Overview
- Researchers Rocío del Pilar Rojas Gonzáles, Rodolfo Vásquez Martínez and Elmes Pinche Shareva published formal descriptions of Columnea puipuiense and Columnea valenzuelai in the journal PhytoKeys.
- Columnea puipuiense is named for the Bosque de Protección Pui Pui and is noted for olive-green leaves with reddish margins and cream flowers.
- Columnea valenzuelai honors botanist Luis Valenzuela Trujillo and is distinguished by a yellow tubular corolla and a nectary with five free glands.
- The PhytoKeys paper, which appeared Saturday, raises Peru's recorded Columnea species to 36 and the Gesneriaceae family to 227 documented species.
- SERNANP said the discoveries reinforce the scientific value of Pui Pui and officials expect the findings to guide further surveys, conservation assessments, and updates to national biodiversity records.