A new species named after Jorge Novoa Ramos, protector of macaws

This month in The Leaflet we have decided to make a special mention of Jorge Novoa Ramos, who has worked for more than a decade for the conservation of the green macaw (Ara militaris) in the Macaw Sanctuary together with Francisco Espino Ibarra of the Ejido de Las Juntas and Los Veranos, Cabo Corrientes, Jalisco, very close to the Vallarta Botanical Garden.

In 2016, biologist Alejandra Flores Argüelles worked for a time in our garden, and later, in 2019, she studied the bromeliads of this region as part of her master’s thesis under the advice of professors Ana Rosa López Ferrari and Adolfo Espejo Serna, from the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana. Initially, the group of researchers identified a very particular bromeliad as Aechmea mexicana, but they soon realized that the plants in the region were different from said species, which also lives on the other coastal slope of the country.

They then asked Jorge Novoa to collect the plant, which grew in the macaw sanctuary, so they could study it in more detail. Thus, they confirmed that it was a new species for science, which they named Aechmea novoae in his honor and to recognize his tireless efforts in the protection and dissemination of the Macaw sanctuary.

Come to the Vallarta Botanical Garden to discover this emblematic plant. We invite you to learn more about your environment and join in the preservation of the species, like our macaw hero: Jorge Novoa Ramos.