the IAS Newsletter Vol. 27 – 2 • April 2005 A QUARTERLY PUBLICATION FOR MEMBERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL AROID SOCIETY Ecuador 2004 Part I: ContTable of Contentsents Ecuador 2004 Part I: July 6–August 5, 2004 July 6–August 5, 2004 By Dr. Thomas Croat . .1 Thomas B. Croat, Missouri Botanical Garden Review of “Araceae from the Early his year’s trip to Ecuador was to rain and a slick trail. This year Cretaceous of Portugal” By Dan H. Nicolson . .4 primarily designed to explore during the dry season we were able the southeastern part of the to make it all the way to the top. Revisions for Sale . .6 T country, especially the Cordillera del Konnyaku: Eating Amorphophallus Cóndor, but the expedition ended up The following day, we went on in Konjak By Albert Huntington . .8 covering many areas. the direction of Puyo, then collected Review of “Aronstabgewächse, along the road to Macas, where we Anmutige und Vielgestaltige Exoten” During the first month, which I will spent the night at the Hotel California. (Aroids, Graceful and Variable report on in this newsletter article, I Macas had been our headquarters Exotics) By Dan Nicolson . .10 collected with Lynn Hannon, Greg during explorations made into the Recent Aroid Literature Walhert, a potential graduate student Parque Nacional Sangay two years By Emily Yates . .11 from San Francisco State, and Tuntiak ago, along the uncompleted road Alocasia “Calodora” and/or Katan Jua. Tuntiak is a botany student to Riobamba. Naturally, the hotel “Portidora” By LariAnn Garner . .15 and an indigenous Shuar, whose managers always remember us, since people inhabit the southeastern part few quests arrive with bags of plants of the country. We began our trip by as part of their luggage. IAS Officers driving to Baños in Tunguraghua President: Albert Huntington Province, then headed southeast past Next we drove toward Limón, passing Vice President: Dan Levin the base of Volcán Tungurahua, down through Sucua, Tuntiak’s hometown. Treasurer: Patricia Frank to Shell. We were startled by a massive The road follows the valley of the Río Recording Sec.: Lester Kallus explosion of ash from the volcano, Namangoza, which forms the western Corresponding Sec: Julius Boos with the ash cloud rising like the edge of the Cordillera de Cutucú, Membership: Paul Resslar plume of an atomic bomb. In Shell an isolated range of mountains IAS Publications we stayed at the Hotel Germany, disjunct from the Andes proper and AROIDEANA which we used as our headquarters home to many endemic species. We Editor: Dr. Derek Burch during the previous two years of work traveled east along a road that leads Scientific Editor: Dr. Tom Croat, on the Araceae for the Flora of Shell- to Santiago and the Río Morona, The Missouri Botanical Garden, Mera.The following day we revisited passing through Patuca, the military St. Louis, Missouri the area between Mera and the Río headquarters that had been very active until recently because of the border IAS Newsletter Anzu, then followed the trail into an conflict with the Peruvian armed Editor: Emily Yates area of virgin forest. The area turned up numerous new species since last forces. The road skirts the southern IAS Website: www.aroid.org year when we had not been able to end of the Cordillera de Cutucú and Admin: Scott Hyndman penetrate very far into the region due Continued on page 2 1 ECUADOR 2004 PART I beginning of a big celebration with Continued from page 1 very noisy, loud music went on all night long for several nights. Huge we found an excellent trail leading loudspeakers were set up on the square into virgin forest. This site was rich more than a block away, but they in Araceae and we found so much reverberated on the windows of our material that we barely finished hotel room. pressing in time to go to the field the next day. Among the species was a The next day we headed northwest, new terrestrial species of Rhodospatha. along the valley of Río Paute, through I have been unable to study the a part of the Parque Nacional Sangay. herbarium material, as it has not yet The road was very good one, paved arrived, but this Rhodospatha is most of the way, certainly much better probably the same as R. piushaduka than most of the upper part of the Croat (Fig. 1). Other species in the road that was extremely muddy in Cordillera de Cutucú were Anthurium 2003. On that occasion, we tried to breviscapum Kunth, A. croatii Madison, come down this road from Cuenca A. eminens Schott, A. harlingianum in an attempt to drive to Méndez, but Fig. 1: Possible new species of Croat, A. polyschistum R. E. Schultes, the road had been closed by a huge Rhodospatha (Croat 90609) A. rubrinervium (Link) G. Don, landslide. This year we were able to Chlorospatha pubescens Croat & make it all