Novitates Gabonenses 93: a fresh look at Podostemaceae in Gabon following recent inventories, with a new combination for Ledermanniella nicolasii
Author
Bidault, Ehoarn
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5029-8069
Missouri Botanical Garden, Africa & Madagascar Department, St. Louis, Missouri, USA & Institut de Systematique, Evolution, et Biodiversite (ISYEB), Unite Mixte de Recherche 7205, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique / Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle / Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, Sorbonne Universites, Paris, France
ehoarn.bidault@mobot.org
Author
Boupoya, Archange
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8926-8737
Institut de Recherche en Ecologie Tropicale (IRET), Libreville, Gabon & Herbier National du Gabon, Libreville, Gabon
Author
Ikabanga, Davy U.
Laboratoire d'Ecophysiologie et de Biodiversite Vegetale, Departement de Biologie, Faculte des Sciences, Universite des Sciences et Techniques de Masuku (USTM), Franceville, Gabon
Author
Nguimbit, Igor
Laboratoire d'Ecophysiologie et de Biodiversite Vegetale, Departement de Biologie, Faculte des Sciences, Universite des Sciences et Techniques de Masuku (USTM), Franceville, Gabon
Author
Texier, Nicolas
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4045-992X
Missouri Botanical Garden, Africa & Madagascar Department, St. Louis, Missouri, USA & Evolutionary Biology and Ecology Unit, Faculte des Sciences, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
Author
Rutishauser, Rolf
Herbarium et Bibliotheque de Botanique africaine, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
Author
Mesterhazy, Attila
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7952-5990
Department of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, University of Zurich, Switzerland
Author
Stevart, Tariq
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6212-0361
Missouri Botanical Garden, Africa & Madagascar Department, St. Louis, Missouri, USA & Evolutionary Biology and Ecology Unit, Faculte des Sciences, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium & Centre for Ecological Research, Wetland Ecology Research Group, Debrecen, Hungary
text
Plant Ecology and Evolution
2023
2023-03-01
156
1
59
84
http://dx.doi.org/10.5091/plecevo.96359
journal article
http://dx.doi.org/10.5091/plecevo.96359
2032-3921-1-59
A3301095CCAD56078E5F4CA25FE7E738
Dicraeanthus Engl. (Engler 1905: 94)
Distribution.
Endemic to Cameroon.
Dicraeanthus africanus
Engl. is widely distributed in Cameroon, and
D. zehnderi
H.E.Hess is restricted to the Sanaga and Mbam watershed.
Habitat and ecology.
Rapids and falls in rivers ca 50 to 600 m wide, 5-1050 m in elevation.
Notes.
Dicraeanthus
was mentioned as present in Gabon by
Sosef et al. (2006)
, based on one collection (
Reitsma 2431
) gathered in 1986 at the Poubara waterfalls on the
Ogooue
river. The collection was determined by the collector and was not observed by Cusset. This collection was supposedly deposited at WAG but could not be retrieved there. Duplicates of Reitsma collections are also present in NY, but this number could not be retrieved there either. The presence of this genus in Gabon could not be confirmed, despite the fact that the Poubara site was visited again in 2019. This collection by Reitsma might have been misidentified as
Dicraeanthus
, especially since a species name was not assigned by the collector. Since a hydroelectric dam was built at Poubara between 2008 and 2013, it is also possible that the
Dicraeanthus
population sampled by Reitsma in 1986 has since disappeared due to disturbance to the local environment, though four other
Podostemaceae
species were collected there in 2019:
Ledermanniella pusilla
,
L. aloides
s.l.,
Inversodicraea annithomae
, and
Tristicha trifaria
. The presence of the genus
Dicraeanthus
in Gabon remains uncertain, and we choose to not accept it as present until the collection
Reitsma 2431
can be observed by a specialist, or the species is collected in the field.