Four new species of Quararibea "grandifolia group" (Malvaceae) from Colombia and Ecuador

As an advance of the upcoming review of a group of species of the genus Quararibea (Malvaceae), the "grandifolia group" that includes at least 13 species of trees from Mesoamerica and CentralNorthern South America, four new species are described in this work. Two are from Colombia, one of them typical of the Pacific rainforests in Choco (Quararibea recondita) and the other one from the very humid premontane forests of southern Antioquia in the slopes of the Magdalena and Cauca River valleys (Q. citarensis). The other two species (Q. silverstonei and Q. tafallae) come from the humid premontane and cloud forests along the slope and the Pacific corridor of western Ecuador, from Esmeraldas-Carchi to Guayas-Azuay provinces. One of the species described here had been illustrated at the beginning of the 19th century on the Flora Huayaquilensis by J.J. Tafalla, whose manuscript was only recently edited and made public. Myrodia obovata Ruiz in Tafalla (nom. inval.) and Matisia eichleri K. Schum. [in schaeda] are recognized as synonyms of Quararibea tafallae described here.