Greigia sumapazensis Llanos-Prieto, Aguirre-Santoro & Betancur, sp. nov. (Figs. 12, 13)

Type: — COLOMBIA. Meta: municipio San Juanito, Parque Nacional Natural Chingaza, camino de San Juanito a la Laguna de Chingaza, sector El Rajadero, entre El Guajaro y el alto de La Virgen, 4°29’10.1”N− 4°29’40.9”N, 73°43’54”W− 73°43’59.2”W, 3680−3760 m, 24 Apr 2017, J. Betancur, M. Jaimes & D. Hernández 21452 (holotype: COL!; isotypes: FMB!, MO!).

Diagnosis: Greigia sumapazensis is similar to G. exserta Smith (1945: 238) but differs by its leaf sheaths entire or with a few spines towards the apex (vs. strongly spinose-serrate), leaf blades abaxially lepidote with dark-centered peltate trichomes (vs. cinereous-lepidote), primary bracts longer (6.4−6.8 cm vs. 2.2−3.4 cm), and mature fruits much longer (40−46 mm vs. 20−22 mm).

Plant terrestrial, cespitose or solitary. Leaves strongly coriaceous; sheaths differentiated from the blade, elliptic, 7−10.1 × 5 cm, dark brown, abaxially sparsely lepidote with dark brown peltate trichomes, entire or with a few spines towards the apex, spines triangular, antrorse, 2−3 × 1.3−1.5 mm, spaced 3−5 mm, dark brown; blades lingulate, 38−46 cm long, 2.6−2.8 cm wide at the base, 3−3.6 cm wide in the middle, narrowing towards the base, green, abaxially sparsely lepidote with dark brown peltate trichomes, adaxially glabrous with few dark brown peltate trichomes restricted to the base, basally entire or with few spines, apically spinose-serrate, the basal spines triangular, antrorse, 2−4 × 1.5−2 mm, spaced 5−12 mm, dark brown; leaf blade apex attenuate. Inflorescences lateral, one per leaf. Peduncle 10 mm in diameter, brown; lower peduncle bracts exceeding the internodes, coriaceous, triangular-ovate, 5−6 × 2.7−3.5 cm, dark brown, sparsely lepidote with dark brown peltate trichomes, entire with a broad membranous margin, strongly carinate, apex acute; involucral peduncle bracts coriaceous, triangular-ovate, 6.5−7 × 3−3.5 cm, dark brown, lighter towards the apex, abaxially sparsely lepidote with dark-centered peltate trichomes, entire or sparsely spinose-serrate, carinate, apex attenuate; upper peduncle bracts coriaceous, triangular-ovate, 6.4−6.8 × 2.5−2.9 cm, dark brown, lighter towards the apex, abaxially sparsely lepidote with dark-centered peltate trichomes, entire to spinose-serrate, apex attenuate. Fertile portion of the inflorescence 7−8 cm long, 4−7 cm wide in the middle. Primary bracts similar to the upper peduncle bracts but 5.2−6 cm long. Spikes 4−5 per inflorescence, two-flowered. Floral bracts exceeded by the sepals, coriaceous towards the apex, lanceolate, 34−37 × 7−10 mm, symmetric, pale brown, dark brown towards the apex, abaxially sparsely lepidote, entire with a broad membranous margin, strongly carinate, apex acute, mucronate. Flowers erect, sessile. Sepals free, exceeded by the primary bracts in anthesis, equaling or exceeding them in fruit, lance-ovate, symmetric, 20−23 × 8−10 mm, dark brown towards the apex, abaxially very sparsely lepidote, entire, carinate, apex acute, mucronate. Petals unknown. Pistil with the ovary oblate, 20 × 4 mm. Fruits oblate, flattened on the surface that is in contact with the adjacent fruit, 40−46 mm long, 10−12 mm in diameter when ripe, dark brown, sparsely lepidote. Seeds numerous per fruit, flattened ovoidal, 2 × 1 mm, reddish-dark brown.

Geographical distribution and habitat: — Greigia sumapazensis is endemic to the eastern slopes of the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia, in the department of Meta (Fig. 3B). It grows as terrestrial in páramo shrublands at 3280−3760 m.

Etymology: —The specific epithet refers to Sumapaz National Natural Park, a protected area that encompasses the largest páramo ecosystem in the world and serves as a critical water source for Colombia’s capital, Bogotá.

Conservation status: — Greigia sumapazensis is a high-elevation species endemic to Colombia’s Eastern Cordillera, where it inhabits forested subpáramo and páramo shrublands above 3,200 meters. It is currently known from only three subpopulations, all located within two protected areas: Chingaza and Sumapaz National Natural Parks. While the presence of these populations inside national parks grants them a degree of legal protection, their distribution is highly localized, with an estimated Extent of Occurrence (EOO) of 443.6 km ² and an Area of Occupancy (AOO) of 12.0 km²—both well below the thresholds for Endangered status under Criterion B. The species appears to be absent outside of these protected areas and is restricted to forested zones near the peripheries of the parks. These edge habitats are particularly susceptible to anthropogenic pressures, including cattle grazing and potato cultivation in adjacent agricultural lands. Such activities continue to threaten the integrity of the surrounding ecosystems and may contribute to habitat degradation even within park boundaries. Given its extremely limited range, very small number of known subpopulations, and dependence on a habitat type vulnerable to edge effects and external land-use pressures, G. sumapazensis meets the criteria for Endangered under B1ab(i)+2ab(i).

Additional specimens examined:— COLOMBIA. Meta: municipio Guamal, Parque Nacional Natural del Sumapaz, lagunas La Guitarra, del medio y del nevado, 3°56’45”N− 3°57’27”N, 74°08’37”W− 74°09’15”W, 3280−3475 m, 27 Jan 2002, Betancur 9465 (COL!, HUA!). Municipio San Juanito, vereda El Tablón, Parque Nacional Natural Chingaza, 4°27’33”N, 73°37’11”W, 3250 m, 15 Mar 2018, Aguirre-Santoro 3554 (COL!, FMB!).

Taxonomical notes: — Greigia sumapazensis is morphologically similar to G. exserta and were compared in the diagnosis above. These species do not overlap in geographic distribution, since G. exserta is endemic to the Colombian Massif in the southern Central Cordillera of Colombia. A very distinctive characteristic of G. sumapazensis is that its fruits when ripe are twice the size of the sepals, a rare trait shared only with G. chingazaensis in Colombia. However, G. sumapazensis can be distinguished by its leaf blades shorter (38−46 cm vs. 58−109 cm) and adaxially sparsely lepidote with dark-centered peltate trichomes (vs. glabrous), primary bracts coriaceous (vs. chartaceous), floral bracts strongly carinate (vs. slightly carinate towards the apex), and longer sepals (20−23 mm vs. 17−19 mm).