SENECIO HUAYNAPUTINAENSIS (COMPOSITAE), A NEW SPECIES ON THE SLOPES OF THE HUAYNAPUTIN A VOLCANO IN THE DEPARTMENT OF MOQUFGUA, SOUTHERN PERU

Introduction: A new botanical species, Senecio huaynaputinaensis, is described. Its morphology is compared and discussed with relative species. Moreover, its habitat is described, accompanied by a map of its distribution. M&M: The new species here described was find during field work in the area between Puquina and Quinistaquillas, in the Department of Moquegua, in 2017. For its identification, fresh material collected in the field was compared with herbarium specimens, online in virtual repositories, along with published descriptions of the distribution of the genus Senecio in the arid zones of the Andean region. The species is illustrated with images taken in both stereoscopic and optic microscopes. Results: the studied specimens are classified a new species of Senecio, different from other species already known. A new species of Compositae, named Senecio huaynaputinaensis from the Department of Moquegua, in the Andean region of Southern Peru is described and illustrated. It differs from its closest relative Senecio yurensis Rusby by having a dense pubescence that covers the plant, phyllodes at the bases of the leaves, shorter capitula, involucres and bracts of the involucre, presence of trichomes at the pedicels of the ligules, oblong stamens, larger and elongated achenes covered by thickened trichomes, and shorter pappus. Conclusion: Senecio huaynaputinaensis is a new species to science, apparently restricted from southern Peru.