New relevant chorological and conservation data on Carex (Cyperaceae) and Hypericum (Hypericaceae) from Ecuador Author Jimenez-Mejias, Pedro Department of Biology (Botany), Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain & Area de Botanica, Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemical Engineering, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Seville, Spain & Centro de Investigacion en Biodiversidad y Cambio Global (CIBC-UAM), Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain pjimmej@gmail.com Author Morales-Alonso, Ana Area de Botanica, Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemical Engineering, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Seville, Spain aimoralons@gmail.com Author Oleas, Nora H https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1948-4119 Centro de Investigacion de la Biodiversidad y Cambio Climatico (BioCamb) e Ingenieria en Biodiversidad y Recursos Geneticos, Facultad de Ciencias de Medio Ambiente, Universidad Tecnologica Indoamerica, Machala y Sabanilla, Quito, Ecuador Author Sanchez, Enmily https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5343-9349 Centro de Investigacion de la Biodiversidad y Cambio Climatico (BioCamb) e Ingenieria en Biodiversidad y Recursos Geneticos, Facultad de Ciencias de Medio Ambiente, Universidad Tecnologica Indoamerica, Machala y Sabanilla, Quito, Ecuador Author Martin-Bravo, Santiago https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0626-0770 Area de Botanica, Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemical Engineering, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Seville, Spain Author Masa-Iranzo, Irene Real Jardin Botanico (RJB), CSIC, Madrid, Spain Author S. Meseguer, Andrea Real Jardin Botanico (RJB), CSIC, Madrid, Spain text Biodiversity Data Journal 2023 2023-03-08 11 99603 99603 http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.11.e99603 journal article http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.11.e99603 1314-2828-11-e99603 64C6413A939157C19507EFFD53C388AB Carex aztecica Mack. in N.L.Britton & al. (eds.), N. Amer. Fl. 18: 229 (1935) Materials Type status: Other material . Occurrence : catalogNumber: QCA 36385 ; recordedBy: S. Laegaard ; occurrenceID: QCA 36385 ; Taxon : scientificNameID: Carex aztecica Mack ; Location : country: Ecuador ; locality: Cotopaxi . La Mana - Latacunga ; verbatimElevation: 1200 m ; locationRemarks: Cotopaxi . La Mana - Latacunga km 26, 79°07'W 00°52'S , 1200 m , rocky roadbanks; georeferenceProtocol: label; Event : eventDate: 7 Apr 1993 Type status: Other material . Occurrence: catalogNumber: QCNE 124910 ; recordedBy: S. Laegaard ; occurrenceID: QCNE 124910; Taxon: scientificNameID: Carex aztecica Mack; Location: country: Ecuador ; locality: Cotopaxi . La Mana - Latacunga ; verbatimElevation: 1201 m ; locationRemarks: Cotopaxi . La Mana - Latacunga km 26, 79°07'W 00°52'S , 1200 m , rocky roadbanks; georeferenceProtocol: label; Event: eventDate: 7 Apr 1993 Taxon discussion Carex aztecica was hitherto considered a Mesoamerican endemic species, known from southern Mexico and Guatemala. It belongs to the problematic Decora Clade (subg. Carex Carex ), where it was included as part of the variation of sect. Carex Indicae Tuckerman sensu lato , a set of species with lax paniculate inflorescences and utriculiform cladoprophylls. The Decora clade is one of the two groups of Carex that are exclusively distributed in tropical-subtropical areas, along with sect. Carex Fecundae Kuek . (see below). The records that we present here are the first for Ecuador, but also for South America. In addition, they constitute the new known southernmost limit of the species. The taxon can be distinguished from the closely related C. polystachya Wahlenb. by its darker female glumes (purple-brown to dark-brown in C. aztecica vs. orange, pale reddish-brown, stramineous or hyaline in C. polystachya ) with blunter apex (at least some glumes obtuse or acute vs. all glumes acuminate to awned) and the utricles with the beak reddish-tinged (vs. not tinged) ( Hermann (1974) , Chater (1980) . These localities in Ecuador become the new known southernmost limit of the species.