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Ceratostema kiatana

Named just last year, this newly described species honors Dr. Kiat Tan, past director of the Botanic Gardens of Singapore. It’s endemic to Ecuador’s Andean cloud forests, found in Zamora Chinchipe province at around 5,000 feet elevation. Like others in the genus, it grows as an epiphytic shrub in cool, humid montane conditions.

Ceratostema is prized among collectors for its striking tubular flowers, typical of the Ericaceae family. As one of the most recently named additions to this diverse Ecuadorian genus, it’s a rare and exciting find for collectors of Andean epiphytes.