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

Glossoloma jostii J. L. Clark sp. nov. Fig. 1 Diagnosis. Differs from all other congeners by its scandent subwoody habit (vs. the more common terrestrial unbranched shrub habit), brittle leaf blades (vs. chartaceous in most other congeners), apically constricted corolla (vs. non-ampliate or broad as in G. subglabrum), uniformly red corollas (vs. uniformly yellow, or yellow with red lobes), and valvate calyx lobes (vs. conduplicate calyx lobes where each lobe is appressed to an adjacent lobe and folded lengthwise in G. puroana and G. recaldeorum). 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 14803 (holotype: QCA!; isotypes: E!, ECUAMZ!, G!, MO!, NY!, SEL! [barcode SEL 089267], US!). Description. Elongate scandent nomadic climbers. Stems elongate and subwoody, terete in cross section, 3–6 mm in diameter, sparsely to densely pilose. Leaves opposite, equal in a pair; petioles 1–3 cm long, green, terete in cross-section, densely pilose; blade brittle (especially when dry), oblong, 5–10 × 1.5–3 cm, coriaceous, adaxially and abaxially green, apex acute to acuminate, base acute, margin serrate, 4–6 pairs of secondary veins, hispid abaxially and adaxially. Inflorescences reduced to a single axillary flower. Flowers resupinate, with elongate pendent pedicels, 1.6–2.2 cm long. Calyx lobes uniformly dark red, pilose on the outside and glabrous on the inside, lobes 5, nearly free, fused at the base for 2–4 mm, valvate to separate, and clasping corolla tube, lower lobe relatively smaller and narrow, ca. 1.3 × 0.4 cm, the other four lobes broadly ovate, apex acute, margins serrate, ca. 1.5 × 1.3 cm. Corolla tube ampliate on upper surface and apically constricted, appearing perpendicular relative to calyx, 2.7–3.8 cm long, gibbous at base, appearing laterally compressed, 2.0– 3.5 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, uniformly red. Androecium of 4 didynamous stamens, included, filaments broad and flat, ca. 3.0 cm long, adnate to the corolla tube base for 4 mm, white, glabrous; anthers oblong, coherent by the lateral walls, dehiscing longitudinally, 4.2–6.0 × 0.7–2.0 mm. Gynoecium with a single bilobed dorsal gland; ovary superior, 4.0–5.0 × 4.0–5.0 mm, cone-shaped, puberulent; style stout, included, 3.0 cm long; stigma stomatomorphic. Fruit not observed. Phenology. Collected with flowers in March. Etymology. The specific epithet honors Lou Jost, botanist, conservationist, self-taught mathematical biologist, and co-founder of the EcoMinga Foundation. His efforts have been instrumental in protecting montane forests throughout Ecuador, particularly in the Pastaza Valley on the eastern slopes of the Andes. Jost has contributed extensively to the discovery and description of plant species, especially orchids, and his vision and leadership have been pivotal in conserving biodiversity hotspots in the region. This epithet commemorates his dedication to science, conservation, and the protection of remnant Andean forests, including the locality of the three new species described here. Distribution. Glossoloma jostii 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. The combination of uniformly red corollas with a nomadic scandent habit is rare in Glossoloma. An undescribed western Andean species also shares the scandent habit and uniformly red corollas of G. jostii, but differs by its green calyx lobes (vs. red in G. jostii) and a uniformly bright yellow throat (vs. the uniformly red inner and outer surfaces in G. jostii; Fig. 1 B). Some other species of Glossoloma also have uniformly red corollas, but they are readily distinguished from G. jostii by their unbranched, terrestrial subshrub habit and elongate tubular corollas without an apical constriction (vs. ampliated corollas that are apically constricted in G. jostii; Fig. 1 A). Examples of unbranched terrestrial subshrub species with red corolla include G. baguense (L. E. Skog) J. L. Clark, G. subglabrum J. L. Clark, G. oblongicalyx (J. L. Clark & L. E. Skog) J. L. Clark, and G. panamense (C. V. Morton) J. L. Clark. One example of a terrestrial species of Glossoloma characterized with uniformly red corollas and apically constricted corolla tubes is Glossoloma ichthyoderma (Hanst.) J. L. Clark. Glossoloma jostii can be distinguished from G. ichthyoderma by its scandent, branched shoots (Fig. 1 D). In contrast, G. ichthyoderma consistently has erect, unbranched shoots, with a terrestrial or epiphytic habit. Vegetatively, G. jostii is differentiated by brittle leaves with a hispid indumentum (Fig. 1 C & Table 1). The leaves in G. puroana are chartaceous (not brittle) with a sericeous indumentum on the leaf (vs. hispid indumentum in G. jostii; Table 1).