused at the base for 2–4 mm, conduplicate with each lobe appressed to an adjacent lobe and folded lengthwise with the margin curved inward, clasping corolla tube, lower lobe relatively smaller and narrow, ca. 1.8 × 0.8 cm, the other four lobes broadly oblong, apex rounded, margins serrate, ca. 2.0 × 1.4 cm. Corolla tube ampliate on upper surface and slightly constricted apically, appearing perpendicular relative to calyx, 3.0–4.0 cm long, gibbous at base, with prominent longitudinal ridges, appearing laterally compressed, 2.5–4.0 mm wide, outside uniformly pilose, inside mostly glabrous with minute glandular trichomes apically, throat elliptic in cross section, lobes 5, subequal, margins entire to serrulate, lobes reflexed, 8–11 × 9–12 mm, tube yellow, basally suffused with red. Androecium of 4 didynamous stamens, included, filaments broad and flat, ca. 3.8 cm long, adnate to the corolla tube base for 4 mm, white, glabrous; anthers oblong, coherent by the lateral walls, dehiscing longitudinally, 4.3–6.2 × 0.8–2.2 mm. Gynoecium with a single bilobed dorsal gland; ovary superior, 4.2–5.2 × 4.2–5.2 mm, cone-shaped, pilose; style stout, included, 3.5 cm long; stigma stomatomorphic. Fruit not observed. Phenology. Collected with flowers in March. Etymology. The specific epithet honors Puro Coffee (UK), founded by Andy Orchard, whose support through the World Land Trust was instrumental in establishing Fundación EcoMinga’s Cerro Candelaria Reserve that safeguards all three species described here. In addition, Puro Coffee, through continued donations to the World Land Trust, supports the salary of a park guard at the reserve. Distribution. Glossoloma puroana is currently only known from the Cerro Candelaria reserve near Río Verde in Bosque Protector Cerro Candelaria, a private reserve managed by Fundación EcoMinga on the eastern slopes of the Ecuadorian Andes. Comments. Glossoloma puroana is characterized by elongate tubular corollas with prominent longitudinal ridges (Fig. 2 A). The corolla is yellow, suffused with red at the base externally, and marked internally with prominent red spots (Fig. 2 C). The calyx lobes are red and folded in a conduplicate manner (i. e., each lobe appressed to an adjacent lobe and folded lengthwise with the margin curved inward – Fig. 2 A & D). Yellow corollas are common in Glossoloma, but this is the only species in the genus known to have both a scandent habit and corollas yellow suffused with red (Fig. 2). In addition, while most species of Glossoloma have terete stems, G. puroana is distinctive in having subquadrangular stems (Fig. 2 B & D). The leaf blades in G. puroana are chartaceous with a sericeous indumentum (Table 1). In contrast, the leaves in G. jostii are stiff, brittle (especially when dry) and have a hispid indumentum (Table 1). Another diagnostic character of G. puroana is the presence of multiple flowers in the leaf axils (vs. single axillary flowers in G. jostii and G. recaldeorum) and presence of inflorescence bracts (vs. absence of inflorescence bracts in G. jostii and G. recaldeorum).