Background and Aims:

Routine revision of the iNaturalistMX platform in 2023 allowed detecting the record of an individual of Gonolobus that corresponded to an ecoregion not known for this genus. Subsequent explorations of the record locality allowed to locate different populations of Gonolobus with white corolla, an uncommon trait in the genus. The distinctive morphology and locality of the collected plants suggest that this is a new species, which is here described and compared with the other known species with white corollas.

Methods:

Botanical explorations and collections were made near the community of Santiago Bayacora, Durango, Mexico, and specimens were analyzed in the herbarium CIIDIR. The identity of the species was determined by literature review, herbarium specimens and photographic records in iNaturalistMX. A distribution map, comparative plates and an identification key were prepared for Gonolobus species with white corollas. Its conservation status was proposed according to IUCN criteria.

Results:

Gonolobus imladrisanthus is only known from the slopes of the mountains of Santiago Bayacora, Durango, Mexico, which is located in the xerophytic ecoregion of the Sierra Madre Occidental. It is morphologically related to G. edulis (endemic to Costa Rica and Panama) and G. exannulatus (endemic to Chiapas and Guatemala), from which it differs by its bilobed and ascending dorsal appendages. The inhabitants of Santiago Bayacora reported consuming its fruits boiled in milk. Gonolobus imladrisanthus is provisionally assessed as Vulnerable (VU).

Conclusions:

This new taxon is the fifth known species of the genus in the state of Durango and the first to occur in its xerophytic vegetation. It consolidates Mexico as one of its main centers of diversity and also contributes to its biocultural heritage by describing a new species with food importance.

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