Magnolia tapichalacaensis (Magnoliaceae), a new species from the Andean foothills of Zamora Chinchipe, Ecuador

The number of new species of Ecuadorian Magnolia Linnaeus (1753: 535) continues to increase as exploration of the Andes progresses. Currently, 24 species of Magnolia are recorded for Ecuador (Vázquez-García et al. 2012, 2013, 2015a, 2015b, 2016, 2017, 2018, Arroyo et al. 2013a, 2013b, 2019, Pérez et al. 2016, 2023), which belong to M. sect. Splendentes Dandy in Vázquez (1994: 4) and Talauma Baillon (1866: 3) (Wang et al. 2020), the former consisting of six species, including the new species described here, and the latter 19 species. There are 17 endemic species in Ecuador, three of which also occur in Colombia, and five in Peru. Zamora Chinchipe Province has the highest diversity of magnolias, with nine species, followed by Morona Santiago (6) and Pastaza (5). The conservation status of the Ecuadorian magnolias is critical; seven species are listed as critically endangered (CR), 11 species are endangered (EN), and three species are vulnerable (VU), representing 84% of Ecuadorean diversity (Table 1). Here, we provide a taxonomic description of a Magnolia population from the eastern Andean foothills of Ecuador in Zamora Chinchipe. Fieldwork was conducted in September and October 2024 and March 2025 along montane forest remnants in Quebrada Honda-Palmeras, a lower elevation part of the Reserva Tapichalaca, owned and managed by the Jocotoco Foundation (https://www.jocotoco.org.ec). The map was designed in QGIS 3.34.15-Prizren using the coordinates from vouchers deposited at MO and QCA. We examined specimens at LOJA, QCA, QCNE and UTPL; acronyms follow Thiers (2024 [continually updated]). We also reviewed high-resolution images of type material (Tropicos database, https://www.tropicos.org/ and the JSTOR Global Plants website, http://plants.jstor.org).