New Book Highlights Threatened Plants of the Tropical Andes

The tropical Andes are one of the most biodiverse places in the world. These mountains in South America are home to tens of thousands of plants and animals, many of which live nowhere else on Earth. However, their rich ecosystems are under threat from deforestation, mining, fires, livestock grazing, and climate change.

Bosque Andino: flora de la media y alta montaña en la cuenca del río Claro, Caldas (“Andean Forest: Medium- and high-altitude flora of the Claro River watershed”) highlights more than 300 unique and often threatened species in the tropical Andes of Colombia.

Daniel Ruiz-Carrascal, an adjunct at Columbia University’s International Research Institute for Climate and Society, has been studying high-altitude tropical Andean ecosystems for more than a decade. He and his colleagues have been recording long-term changes in temperature and humidity, and cataloguing the tree and plant species they encounter along the way. Now they have written a book that highlights more than 300 of the unique — and in many cases, threatened — species they’ve identified in the Claro river watershed in Colombia.

Bosque Andino contains high-resolution photos and detailed information about more than 150 of these species, including how to identify each one and where it lives, as well as a scannable QR code that brings users to the team’s virtual catalog for more information. The result is a colorful and easy-to-use field guide to the trees, bushes, vines, epiphytes and ferns of this ecosystem in the clouds. The authors think it will be useful to tourists, students and community members, as well as specialists such as botanists, park rangers, and conservationists.

The book includes only species that are native to Andean forests. “We considered those that are particularly important or interesting for conservation efforts, in terms of their endemic condition, reported or observed threat, being a novel report of the species in the zone, and also due to their taxonomic challenges,” explained doctoral student María Elena Gutiérrez-Lagoueyte, the book’s lead author.

The mountain forests help to regulate water and climate; they store carbon and prevent erosion and landslides; they provide timber and habitats for plants and animals, and contribute to human well-being, both aesthetically and culturally. By highlighting the floristic richness of this region, the team hopes to show that there is still a lot to learn about these ecosystems, and to emphasize how important it is to conserve what’s left of them.

“Our interest was to reveal the surprisingly high biodiversity remaining in the Andean forests of Colombia, despite their current state of fragmentation,” said Ruiz-Carrascal. “Many species are still alive, out there in the field. We wanted to bring nature’s beauty to our society to create consciousness about the urgent necessity to protect what is still left.”

The slideshow below highlights 10 of the species that make the tropical Andes a unique and incredible natural treasure.

riñon plant — Riñón (*Brunellia boqueronensis*) thrives only in the Colombian Andes and is classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Ruiz-Carrascal’s team was the first to report finding this species in the Caldas region of Colombia. The toucan *Andigena hypoglauca* is one of its frequent visitors.

golden hawthorne flowers — The beautiful golden hawthorne (*Berberis verticillata*) lives only in the Cordillera Central of Colombia between altitudes of 2,500 to 3,600 meters. Its conservation status has not been evaluated by the IUCN Red List.

nogal plant — Nogal (*Juglans neotropica*) is an endangered species that grows from Venezuela to Peru. People extract its resins and other products, which have a variety of uses in the textile and medical industries. It is highly affected by illegal logging.

bright pink flowers — Brightly colored flowers make these fuchsia shrubs (*Fuchsia crassistipula*) very attractive to birds. This species is only known to live in the Colombian Andes between 2,400 and 2,800 meters in altitude. Its conservation status has not been evaluated by the IUCN Red List.

mule's ears plant with flowers — Commonly known as mule’s ears, *Ocotea otara* is only known to inhabit Colombia’s El Ruiz-Tolima volcanic massif between the altitudes of 2,700-3,100 meters. The tree’s conservation status has not been evaluated by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, but its narrow range could make it especially vulnerable.

red indigenous flower cluster — “Indigenous flower” (*Bomarea patinii*) is a climbing herb whose clusters of up to 100 flowers feed a variety of hummingbird species. The herb grows in Ecuador and Colombia at altitudes from 1,800 to 3,300 meters. Its conservation status has not been evaluated by the IUCN Red List.

red berries — View of *Bomarea patinii*‘s berries

Themistoclesia recondita leaves — *Themistoclesia recondita* is an epiphyte, meaning it grows on other plants. It has only ever been reported in Colombia and Ecuador between the altitudes of 2,000 to 2,800 meters. Its conservation status has not been evaluated by the IUCN Red List, but specialists at the New York Botanical Garden suspect that, given its limited distribution, the species could be threatened.

This herb (*Deprea cyanocarpa*) is the only species in its genus to have a pure purple calyx surrounding its flower petals. The species was first found in 2007 in the Los Nevados Natural Park, where Ruiz-Carrascal and his team work. Theirs is the second finding known to science. The species’ conservation status has not been evaluated by the IUCN Red List.

A closeup of Deprea cyanocarpa's purple calyx — A closeup of *Deprea cyanocarpa*‘s purple calyx

underside of tree fern — *Cyathea patens* is a tree fern found in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Like other species in its fern family, *C. patens*’ root masses have traditionally been used to grow orchids, bromelias, and flower horns, but this use is threatening the tree fern’s populations. As a result, extracting it from the forest is restricted across Colombia, and trade in the plant or its parts is regulated by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Closeup of Cyathea patens frond — Closeup of *Cyathea patens* frond

pink flowers — The flowering parts of this orchid (*Epidendrum ionodesme*) can be up to 20 inches long. It grows on the ground as well as on other plants in Colombia and Ecuador. Its conservation status has not been evaluated by the IUCN Red List.

Martha Isabel Posada-Posada, Paula Andrea Morales-Morales, Alejandro Ospina-Sánchez and Juan Camilo Sánchez-Gómez are also co-authors of Bosque Andino.