Six new tree species named: 3 from Panama, 3 from Colombia

Botanist José Luis Fernández Alonso of the Royal Botanical Garden in Madrid and research engineer Ernesto Campos of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama, based on comparisons made between collections of dry herbarium from Madrid. Six new tree species were named. Beyond the Neotropics.

Of these six species, three of the new species are only found in Panama: Matisia petaquillae, Matisia changuinolana, and Matisia aquilarum. New species from Colombia identified in the same report are Matisia Gensiana, Matisia mutatana, and Matisia rufula.

The study is published in the journal Revista de la Academia Columbiana de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales.

The first two species in Panama were named after the places where they were collected, and the third, Matitsia aquilarum, found in Chagres National Park, was found in a harpy eagle nest in a tree, recorded by ornithologist Carla Aparicio. It is named after its existence. and botanist Ruby Zambrano.

Botanists often collect large amounts of plant samples. The samples are dried, sandwiched between pieces of cardboard, pasted on special paper and stored in herbaria. Herbaria is a specialized collection of dried plants carefully stored in environmentally controlled spaces for long-term preservation of specimens. Currently, herbarium curators are creating online digital images of many specimens that facilitate access and exchange of knowledge.

However, it still relies on professional plant taxonomists to identify the samples. Plant specimens that are not easily identified remain until experts in a particular plant group compare collections across the region and have the final say on whether the sample represents a species that no one has ever encountered before. You may have to wait for years.

“In 2022, Fernández-Alonso contributed to the identification of another tree, Matisia tinamastiana, in Cerro Trinidad, within the Altos de Campana Forest Reserve and National Park, which is new to Panama. It turned out to be a very good report,” Campos said. “This led to our current collaboration.”

To identify this new set of species, Fernández Alonso analyzed plant samples kept in herbaria in Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, and the United States. In Panama, with the support of Ernesto Campos we were able to complete the revision of the herbarium collections of the University of Panama (PMA), the Summit Canal Zone (SCZ) housed at STRI, and the Autonomous University of Chiriqui (UCH) . .

Thanks to the collections of STRI’s senior botanists Rolando Pérez and Salomon Aguilar, we were able to expand the range of Matitia aquilarum using specimens found at the Chagres National Park research site. This site is part of the ForestGEO-STRI forest monitoring network. This additional specimen used to describe the species belonged to the collection of STRI and was later deposited in the SCZ herbarium, thus contributing to the increased representativeness of the species in that collection.

“We are currently working on the identification of other plant samples, with the assistance of SCZ Herbarium Technician Joanna Smich. “There are indications that there may be many more species of these plants,” says Panama’s ForestGEO-STRI. said David Mitre, Research Manager.

To make it easier for non-specialists to identify this group of plants, the authors include an updated dichotomous key for the Panamanian Matizia species in the manuscript. The last published identification key of this kind in Panama dates back more than half a century.

“Herbaria is more than just a collection of dried plants,” says Mitre. “In the long run, they become a new source of information.”

“Findings like this remind us how important it is to make sure protected areas are really well protected,” Miter said. The forests of Panama and Colombia are home to many plant species that are not only important for the animals that live there, but may also be a source of new medicines and other resources that we are not yet aware of. Possibly.

“The Smithsonian’s plant collections and the talented curators on staff give researchers around the world the ability to accurately identify plants,” said STRI Director Joshua Tewksbury. “This window into the plant world can lead to the discovery of new medicines and allow conservationists to justify the protection of natural areas where rare species live.”