Possible magnolia species identified by chance in Buenaventura

It was the last expedition day in Buenaventura, and our team was tired from walking in the endless rain. They hadn't found any interesting species. Hopes ran low after four days of intense searching. So they decided to make a final effort to inspect a higher-altitude zone since the type of vegetation changes with altitude.

As they walked through the forest, the team heard some howler monkeys, and though most of the group kept going, Álvaro Pérez and Jorge Zambrano stayed behind, trying to sight the monkeys.

Álvaro is a botanist specializing in magnolias at the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador (PUCE), while Jorge is one of our park guards at the Canandé reserve with experience identifying Magnolias canandeanas and Magnolias dixonii, both endemic to the lower Chocó region of Ecuador.

Both grabbed their binoculars and started following the monkeys as they sprang through the trees when Álvaro suddenly said, "Here it is, here it is!" Meanwhile, the rest of the team, who had gone ahead, came back to Álvaro, signaling a place where they might be able to find monkeys. But, to everyone's surprise, he had shouted because he'd just sighted a magnolia.

It was as though the monkeys had guided Álvaro's sharp, practiced eyes to spot a small tree, about 10 meters high, common at first glance but which turned out to be a magnolia.

Álvaro, amidst the excitement, amazement, and disbelief, began meticulously to observe this young tree, which had yet to flower or yield fruit. Yet, he managed to identify other characteristics which demonstrated persuasively that the tree was a possible magnolia, one very likely not yet described by science.

That is how some howler monkeys led our expeditionary team to find a possible magnolia, still young, just outside the Buenaventura reserve. Currently, Álvaro is performing analyses of the samples he took of the plant, which will soon yield more information about this discovery.

This finding highlights the importance of our conservation work. We are preparing expeditions to find unknown species, including outside of our reserves, in order to protect them. The threats of deforestation, agricultural activity, and mining grow more severe every year. Thanks to our associate Wilhelma Zoo, we were able to acquire and expand our reserve into the magnolia´s area just six weeks after the discovery.