Miscellaneous additions to Swartzia (Fabaceae) from Chocoan and Andean Colombia

Abstract

Three new species of Swartzia are described and illustrated. All three are endemic to the western-Andean region and Pacific lowlands of Colombia, an important secondary area of diversity for this Amazonian-centered genus. Swartzia amabale is a multifoliolate member of the predominantly Amazonian section Unifoliolatae. It is closely related to S. glabrata of the eastern Guiana Shield and is one of only two species of its section that occurs outside of Amazonia. Swartzia radiale belongs to the small section Pittierianae and is notable for its nearly actinomorphic androecium and relatively high-elevation habitat. Swartzia versicolor is one of three subtly distinct species of the distinctive section Digynae. Its discovery augments a pronounced pattern of geographical disjunction, the other two species of the section being distributed in and around the Guiana Shield and in the littoral zone of eastern Brazil, respectively. The conservation status of each of the three new species is of concern, as indicated by small geographical ranges, rarity, and the ongoing fragmentation of forests in western Colombia.