Abstract Detail

NOT your average specimen!

Freire-Fierro, Alina [1], Valdebenito, Hugo [2], Irazabal, Javier [3], Benitez, Angel [4], Ulloa Ulloa, Carmen [5], Neill, David A. [6], Gutiérrez del Pozo, Diego [7], Armijos, Jorge [8], Caranqui, Jorge [9], Peñafiel Cevallos, Marcia [10], Ordoñez, Maria Eugenia [11], Asanza, Mercedes [12], Jaramillo, Nelson [13], Oleas, Nora [14], Jaramillo Díaz, Patricia [15], Ansaloni, Raffaella [16], Mahtani-Williams, Sarita [15], Aguirre, Zhofre [17].

Botanical and mycological treasures in Ecuador.

Ecuador is one of the world ´s 35 biodiversity hotspots. It has +18,500 vascular plants including 5,000 endemics. Orchids are the most diverse group, with 4,200 species. The number of fungi species is unknown. These species are deposited at one or more of the 17 botanical/mycological institutions registered in Index Herbariorum and contribute to the estimated 776,463 specimens in the country. To give more visibility to these scientific collections we show-cased specimens of economic/historic/ecological/systematic importance at a recent online seminar "Herbaria and their treasures" (March 2021) organized by the UTCEC herbarium and other institutions.   Recently, collections of the CDS herbarium on the Galápagos Islands led to the discovery and publication of 35 new species of lichen in the Galapagos. The CHEP herbarium includes vouchers used in Soejarto's research on ethnopharmacology as well as Central Andean collections. The ECUAMZ herbarium includes primarily Amazonian taxa as well as collections from the 19 of the 25 (including 7 types) Ecuadorian Magnoliaceae. The HA herbarium includes collections from Southern Ecuador and was the first in the country to database and publish online their almost 14,000 collections. The HUTI herbarium holds the largest collection of Phaedranassa (Amaryllidaceae) in the country. In southern Ecuador, the HUTPL herbarium is an extensive repository of lichen and bryophyte taxa; and the LOJA herbarium holds historical specimens of Reinaldo Espinosa, founder of the first botanical garden in Ecuador. The QUSF herbarium holds economically and ecologically important collections, such as the holotype of the myco-heterotrophic species Tiputinia foetida (Burmanniaceae). UTCEC, an Applied Botany herbarium located in central Ecuador holds specimens of known or potential economic importance such as Chuquiraga jussieui (Asteraceae), Lupinus spp. (Fabaceae), Muhlenbeckia thamnifolia (Polygonaceae) among others. The QCNE herbarium, the largest botanical collection in Ecuador with 254,000 specimens, includes collections of fungi, lichen, bryophytes and vascular plant species from the Coastal, Andean, Amazonian, and Insular regions of the country and holds more than 2,000 types.   The QCAM fungarium in Quito, holds the largest macrofungi collection in Ecuador, including many types.   In addition to the institutions included here, Ecuador registers the herbaria AMAS, GUAY, Q, QAP, QCA, and QPLS, that hold very important collections, several of them of historical importance. This first evaluation of the treasures in Ecuadorian herbaria gives us a glimpse about the importance and need of preservation and care of these collections as part of the country's patrimony and for future initiatives in research, applications, and conservation.

1 - UTCEC Herbarium/Universidad Regional Amazonica Ikiam, Life Sciences, Alto Tena, Tena, Napo, Ecuador
2 - Universidad San Francisco De Quito, Colegio De Ciencias Biologicas Y Ambientales, Calle Diego De Robles Y Via Interoceanica S/n, Cumbaya, Quito, P, 170901, Ecuador
3 - Universidad Técnica de Cotopaxi, UTCEC Herbarium, Via a Salache s/n, Latacunga, Cotopaxi, 050151, Ecuador
4 - Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, HUTPL Herbarium, Loja, Loja, Ecuador
5 - Missouri Botanical Garden, MO Herbarium, 4344 Shaw Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63110, St. Louis, MO, 63017, USA
6 - Universidad Estatal Amazonica, El Pangui campus, El Pangui, Zamora-Chinchipe, 190650, Ecuador
7 - Universidad Estatal Amazónica, ECUAMZ Herbarium, : Centro de Investigación y Posgrado para la Conservación Amazónica (CIPCA) , Km 44 vía Puyo-Tena, Napo, 150105, Ecuador
8 - Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, Ciencias Biológicas, San Cayetano Alto, Calle París, Loja, Loja, 110107, Ecuador
9 - Escuela Superior Politécnica del Chimborazo, CHEP Herbarium, Riobamba, Chimborazo, Ecuador
10 - Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad, QCNE Herbarium, Av. Río Coca E6-115 e Isla Fernandina, Quito, Pichincha, 170501, Ecuador
11 - Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas, Av. 12 de octubre 1076, Quito, Pichincha, Ecuador
12 - Universidad Estatal Amazónica, Herbario ECUAMZ, CIPCA, Puyo, Pastaza, Ecuador
13 - Universidad Nacional de Loja, LOJA Herbarium, Via a Salache s/n, Loja, Loja, 050151, Ecuador
14 - Universidad Tecnologica Indoamerica, Machala Y Sabanilla, Quito, P, 170301, Ecuador
15 - Charles Darwin Foundation, Science and Biodiversity, Av. Charles Darwin, Puerto Ayora. , Isla Santa Cruz, Galápagos, 200102, Ecuador
16 - Universidad del Azuay, HA Herbarium, Avenida 24 de mayo 7-77, Cuenca, Azuay, 010107, Ecuador
17 - Universidad Nacional de Loja, LOJA Herbarium, Loja, Loja, Ecuador

Keywords:
Ecuador
herbaria
Fungarium.

Presentation Type: Special Sessions
Session: SS1, NOT your average specimen! (Papers)
Location: /
Date: Tuesday, July 20th, 2021
Time: 1:00 PM(EDT)
Number: SS1003
Abstract ID:775
Candidate for Awards:None