Columnea golondrinensis (Gesneriaceae), a new species from Cerro Golondrinas in the northern Andes of Ecuador

Exploratory field expeditions to the Chocó forests in the northern Andes of Ecuador resulted in the discovery of a new species of <i>Columnea</i> (Gesneriaceae). <i>Columneagolondrinensis</i> J.L.Clark, <b>sp. nov.</b>, is described as a narrow endemic from the cloud forests of Cerro Golondrinas in the Carchi Province near the northern Ecuadorian border with Colombia. The oval leaves with a rust-colored multicellular hispid indumentum, terrestrial subwoody habit and deeply bilabiate dark purple corollas with glandular trichomes differentiate this taxon from all other congeners. Based on IUCN guidelines, a preliminary conservation status of Vulnerable (VU) is provided for <i>C.golondrinensis</i>.