=Carex tessellata Spruce ex C.B.Clarke, Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew, Addit. Ser. 8: 86 (1908).

Carex acutata is a member of the Hirta Clade (subg. Carex), a lineage with its highest diversity in the Holarctic, but with regional diversification in South America (P. Jiménez-Mejías, pers. obs.). It is distributed in montane and high elevation páramo habitats of the Tropical Andes, from Bolivia to Venezuela.

The name Carex tessellata was included in the Ecuadorian Red List as a “mysterious species known from a single collection of uncertain precedence”. The name was synonymised by Jiménez-Mejías et al. (2020) to C. acutata after examining C. tessellata type (K-000584703). Carex acutata is a species widely distributed in South America and recorded from quite a few locations within Ecuador. Accordingly, the name should be removed from the Red List and the conservation status of C. acutata in Ecuador should be re-evaluated.

Carex aztecica was hitherto considered a Mesoamerican endemic species, known from southern Mexico and Guatemala. It belongs to the problematic Decora Clade (subg. Carex), where it was included as part of the variation of sect. Indicae Tuckerman sensu lato, a set of species with lax paniculate inflorescences and utriculiform cladoprophylls. The Decora clade is one of the two groups of Carex that are exclusively distributed in tropical-subtropical areas, along with sect. Fecundae Kük. (see below).

The records that we present here are the first for Ecuador, but also for South America. In addition, they constitute the new known southernmost limit of the species. The taxon can be distinguished from the closely related C. polystachya Wahlenb. by its darker female glumes (purple-brown to dark-brown in C. aztecica vs. orange, pale reddish-brown, stramineous or hyaline in C. polystachya) with blunter apex (at least some glumes obtuse or acute vs. all glumes acuminate to awned) and the utricles with the beak reddish-tinged (vs. not tinged) (Hermann (1974), Chater (1980). These localities in Ecuador become the new known southernmost limit of the species.

Carex brehmeri is a poorly known Andean taxon, reported from isolated locations in Venezuela, Colombia, Peru and Bolivia (Jiménez-Mejías et al. 2020, Jiménez-Mejías et al., under review). It is closely related to C. enneastachya C.B.Clarke (Benítez-Benítez et al. 2021b; see also below). Both species belong to sect. Phacocystis Dumort. (subg. Carex), a subcosmopolitan group with a few South American species.

We provide the first record of this small plant from Ecuador. Despite the fact that it might actually be a mere small form of C. enneastachya (see Jiménez-Mejías et al. 2020), we present here C. brehmeri separately as a compromise solution to uncover the existence of such taxonomically problematic forms in Ecuador. A comprehensive sampling of the South American species and populations of sect. Phacocystis and a detailed systematic study are needed to unravel the taxonomy of the group in the continent.

Carex collumanthus is endemic from the northern half of the cordillera, where it has been reported from Venezuela, Colombia, Peru and Bolivia (Wheeler 2002). It belongs to sect. Abditispicae G. A. Wheeler, a group of species with Andean-Patagonian distribution that is nested within the Flacca Clade (subg. Carex).

Here, we report the species for the first time in Ecuador, which was somehow expected since the plant is known from Colombia and Peru.

=Uncinia ecuadorensis G.A.Wheeler & Goetgh., Aliso 15: 10 (1997).

An Ecuadorian endemic that belongs to sect. Uncinia (Pers.) Baill. (subg. Uncinia (Pers.) Peterm.), a mainly Southern Hemisphere group disjunctly distributed between the Neotropic and the SW Pacific. Formerly recognized as its own genus (Uncinia Pers.; Global Carex Group (2015)), it is one of the few Carex groups with an unequivocal epizoochorus adaptation: the utricles bear a hooked appendix that allows them to attach to fur or feathers (Fig. 1 A,a).

Figure 1.  

Representative photos of Carex species (capital letters) mentioned in this work and their habitats (small letters). Carex ecuadorensis: (A,a), Imbabura, Parque Nacional de Cotacachi, type locality. Carex madida: (B,b), Pichincha, Parque Nacional Cayambe-Coca, type locality; (C,c), Carchi, Reserva Ecológica El Ángel. Carex punicola: (D,d), Pichincha, Parque Nacional Cotopaxi. Carex sodiroi: (E,e), Pichincha, Reserva Geobotánica Pululahua. Carex subsacculata: (F1,F2,f), Pichincha, Reserva Biológica Yanacocha; the specimen in picture F1 is still inmature, while the one in picture F2 is fully ripe.

