Taxonomic revision of the peculiar genus Xylopodia (Loasaceae) with a new species from Argentina and Bolivia demonstrating an atypical trans-Andean disjunction

Loasaceae subfam. Loasoideae are a nearly exclusively American plant group with a center of diversity in Peru. Numerous new taxa have been described over the past decades; one of the most striking discoveries was that of the narrowly endemic Xylopodia with the single species Xylopodia klaprothioides in Peru, Dpto. Cajamarca in 1997. Surprisingly, field studies in the past years have resulted in the discovery of material clearly belonging to the same genus in both Bolivia and northern Argentina, approximately 1500 km SE of the next known population of Xylopodia in Contumazá, Peru. A closer examination shows that Argentinian and Bolivian material belongs to a single species, clearly different from Xylopodia klaprothioides. We here describe Xylopodia laurensis and the entire genus is revised. Both species are illustrated, all aspects of their biology and ecology are portrayed and their threat status is discussed.Fil: Martín, Claudia Melisa. Universidad Nacional de Jujuy. Instituto de Ecorregiones Andinas. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Ecorregiones Andinas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Jujuy. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios de Diversidad Vegetal.; ArgentinaFil: Zanotti, Christian Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. Academia Nacional de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto de Botánica Darwinion; ArgentinaFil: Acuña Castillo, Rafael. Universidad de Costa Rica; Costa RicaFil: Henning, Tilo. Leibniz Centre For Agricultural Landscape Research; AlemaniaFil: Catari, Juan C.. Museo de Historia Natural Noel Kempff Mercado; BoliviaFil: Weigend, Maximilian. Universitat Bonn; Alemani