Notes on the threatened lowland forests of Mt Cameroon and their endemics including Drypetes njonji sp. nov., with a key to species of Drypetes sect. Stipulares (Putranjivaceae)

Abstract

Background and aims -This paper reports a further discovery of a new endemic threatened species to science in the context of long-term botanical surveys in the lowland coastal forests of Mount Cameroon specifically and generally in the Cross River-Sanaga interval of west-central Africa. These studies focus on species discovery and conservation through the Tropical Important Plant Areas programme.

Lurking in the Shadows: A New Species of Drypetes (Putranjivaceae) from Central Africa Hiding in Forest Plots and Herbaria

“…The new species published here belongs to Drypetes Vahl (Putranjivaceae, order Malpighiales), a pantropical genus of approximately 210 species (Govaerts et al, 2000) of dioecious trees and shrubs of which 70 species are said to occur in Africa and Madagascar (Radcliffe-Smith, 2001), although we predict this number will rise. It has been suggested that the genus is an indicator of "good-quality," undisturbed forests (Cheek et al, 2019). Its morphology is characterized by simple, alternate or subdistichous petiolate leaves, the bases with oblique to unequal sides.…”