Ecuador. Prov. Loja: La Toma – Catacocha road ca. km 26, shrub 3 m tall, heads yellow, 79°28'53"W, 03°58'40"S, 2300 m alt., 3 Sep 2000, Jens Elgaard Madsen with Orlandro A. Sanchez, 7209 (holotype AAU!; isotypes, LOJA, US frag.!).

Shrub to 3 m tall, with numerous branches. Stems grayish, wrinkled when dry; internodes 2–5 mm long, surface with yellowish-gray, evanescent, granular appearing pubescence, composed of tightly glomerulous contorted trichomes, pith solid, ca. 2 mm wide. Leaves spirally alternate, petioles 7–8 mm long; blades narrowly elliptical, 3–6.5 cm long, 0.9–1.4 cm wide, base obtuse, margins entire, plane, apex subacute, adaxial surface green with thin evanescent pubescence in young leaves, with minute reticulum of prominulous veinlets (veins slightly prominent), secondary veins spreading from midvein at ca. 45° angles; abaxial surface covered with dense yellowish tomentum of slender highly contorted trichomes, trichomes with few thin-walled cells at base, sometimes with slightly off-set apical cells separated by an oblique cross-wall, costa prominent to near leaf-tip. Inflorescence corymbiform, with clusters of 10–15 heads apical on leafy branches, cluster usually becoming over-topped by younger branches and longer leaves, with small bracteoles 1.0–1.5 cm. long among heads; peduncles 0.7–l.0 cm long, longer peduncles with minute scale-like bracteoles; involucres campanulate, 1–1.2 cm high, ca. 0.8–0.9 cm wide at anthesis, with ca. 50 subimbricate appressed bracts in ca. 6 series, bracts progressing from basal scales ca. 1.5 mm long and wide to many progressively longer lanceolate median bracts to few somewhat deciduous linear inner bracts ca. 9 mm long and 1 mm wide, outer surfaces of bracts glabrous on most exposed surfaces, castaneous, yellow along margins, bases of bracts with yellowish tomentum of slender contorted trichomes. Upper surface of receptacles glabrous, alveolate. Florets homogamous, ca. 15 per capitulum; corollas yellowish with darkened tips, glabrous outside, ca. 9 mm long, basal tube ca. 4 mm. long, throat 1 mm long, narrowly funnelform, lobes 3.5 mm long, linear, 0.4 mm wide, coiled backward at anthesis Fig. 3A), with protuberant slightly rugulose elongate cells inside; anthers ca. 2.5 mm long (Fig. 3B), basal tails lanceolate, ca. 1 mm long, with fringed with retrorse teeth near and at tips (Fig. 3C), apical appendage indurate, ca. 1 mm long, oblong-ovate with marked apical apiculus; pollen prolate, 30–35 µm diam. and 35–40 µm long; styles slightly broadened and blunt at tips. Achenes ca. 2.5 mm long, 5-costate (Fig. 3E), densely villosulous with ascending twin-hairs, hairs not cleft at tips usually with one cell longer than other; carpopodium annuliform; pappus of ca. 50 capillary bristles, whitish, mostly ca. 7 mm long, broader and more strongly barbellate near tips (Fig. 3F), some shorter outer bristles with slender tips.

Figure 1. 

Holotype specimen (Madsen and Sanchez 7209, AAU) of Gochnatia lojaensis H.Rob. & V.A.Funk, including drawing of obliquely capped tip of a contorted trichome from abaxial surface of leaf.

Figure 2. 

Gochnatia lojaensis A habit B abaxial surface of leaf showing density of pubescence C adaxial surface showing venation D capitulum E–H involucral bracts, inner, median and outer. Drawing by Lauren Merchant (US).

Figure 3. 

Gochnatia lojaensis, floral details A corolla with backward rolled lobes and tips of anthers and style B anther with fringe of retrorse teeth near and on tips of basal spurs C enlargement of basal spur of anther D style E achene showing more densely scabrid tips of inner pappus bristles, sparse outer pappus not shown F enlargement of tip of inner pappus bristle.

Known only from the type collection which places it in “Matorral vegetation and ravine with disturbed remnants of montane forest.”

DD (according IUCN 2019).

Gochnatia lojaensis is named after the Ecuadorian province where it was collected.

Distinguishing characteristics include the corymbiform clusters of numerous heads and the narrow castaneous involucral bracts with narrowly blunted tips.

The position of the new species was at first in doubt. It was near the geographic range of Gochnatia typified by G. vernonioides Kunth from Peru, but it had the more elongate leaves often associated with the presently recognized separate genus Moquiniastrum. A detailed study of the plant now confirms a position in Gochnatia: the pubescence is particularly indicative, being a thick tomentum and not the loose stalked T-shaped hairs common in Moquiniastrum (Fig. 5F). The hairs do show one interesting tendency toward the T-shaped form, with some hairs having an apical cell that is obliquely mounted on the longer contorted cell. Such an apical cell usually has the lower end slightly projecting, a sub-T-shaped specialization. This remains totally different from the well-developed T-shape form seen in Moquiniastrum (Fig. 5F).

