Nasa colanii Dostert & Weigend, Revista Peru. Biol. 13(1): 73 (2006).

Henning, Tilo, Acuna-Castillo, Rafael, Cornejo, Xavier, Gonzales, Paul, Segovia, Edgar, Wong Sato, Akira Armando & Weigend, Maximilian, 2023, When the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence: Nasa (Loasaceae) rediscoveries from Peru and Ecuador, and the contribution of community science networks, PhytoKeys 229, pp. 1-19 : 1

Nasa colanii Dostert & Weigend, Revista Peru. Biol. 13(1): 73 (2006).

Fig. 1A, B

Type.

Peru. Amazonas: Provincia Bagua, Cordillera Colan SE of La Peca, ca. 3000 m, 25 Sep 1978, P. Barbour 3573 (holotype: MO! [acc. # 2796329]; isotype: USM [acc. # 000462]) .

The Nasa triphylla -group also includes two subscandent taxa with reflexed trichomes from montane rainforest, namely Nasa aequatoriana (Urb. & Gilg) Weigend and Nasa colanii . Nasa aequatoriana is well documented from Ecuador ( Weigend 2000), while Nasa colanii was known only from a single Peruvian collection from 1978 ( Dostert and Weigend 1999; Croat et al. 2021). Nasa colanii is probably the one species reported from the most inaccessible region of all the species here discussed - the Cordillera de Colán in northern Peru, near to the Ecuadorean Border.

In the field, Nasa colanii differs from vegetatively similar Nasa aequatoriana by its much shorter, pale greenish-white petals (Fig. 1A, B ). Additionally, the nectar scales of N. colanii are yellow and white with red transversal stripes, as in other species of the Nasa triphylla complex, but much paler with a very narrow red band only (Fig. 1A ).

Nasa colanii was found on creek nanks in rocky soils in a cloud forest ecosystem located in the buffer zone of the Cordillera de Colán National Sanctuary (5°37'50.96"S, 78°15'20.84"W) at an elevation of 2605 m, near the Refugio Lechucita. This taxon had previously only been reported once in 1978 from the same region, possibly from the same locality ( Rodríguez and Weigend 2006; Wong Sato et al. 2021). This species has probably not been collected since, due to its apparent narrow endemism and a lack of scientific exploration of this area ( Rodríguez and Weigend 2006; C. Olivera, pers. comm., 2021).

Additional specimens examined.

Peru. Amazonas: Provincia Utcubamba, Distrito Cajaruro, buffer zone of the Cordillera de Colan National Sanctuary , ca. 2605 m, 5°37'50.96"S, 78°15'20.84"W 21 Dec 2019, A.A. Wong Sato 53 (MOL) .

Photographic record.

Peru. Amazonas: Provincia Utcubamba, Distrito Cajaruro. Buffer zone of the Cordillera de Colán National Sanctuary; observation by A. A. Wong Sato, 21 Dec 2019 (Wong Sato 53, MOL): https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/143281337.

Figures

Figure 1. A, B Nasa colanii C, D Nasa ferox E, F Nasa hastata A flower of N. colanii B flowering branch of N. colanii C habit of N. ferox D flower of N. ferox E flower of N. hastata F node with the characteristic, semiamplexicaulous leaves of N. hastata, Photo credits: A, B A. A. Wong Sato C, D E. Segovia E, F P. Gonzales.