On January 8, 2026, the Spanish Botanical Society (SEBOT) published a news about the large number of species described between 2024 and 2025, a total of 80 species, in whose discovery Spanish scientists belonging to SEBOT participated. Among the described species is the endemic fern species of the Cordillera del Cóndor, located in the Andes Mountains on the border between Ecuador and Peru, which has been described by Sonia Molino of the IICG. This remote mountain range is little explored but is known for its extraordinary biodiversity and high endemism.
The genus to which this new fern species belongs, genus Parablechnum, is one of the most diverse in the Blechnaceae family, as it has the most species, and presents great taxonomic difficulties, which makes the discovery of new species especially relevant. In the article published in the journal Brittonia, Sonia Molino, as first author, along with other international authors, describes the habitat and characteristics of Parablechnum shuariorum. The new species grows on sandstone cliffs and rocks alongside small rivers, between 900 and 1,600 meters above sea level, and is distinguished by unusual features, such as fertile fronds that are shorter than the sterile ones and a rachis densely covered with scales.
This species was described from herbarium specimens, and the authors have not yet found it in the wild. It inhabits an area heavily impacted by mining, and in fact, since the last collections they found, which date back to the early 2000s, new mining operations have opened in the area, so it could even be extinct. The species was named in honour of the Shuar, an indigenous group that also lives in the area and is being affected by all this mining activity, much of which is illegal. This discovery reinforces the urgent need to protect the Cordillera del Cóndor and its unique natural heritage.
We invite you to read the full article to learn more about this fern species, and the IICG would like to congratulate Sonia Molino on her research in the field of pteridology.