Hi everyone,
It was a really spectacular moment, when Ed and I found this new species at Tonala, especially because it was the 1st site we stopped at on a 3-day trip through Oaxaca. Imagine that, the 1st Ping we saw on the trip was a new species, what a great start!
It is not only a real treat and a rarity to discover a new species, but best of all, it was one of those extremely rare cases when the new species is immediately recognized as such in the field. Most times it mroe like... "Well yes, the leaves are a bit longer than such-and-such species, and the flower color is a bit different,but they are both very similar." Sometimes such a plant will sit around for years before someone finally decides that it is a good species and publishes it.
So it was a very exciting moment!! We didn't care if it was a minute new species, maybe the smallest of all Ping species.
Take Care,
Fernando