Carex ecuadorensis was reported as threatened in the Ecuadorian Red List (as Uncinia ecuadorensis) under the category vulnerable (VU). Known from only two localities collected in the 80s, we confirm its persistence in at least one of these (the type location) and provide an exact location with coordinates. The reported population was found in a natural drainage channel of the pajonal. It was healthy, with about twenty individuals in good conditions. The only direct threat we noticed is the erosion of the slopes next to the road, which was more developed in other sectors. Probably, Carex ecuadorensis is growing in similar habitats in additional places of more difficult access within the same area. In any case, the location of this population in a National Park is an important safeguard for the future persistence of this species.

= Carex azuayae Steyerm., Phytologia 9: 337 (1963).

Carex enneastachya is endemic from the Tropical Andes from Colombia to Bolivia. As C. brehmeri, it belongs to sect. Phacocystis Dumort. (see above).

In Ecuador, Carex enneastachya was reported only from a handful locations in Cajas National Park at Azuay Province. Here we present additional records for another three provinces. Originally conceived as a narrowly distributed taxon, this species was listed as EN in the Ecuadorian Red List of Endemic plants under the name C. azuayae. However, C. azuayae was already synonymized by Wheeler (1998) to C. enneastachya, which effectively expands its range to other South American countries. As a consequence, this plant should not be listed as an Ecuadorian endemic and its threatened status needs revision.

A South American endemic previously reported from the Central Andes, from Peru to northern Argentina. It belongs to the problematic sect. Fecundae (subg. Carex), a group of sedges entirely diversified within the Neotropic and one of the only two groups of Carex exclusively distributed in tropical-subtropical areas (the other sect. Indicae, see above).

This is the first record for Ecuador and the new northernmost limit for the species. The Ecuadorian specimen had the unusual feature of emitting a profound citric scent from the leaves and stems when crushed that persisted after drying. This aromatic property is known from other sedge groups (e.g. Cyperus odoratus L., C. sesquiflorus (Torr.) Mattf. & Kük.), but it has not been previously reported in Carex, including other fresh or dry C. fecunda specimens (P. Jiménez-Mejías, pers. obs.). This may indicate some differences with respect to other more southern C. fecunda populations and deserves further study.

=Uncinia tenuifolia G.A.Wheeler & Goetgh., Aliso 14: 144 (1995).

Another Ecuadorian endemic that belongs to sect. Uncinia (see C. ecuadorensis).

Carex goetghebeurii was reported as threatened (VU category) in the Ecuadorian Red List (as Uncinia tenuifolia). This was based on several collections of the same single population extending along a slope next to a road in Zamora-Chinchipe. We visited one of them (“13 km E of the pass, just before junction with old road”, -3.9764109958906992 S, -79.10201083174987 W) and failed to find it. The location has been transformed into a quarry. This unfortunate finding depicts that this plant is already negatively affected by human activities and reveals the need to confirm the persistence of this population and, if positive, to apply urgent conservation measures.

Carex lepida was described in the 19^th Century from Pichincha Province and remained known only from the type location until additional records were recently reported from Ecuador, Bolivia and Peru (Jiménez-Mejías and Escudero (2016), Jiménez-Mejías and Reznicek (2018), Jiménez-Mejías et al., under review). Its systematic affinities have long remained enigmatic until it was recently placed in sect. Wheelerianae Jim.-Mejías, Martín-Bravo and Reznicek (subg. Uncinia), based on molecular phylogenetics. It is a South American endemic lineage from Andean montane forests (García-Moro et al. 2022).

Remarkably, the species was listed in the Ecuadorian Red List of Endemic plants as critically endangered (CR), as it was known only from the type location from Pichincha volcano slopes, making its persistence there improbable due to the urban growth of Quito. A previous report of a recent collection also from Pichincha already existed (Pasochoa volcano; Jiménez-Mejías and Reznicek (2018)). Our records constitute a considerable extension of the known range of the species within Ecuador. According to all the new available data, the conservation status of the species should be revised. Additionally, it should no longer be considered endemic to Ecuador.

First insights of hybridization amongst species of sect. Wheelerianae. The sampled specimens were co-occurring with the two putative parental species in the area (see comments under C. lepida and C. roalsoniana) and showed intermediate morphological characteristics between them (see Jiménez-Mejías and Reznicek (2018)).

=Uncinia lacustris G.A.Wheeler, Aliso 14: 141 (1995).

This species belongs to sect. Uncinia (see C. ecuadorensis), which remarkably includes three of the four Ecuadorian endemic Carex species (Fig. 1B,b,C,c).

