Ongoing discoveries

This understory palm was Critically Endangered, but with the populations documented at Centinela and other places by Thomas Couvreur and colleagues, it can now be reassessed and elevated to Endangered status! A win!

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/126306782

A team of botanists inspired by the reports of extant forests visited the Centinela region during the weekend of March 20, 2022. The team (photo below) included Xavier Cornejo (GUAY), Francisco Tobar (QCNE), Camilo Restrepo (QCA), and John L. Clark (SEL). They were "pleasantly" surprised by four species that are likely new to science. One of these is a species of Amalophyllon (Gesneriaceae) with deeply serrate leaf margins (photo below). Other potential new species discovered include a tree of Lecythidaceae, an epiphytic Orchidaceae, and a second new species of a saxicolous Gesneriaceae. See News for updates!

Below, left to right: John L. Clark, Xavier Cornejo, Paul Henry, and Camilo Restrepo. Photo by Francisco Tobar.

Bottom: The new Amalophyllon! Photo by John L. Clark.

The March 2022 expedition also recorded a number of other important plant species, including:

• Caryodaphnopsis theobromifolia (IUCN category: NT)

• Urceolina astrophiala (IUCN category: EN)

• Dracontium croatii  (IUCN category: EN)

• Drymonia laciniosa (IUCN category: EN)

• Over three days we observed dozens of forest remnants in the Centinela region, mostly along streams, on steep slopes, and in the most remote and hardest-to-reach areas. 

• The largest remnant is at least 50 hectares in size and large enough to support a population of Ecuadorian mantled howler monkeys (Fragment 1 in map).

• Locals reported a second large remnant also supporting a howler monkey population (Fragment North in map).

• Based on these observations, it is clear that published reports of the total destruction of Centinela’s world-famous cloud forests were premature.

• We see urgent opportunities to conserve these remaining fragments.

• We rediscovered Gasteranthus extinctus (Gesneriaceae), a gorgeous and Critically Endangered wildflower known only to occur in the Centinela region. As its name indicates, G. extinctus had long been considered extinct and had not been collected since 1985. A scientific paper reporting the discovery was published in April 2022.

• We see excellent opportunities for in situ and ex situ conservation of G. extinctus.

• Two years before we rediscovered G. extinctus, three users of iNaturalist Ec photographed it in the Centinela region without realizing it.

• Over three days of fieldwork at Centinela we recorded ten plants endemic to western Ecuador, three of which are Critically Endangered at the global scale.

• The Centinela region is home to at least four plant species not found anywhere else on Earth. Over three days we recorded two of them:

  • the forest herb Gasteranthus extinctus (Gesneriaceae; see above)

  • the tree Browneopsis macrofoliolata (Fabaceae)

• And failed to record the two others:

  • the treelet Amyris centinelensis (Rutaceae)

  • the epiphytic orchid Teuscheria integrilabia (Orchidaceae)

• We are posting field photos of Centinela's remarkable flora here.

• Deforestation was occuring during our visit and is actively reducing the largest fragments.

• Current deforestation is driven primarily by balsa and melina plantations.

• There are no formally protected areas in the Centinela region, but there are valuable privately held fragments within ecotourism operations nearby, like the Bosques y Cascadas Las Rocas reserve. This spectacular reserve, showcasing eight gorgeous waterfalls framed by intact cloud forest, harbors at least two Centinela endemics. Currently lacking formal protection, Bosques y Cascadas Las Rocas is the most pressing conservation opportunity in the Centinela region.