Passiflora aphylla in Subgenus Tryphostemmatoides (Passifloraceae), a Nearly Leafless New Species from Colombia and Ecuador

John M. MacDougal; Peter Møller Jørgensen; Álvaro J. Pérez

doi:10.3417/20261062

John M. MacDougal Missouri Botanical Garden http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6300-9916
Peter Møller Jørgensen Missouri Botanical Garden https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8891-4493
Álvaro J. Pérez Herbario QCA, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Ecuador https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0644-9111

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3417/20261062

Keywords: Andes, conservation, forest remnants, montane forest, Neotropical taxonomy, Passifloraceae

Abstract

Passiflora aphylla P. Jørg. & J. M. MacDougal, a new species of Passiflora L. subg. Tryphostemmatoides (Harms) Killip (Passifloraceae) from the wet mountain forests of southwestern Colombia and north-central Ecuador, is described and illustrated from herbarium specimens and photographs of living material. The species is distinctive due to being nearly leafless at maturity, with white and yellow flowers borne on very short branched peduncles.