Plant Ecology and Evolution 153(2): 312-320, doi: 10.5091/plecevo.2020.1709
A new species of Drypetes (Putranjivaceae) discovered by J. Léonard in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
expand article infoAlejandro Quintanar‡, David J. Harris§, Patricia Barbera|
‡ Herbario MA, Unidad de Herbarios, Real Jardín Botánico de Madrid CSIC, 28014 Madrid, Spain§ Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom| Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, United States of America

Corresponding author: Alejandro Quintanar ( quintanar@rjb.csic.es )

© Alejandro Quintanar, David J. Harris, Patricia Barberá.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation: Quintanar A, Harris DJ, Barbera P (2020) A new species of Drypetes (Putranjivaceae) discovered by J. Léonard in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Plant Ecology and Evolution 153(2): 312-320. https://doi.org/10.5091/plecevo.2020.1709
Open Access
Abstract

Background – During his stay in Yangambi in the 1940s, the Belgian botanist J. Léonard collected a species of the genus Drypetes endemic to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He named it D. morocarpa on herbarium labels, but never published it.

Methods – The present study is based on the revision of 26 collections of D. morocarpa. Morphometric measurements on herbarium specimens belonging to the new species and its closest relatives in Drypetes were carried out in order to describe this new species.

Results – We describe here D. morocarpa J.Léonard ex D.J.Harris & Quintanar. It is easily recognisable by its blackish twigs and young branchlets, orbicular stipules, leaf blades usually entire, and hard fruits, covered with irregular protuberances. It has been collected in two areas along the course of the Congo river or its tributaries. A differential diagnosis, a detailed morphological description, a key to distinguish it from the most similar species, an illustration and all the available information about its habitat, distribution and conservation status are provided.

Keywords
Central Africa, Congo Basin, Drypetes, new species, Putranjivaceae, Yangambi

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