The species is found on the western slopes of the Pichincha province and is endemic to the area.
Glossoloma wiehleri is the name of a new species of plant that is registered for Ecuador. The finding was detailed in a study carried out in the country by researchers from The Lawrenceville School, Birds and Conservation-BirdLife.
This plant differs from all its other congeners by its epiphytic habit (that is, it lives on another), elongated scandent branches that exceed four meters in length, and leathery leaves with a velutine dressing on the lower surface of the leaf.
The new species is in the Endangered (EN) category, according to the researchers, John Clark and Francisco Tobar (associated with the National Institute of Biodiversity of Ecuador).
The plant is endemic to the province of Pichincha, on the western slope of the Andes of Ecuador, and is known from three locations; on the old highway between Quito and Santo Domingo, near kilometer 40, and in the Bombolí Cloud Forest, near kilometer 20 of the Quito – Santo Domingo highway (via Alóag).
It is named after Hans Wiehler, a practicing Mennonite from East Prussia (now Poland) who immigrated to the United States in the 1950s. He eventually left the Mennonite church and pursued his passion for botany. Wiehler’s advanced degrees focused on the taxonomy and classification of Gesneriaceae. Organized and led 14 study tours including the expedition that resulted in the discovery of Glossoloma wiehleri.
The genus Glossoloma extends from southern Mexico to Panama, northwestern South America, and south to Bolivia. The center of diversity for Glossoloma is the western lowland forests of Ecuador and Colombia, where 15 species are found.
The description of Glossoloma wiehleri brings the total number of Glossoloma species to 29. (I)
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