Carex madida was reported as vulnerable (VU) in the Ecuadorian Red List (as Uncinia lacustris), based on the known existence of only three localities, all in protected areas (Cayambe-Coca, Cotacachi-Cayapas and Cotopaxi National Parks) in the provinces of Pichincha, Napo and Imbabura, respectively. Here, we report its presence in two additional provinces (Carchi and Chimborazo) and one addition to a protected area (Reserva Ecológica El Ángel). We confirm its persistence in two of the formerly known localities, where it seems abundant. Since the plants occur in Espeletia formations very close to the Colombian border, it is very likely that this species also occurs in the neighbouring country, from which it has not been reported yet.

Carex melanocystis is widely distributed across the Andes, from Tierra del Fuego to the Central Andes of Peru (Jiménez-Mejías et al. 2020, Jiménez-Mejías et al. 2021a). It has been recently segregated from the closely-related Holarctic C. maritima Gunnerus (Jiménez-Mejías et al. 2021b). Carex melanocystis is the only Southern Hemisphere representative of the Disticha clade (subg. Vignea (T.Lestib) Peterm.), where both species are nested.

These are the first confirmed records of C. melanocystis for Ecuador, which become the northernmost limit of the species.

Carex phalaroides is a Neotropical endemic widely distributed from northern Patagonia to Colombia and Venezuela, with an isolated occurrence known in Guatemala (Jiménez-Mejías et al. 2018). It belongs to sect. Junciformes Kük. (subg. Psyllophorae (Degl.) Peterm.), one of the few Carex groups with a remarkably relatively high species diversity in South America (Benítez-Benítez et al. 2021a). Carex phalaroides is an anomalous member of sect. Junciformes from a morphological point of view as its inflorescence is constituted by several spikes (instead of a solitary one in the remainder of the section) (Benítez-Benítez et al. 2021a, Morales-Alonso et al., in prep.).

Previously known from just a handful locations in Ecuador, our field campaign has resulted in the collection of several additional populations; thus, Carex phalaroides seems to be more widely distributed along Ecuadorian high Andean grasslands. However, to date, it has been collected just a few times (see comments under General considerations at the end of the manuscript), as depicted by its scarce representation in herbaria (just one additional specimen from Ecuador: MO-5869195, Imbabura, Cotacachi-Cayapas, after revising the full collections of K, NY, MO and US).

Carex punicola was so far known as a Central Andean element, reported from Peru, Bolivia and Argentina (Wheeler 1988, Poindexter et al. 2017). This species is the only Southern Hemisphere taxon from section Acrocystis Dumort., a mostly Holarctic group greatly diversified in North America. Carex punicola is a diminutive acaulescent sedge from dry soils (Fig. 1D,d). Interestingly, there is an unusually high number of acaulescent Carex species in South America, which suggests a possible evolutionary trend (Jiménez-Mejías et al. 2021a).

Here, we present the first records for Ecuador, which constitutes the new northernmost limit for the species.

A recently-described species endemic from the northern Andes in Ecuador and Peru (Jiménez-Mejías and Escudero 2016, Jiménez-Mejías et al., under review). As C. lepida (see comments above), it belongs to sect. Wheelerianae.

In Ecuador, it was only known from the type locality also in Azuay Province, at Sevilla de Oro Municipality (Jiménez-Mejías and Escudero 2016), on the Eastern Cordillera. This constitutes the second record of the species in Ecuador and the first in the Western Cordillera. In the collected locality it grows together with the closely-related C. lepida, with which it is seemingly hybridising (see above).

Carex sodiroi is a poorly known Ecuadorian endemic species. It belongs to the problematic Decora Clade (subg. Carex) as part of sect. Indicae sensu lato (see comments under C. aztecica) (Fig. 1E,e) .

Carex sodiroi was reported in the Ecuadorian Red List as critically endangered (CR) because of the lack of recent collections. However, this is probably not due to a true rarity of the species, but to the poor taxonomic circumscription of C. sodiroi. Section Indicae in Tropical America has an obscure taxonomy. A number of taxa have been described, based on little material and within a local scale (e.g. C. culmenicola Steyerm. Steyermark (1951)), C. regnelliana Boeck. (Boeckeler (1888)). The whole variation of the species in the field remains understudied and, thus, the taxonomic limits are blurred by specimens that does not fit the characteristics and measurements that are presented in the available descriptions. Carex sodiroi is clearly affected by this lack of understanding. The only description associated with the name is Kükenthal (1904), which is in turn based just on the original collection. To date, no additional study has accounted for this taxon.

