This Discovery highlights the importance of exploratory fieldwork and demonstrates how taxonomy drives conservation in practice—through visionary leadership, local stewardship, and sustained collaboration.
April 6, 2026 | Sarasota, FL. – Selby Gardens research botanist, John L. Clark, recently published three new plant species of tropical air plants in the genus Glossoloma (Gesneriaceae) discovered in Ecuador’s Cerro Candelaria Reserve.
During an exploratory research expedition by Clark in the Pastaza Valley on the eastern slopes of the Ecuadorian Andes, three new species were discovered along a single trail in one day, standing as living proof that collaborative conservation and local stewardship work.
All three species are named in honor of three stakeholders from diverse backgrounds who collaborated to conserve one of the last remnants of Andean forests in the Pastaza Valley. The new species names commemorate their contributions to protecting these rapidly disappearing forests. The new species are Glossoloma jostii, G. puroanum , and G. recaldeorum.
Scientific names can honor the people and partnerships that make discovery and conservation possible. Each of the three new species recognizes a different kind of contribution.
Glossoloma jostii honors Lou Jost, botanist, conservationist, and co-founder of Fundación EcoMinga. His work has helped establish reserves and bring international attention to the Pastaza Valley as a biodiversity hotspot, demonstrating how scientific insight and persistence can translate into lasting protection.
Glossoloma puroanum honors Puro Coffee, founded by Andy Orchard, whose support through the World Land Trust helped establish and sustain the Cerro Candelaria Reserve. Conservation depends not only on research but also on reliable financial support for land protection, management, and the people safeguarding these forests.
Glossoloma recaldeorum honors the Recalde family of El Placer, long-time park guards and local stewards. Their daily presence, including monitoring trails, observing wildlife, and protecting the reserve, illustrates how conservation ultimately relies on committed local guardianship.
John Clark, commented, “This discovery is really a testament to what I think of as a conservation trifecta—where leadership, funding, and local stewardship come together to protect biodiversity. The Cerro Candelaria Reserve exists because of that alignment, and these three new Glossoloma species are tangible evidence of what such collaboration can safeguard. It’s a reminder that conservation works best when it is shared—and sustained—across scientists, communities, donors, and organizations.”
The species were published in the peer-reviewed journal PhytoKeys.
A Pensoft article by John L. Clark, PhD, “Commemorating a conservation trifecta: Three new species of Glossoloma honoring a donor, a family of forest stewards, and a conservation visionary,” highlights the importance.
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Research Contact:
John L. Clark, PhD Research Botanist | jlclark@selby.org
About Marie Selby Botanical Gardens
Marie Selby Botanical Gardens provides 45 acres of bayfront sanctuaries connecting people with air plants of the world, native nature, and our regional history. Established by forward-thinking women of their time, Selby Gardens is composed of the 15-acre Downtown Sarasota campus and the 30-acre Historic Spanish Point campus in the Osprey area of Sarasota County, Florida. The Downtown Sarasota campus on Sarasota Bay is the only botanical garden in the world dedicated to the display and study of epiphytic orchids, bromeliads, gesneriads and ferns, and other tropical plants. There is a significant focus on botany, horticulture, education, historical preservation, and the environment. Selby Gardens’ Downtown Sarasota campus features the world’s first net positive energy botanical garden complex, generating more energy than it consumes. The Historic Spanish Point campus is located less than 10 miles south along Little Sarasota Bay. One of the largest preserves showcasing native Florida plants and active archaeology that is interpreted for and open to the public, it celebrates an archaeological record that encompasses approximately 5,000 years of Florida history. Marie Selby Botanical Gardens is a Smithsonian Affiliate and is also accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. Selby Gardens was selected for Time magazine’s annual list of the “World’s Greatest Places 2024.” For more information visit www.selby.org.