Discovery of a new species of magnolia in our Buenaventura reserve

Magnolias first appeared long ago, bees did not yet exist, but other insects did. Through their large flowers with thick petals and abundant pollen attracted another pollinator: the beetles. However, 82% of its species are endangered, so they are a conservation priority, and the permanent monitoring of individuals and populations is crucial.

In Jocotoco, we are happy no announce the discovery and description of a new species: Magnolia buenaventurensis. Its name comes from the name of our Buenaventura reserve in El Oro province, where this new species was found. It is worth mentioning that this is the first record of this group of plants for the southeastern foothills of Ecuador, which makes this discovery even more important.

The explorers that started this adventure are our park rangers from Canandé, in Esmeraldas province: Amado de la Cruz Chávez and Jorge Zambrano, with their vast knowledge to recognize these species, traveled from north to south to guide our colleagues from Buenaventura in the search and recognition of magnolias.

Amado de la Cruz tells this encounter with excitement: "Perhaps, in Buenaventura, it was a little more difficult because the forest differs from the one in Canandé, and I don't know it very well. We were lucky, we thought we would not find any, but on the last day, before leaving, we found a juvenile tree. My colleagues in Buenaventura continue to follow this specimen to raise success for Fundación Jocotoco, just as I do. I like to go into the field to look for trees, and I look forward to finding a new species".

We highlight the joint work of our Buenaventura park rangers: Leovigildo Cabrera, Leodán Aguilar, Diego Cabrera, and Holger Sánchez, with the reforestation team: Francisco Chuquiguanca, Cornelio Sánchez and Jorge Montaño. Together they search for more individuals of this species, and we can proudly say that 15 individuals are growing on our grounds. Possibly there are more.

Finally, from our conservation area, we congratulate José León, coordinator of conservation and research projects, Patricio Mena-Olmedo, field biologist, and all the authors and institutions involved in describing this species.

At Jocotoco, we work to protect some of the world's most endangered species by conserving the remnants of their natural habitats in Ecuador. We emphasize our work with species and habitats that are not contemplated in the system of national parks and local ecological reserves. We are proud to share this news demonstrating that what we conserve is prospering.

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