In our fieldwork campaign across the western slopes of the Western Cordillera in Pichincha, in forest remnants near to where the original collection of C. sodiroi was performed, we found plants that clearly match the diagnostic characteristics of C. sodiroi’s type, allowing its distinction from the syntopic and closely-related C. polystachya: terminal clusters of spikes densely packed with many flowers, concealing the branch axis vs. with less flowers and lax, with the branch axis exposed; and glumes dark orange-brown vs. glumes lighter, pale reddish-brown, orange, stramineous or hyaline. Moreover, in Pululahua Geobotanic Reserve, we also identified individuals morphologically intermediate (124ECUAMA22 and 130ECUAMA22; HUTI, UPOS) between the co-occurring C. polystachya and C. porrecta Reznicek and Camelb., another species of sect. Indicae, whose morphology also approached the type of C. sodiroi. This makes us think that, perhaps, C. sodiroi is a local established hybrid between these two species. Further biosystematics studies are needed to figure out the taxonomic status of C. sodiroi and its systematic relationships with the other South American sect. Indicae species.

=Uncinia subsacculata G.A.Wheeler & Goetgh., Aliso 14: 145 (1995).

The last of the sect. Uncinia species in our account (see C. ecuadorensis).

Carex subsacculata was reported in the Ecuadorian Red List (as Uncinia subsacculata) as vulnerable (VU), despite being known from a single locality, it was located in a protected area (Yanacocha Biological Reserve) in the Province of Pichincha. We confirm the persistence and healthy conservation status of this population despite the recent eruptions of the nearby Pichincha Volcano (last eruption in 2002). Carex subsacculata forms an abundant population in Polylepis forest understorey, at the very top of the Andean Snipe track in the Reserve (Fig. 1 F1,F2,f) .

Carex via-incaica was recently described from a single collection at the slopes of Rumiñahui Volcano in Cotopaxi Province (Jiménez-Mejías and Roalson 2016). It is one of the few northern South American species of the sect. Junciformes (subg. Psyllophorae), a group with its centres of origin and diversity in Patagonia (Benítez-Benítez et al. 2021a).

We present several records that greatly expand the range of this Ecuadorian endemic species. The high number of herbarium specimens at QCA and QCNE (stored as undetermined sedges) depicts the fact that this species has not remained overlooked nor undercollected, but just not understood.

Hypericum acostanum (Fig. 2A,a) is an endemic species of southern Ecuador. It belongs to the New World section Brathys (Mutis ex L.f.) Choisy, which has radiated in the Páramos (Nürk et al. 2013).

Figure 2.  

Representative Ecuadorian Hypericum species (capital letters) mentioned in this work and their habitats (small letters). Hypericum acostanum: A & a, Loja, Celica-Guachanamá road. Hypericum matangense: B & b Morona-Santiago, Páramo de Matanga. Hypericum prietoi: c Azuay, Oña-Morasloma road. Hypericum sprucei: D & d Carchi, Reserva Ecológica El Ángel.

This species is listed as vulnerable (VU) in the Ecuadorian Red List. It is known from only two localities, collected in the 50s and 80s in the province of Loja, on the road between San Pedro and Portovelo and on the road between Celica-Guachanamá, respectively. We confirm its persistence in the second locality and provide an exact location with coordinates. In addition, after studying the QCNE herbarium material, we have re-assigned a specimen (voucher nº 5612) from the rovince of Loja to this species. Therefore, we have added a new locality to the distribution of H. acostanum in this rovince.

Hypericum matangense (Fig. 2B,b.) is an endemic plant from southern Ecuador. It belongs to section Brathys (Mutis ex L.f.) Choisy.

This species is listed as vulnerable (VU) in the Ecuadorian Red List. It is known onlyfrom the type specimen collected in 1980 in the province of Morona-Santiago. The size and status of this population, and its specific threats, are unknown. Our observation is the second known collection of this species, with coordinates from the only specimen found.

Hypericum prietoi (Fig. 2c) is an endemic species of southern Ecuador. It belongs to section Brathys (Mutis ex L.f.) Choisy.

This species is listed as endangered (EN) in the Ecuadorian Red List. Threats associated with its conservation status include overgrazing and burning. Hypericum prietoi has only been collected once at the type locality, in 1945. Our observation is the second known collection of the species. We provide the coordinates of the only specimen found.

Hypericum sprucei (Fig. 2D,d) has been reported from a handful of provinces in Ecuador. It belongs to section Brathys (Mutis ex L.f.) Choisy.

Here, we present an additional record for a new province (Bolívar). This species is not included in the Ecuadorian Red List.