the way to the tunnels, so L. Hannon, Philodendron atratus Croat, I knew we had now covered the entire P. par vilobum Croat, P. plowmanii road. A new species of Anthruium sect. Croat, Rhodospatha brachypoda Digitinervium (Fig. 2, Croat 90936) was Bunting and Xanthosoma viviparum found here. Madison. After another night of pressing plants From Santiago, where we spent the and sleeplessness, listening to some night at the Hotel Intercontinental, pretty dreadful singing, we took eight we drove toward the Río Morona and bags of plants to a bus terminal and collected on Cerro Shaime, the last hill arranged to ship specimens back to before reaching the Amazon lowlands. Quito, then headed south toward From this area you can look east, into Gualaquiza, passing through Indanza the vast Amazon lowlands stretching and San Juan Bosco. This road passes out in all directions. At this locality we down the valley of the Río Zamora. saw Anthurium harlingianum Croat, Although there is little virgin forest A. macdanielii Croat, A. michelii along this route, there are still Guilauman, A. mindense Sodiro, outstanding displays of aroids. Fig. 2: New species of Anthurium A. nigrolaminum Croat, A. versicolor One of the new species near the road section Digitinervium (Croat 90936) Sodiro, Chlorospatha boosii Croat & was Anthurium patens Croat, and L. Hannon, Dieffenbachia smithii another in Anthurium section more or less scrape them out of the Croat, Philodendron herthae K. Kr., Decurrentia with lanceolate-elliptic, back of the truck. This time we arrived P. palacioanum Croat & Grayum, epunctate blades and a slender green before dark and it was not raining, P. par vilobum Croat, Rhodospatha spadix. The latter species is similar which was a nice change. The next moritziana Schott, Spathiphyllum to another unpublished species that morning we traveled from Gualaquiza juninense K. Kr. and Xanthosoma I am calling A. raphaelense Croat. farther south toward Yantzaza, one of hannoniae Croat. Other common species in the area the gateways into the Cordillera del included Philodendron ceronii Croat Cóndor. The road between Gualaquiza After several hours of collecting in this and P. ruizii Schott. and El Panguí is now in good region, we returned to Santiago to condition. Along the way, we crossed press plants. The next day we drove The year before, we had arrived in over the Río Chuchumbletza and the back to the main Macas-Méndez road Gualaquiza late at night in a rainstorm. border of Zamora-Chinchipe, then and on to Méndez. The timing of our Bundles of specimens in paper, not yet arrival in Méndez was poor; the described, were soaked and we had to Continued on page 3 2 ECUADOR 2004 PART I Continued from page 2 drove along the Río Zamora to the Quime ferry crossing (Fig. 3). Once across the river we drove toward Numbaime on the road to the summit of the Corillera del Condór. Many signs of past military presence were apparent with camouflaged tank garages hidden off the edge of the road. The area was relatively pristine and very rich in aroids, including what appears to be a new species of Anthurium sect. Belolonchium (Fig. 4, Croat 91015). The following species were also sighted in the area: Fig. 3: Quime ferry crossing the Río Zamora, 6.8 km S of Chuchumbletza A. amoenum Kunth, A. arisaemoides Madison, A. breviscapum Kunth, small hotel near the bus terminal. The there is a bridge over the Río Zamora A. effusilobum Croat, A. grubbii previous year we had spent several days and a road on the other side of the Croat, A. lappoanum Croat, A. michelii around El Panguí, the home town of bridge leads into the mountains and to Guillaumin, A. penningtonii Croat, Pepe Portilla, the now famous orchid the village of El Sarsa (Fig. 7). Another A. triphyllum Brongn., Caladium and aroid dealer in Gualaceo. However, road at the far end of the Los steudneriifolium Engl., Chlorospatha since no bus goes directly from Panguí Encuentros bridge goes to the right, pubescens Croat & L. Hannon, to Quito, shipping plants was not along the Río Zamora, then follows the Philodendron acutifolium K. Kr., possible. For this reason, we decided to Río Nangaritza, apparently extending P. asplundii Croat & M. L. Soares, stay in Yantzaza, farther to the south. all the way to the town of Paquisha. At P. ceronii Croat, P. ernestii Engl., 1455 m elevation, we found a second P. verrucosum Mathieu ex Schott and The following day, south of El Pangui, collection of Chlorospatha portillae, as two species of Stenospermation, one we stopped just south of San Roche well as A. lapoanumi Croat, a very S. killipii Croat (Fig. 5). to revisit the type locality of attractive new member of section Chlorospatha portillae Croat & Cardiolonchium. We have not yet made Back on the main road, we drove south Hannon, (Fig.