In the Cueva de los Guácharos National Park in southern Colombia, among the misty Andean forests, botanists encountered a shrub that cannot be confidently assigned to any known species. It grows to about three metres, its petioles are covered with longitudinal grooves, and its inflorescences are coloured reddish-purple, almost crimson. It grows at elevations from 1800 to 2150 metres above sea level, and so far it has been found only here.
The new species was named Trichostigma guacharense. The name honours the park where the plant's type locality is found, and the guácharo (Steatornis caripensis) — the cave-dwelling bird for whose protection the area was declared protected in 1960. By decree 2631 of 9 November 1960, the park became Colombia's first protected area. Its area, according to official data, is 7 134,93 ha, and it stretches across the departments of Huila, Caquetá and Cauca. Today the park is considered a model of well-preserved Andean and sub-Andean forests.
The description of the species was the result of field research. Scientists from the Universidad Militar Nueva Granada and the Universidad de los Andes worked on it together with park rangers. The authors are Andrés F. Majín-Ladino, M. Alejandra Jaramillo, Laura I. Ramos and Pablo R. Stevenson. They collected samples, compared their morphology and published the results in the journal Brittonia. The plant belongs to the family Petiveriaceae. It is distinguished from close relatives by the shape of its leaves, its petioles, the pattern of its stamens and the structure of its fruits.
The genus Trichostigma occurs throughout Colombia — from sea level to 2200 metres — but it had been poorly studied. The last time a new species of this genus was described was in 1909, so the find became the first description after a gap of more than a century. It is a reminder that even in places considered well studied and protected, nature continues to conceal unknown plants.
The park was created for the sake of the guácharo's cave nests, and today it has also become a platform for state programmes. The discovery is part of the national programme "Agua, Biodiversidad y Comunidades" (water, biodiversity and communities), which makes protected areas a pillar of scientific sovereignty and sustainable development.
The description includes a diagnosis of the species, detailed illustrations and an updated identification key for all species of the genus. It is a working tool: with it, other botanists will be able to distinguish Trichostigma species from one another and find new populations.