Peru. Department Ancash: Callejon de Huaylas, trail to cave across Río Santo [Río Santa] from Mancos, shrub to 3 m tall. Flowers yellow, phyllaries green. 9 April 1970, C. Earle Smith Jr. & Jacinto Blas 4901 (holotype US!). Collected in co-operation with the Seasonal Transhumance and Preceramic Occupation of the Callejon de Huaylas Project – Thomas F. Lynch, Director and according to the label the Vernacular name is Juanca blanca.

Shrub to 3 m tall; stems gnarled, thickened and blackish near base, to ca. 8 mm wide, with scarcely noticeable narrow pith; younger stems as slender shoots, with internodes 3–10 mm long, covered with grayish tomentum. Leaves alternate, petioles ca. 4 mm long; laminae ovate oblong, mostly 1.6–2.5 cm long, 1.2–1.8 wide, flat or sometimes folded along midvein, base short-obtuse, apex usually rounded with slight mucro, margins flat, not recurved, entire, adaxial surface greenish with minute thin evanescent floccose puberulence, abaxial surface with grayish granular-looking pubescence consisting of slender highly contorted trichomes with few thin-walled cells at base, sometimes with slightly off-set apical cells separated by an oblique cross-wall, with a weakly prominulous midvein, 3 or 4 pairs of ascending, secondary veins, and a minute reticulum of veinlets evident on both surfaces that are not obscured by pubescence. Inflorescence of a solitary capitulum or 2–3 grouped together at tips of leafy stems; involucres broadly campanulate at anthesis, ca. 9 mm high and 11 mm diam., bracts ca. 40 in ca. 6 gradate series, basal bracts broadly ovate, 1.5–2.5 mm long, to 2.5 mm wide, rounded to obtuse at tips, inner bracts lanceolate, to ca. 7 mm long, acute, outer surface thinly pilosulous with weak indumentum near bases; receptacle slightly crested between areoles. Florets homogamous 35–40 per capitulum, corollas yellow, ca. 8–9 mm long, without long hairs outside, basal tube ca. 3.5 mm long, throat ca. 1.5 mm long, narrowly funnelform, lobes linear, ca. 3.5 mm long, ca. 0.2 mm wide; anther thecae ca. 1.8 mm long, tails ca. l.2 mm long, with a dense fringe of narrow hairs, apical appendage ca. 0.9 mm long, narrowly ovate with acuminate tip; pollen 30–40 µm in diam. and 50–55 µm long; styles slightly broadened and blunt at tips. Achene cylindrical, ca. 4 mm long, sericeous with slender setulae; pappus pale yellow with ca. 35 inner capillary bristles, up to 7 mm long, most with distinctly broader and more densely scabrous tips, and with numerous outer shorter weakly barbellate bristles of various lengths with slender tips.

Figure 4. 

Holotype specimen (Smith and Blas 4901, US) of Gochnatia recticulifolia H.Rob & V.A.Funk. http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/3285d4b9d-0bd0-421f-bc05-f0e82f454950

Known only from the type collection which places it in northern Peru.

DD (according IUCN 2019).

The epithet for Gochnatia recticulifolia is based on the minute reticulum of veinlets that is evident on both surfaces of the leaf.

The type specimen was original identified in the herbarium as G. curvifolia S.F.Blake, a potentially related species of mostly Bolivian distribution. However, G. curvifolia has pointed leaf tips and a minute reticulum of the leaf veins mostly obscured by pubescence. The corollas of G. recticulifolia have no hint of the pilosity seen in many but not all specimens of G. curvifolia and the closely related G. boliviana S.F. Blake. G. recticulifolia may actually be closer to the unseen G. vargasii Cabrera of the Department of Apurimac in Peru, but the latter is distinct in having more acute leaves and serrate leaf margins.

As a result of our investigations we emphasize the trichome character that provides an additional distinction between Gochnatia s.s. and Moquiniastrum: the trichomes on the abaxial surface of the leaf. In Gochnatia they are slender, highly contorted trichomes with a few thin-walled cells at base, sometimes with slightly off-set apical cells separated by an oblique cross-wall (Fig. 5C–E). In Moquiniastrum the trichomes are T-shaped, often long-stalked with an elongate cap-cell attached at the mid-point (Fig. 5F). We examined the generitypes of both genera as well as our two new species. Gochnatia vernonioides (Fig. 5E), the generitype of Gochnatia has some trichomes with two such oblique cross-walls and off-set cells. Certainly, the distribution of this character should be examined for all 10 species in an upcoming monograph of Gochnatia s.s. (Sancho et al., in prep.).

Figure 5. 

Enlargements of capitula, leaves and trichomes. Capitula and leaves A Gochnatia lojaensis B G. recticulifolia C–F trichomes from abaxial surfaces of leaves of Gochnatieae: Gochnatia lojaensis sp. nov. (C), Gochnatia recticulifolia sp. nov. (D), Gochnatia vernonioides Kunth (from Ferreyra 7097, US) (E), http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/3ec557cf1-0267-44ee-8649-ee3170d4c7f2 and Moquiniastrum polymorphum (Less.) (F) G. Sancho (from Ganev 1201-HUEFS 12265, US). http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/3d878282f-4ead-4312-9189-60a09f4a7f43; Scale bars: 30 µm.

The 10 species now recognized in Gochnatia can be distinguished by the following key. Many details are from Cabrera (1971), especially regarding G. vargasii of which proper material has not been seen.