Five new species of Streptocarpus (Gesneriaceae)  from Katanga, D.R. Congo

Eberhard Fischer; Iain Darbyshire

doi:10.5091/plecevo.2021.1824

Plant Ecology and Evolution 154(2): 264-280, doi: 10.5091/plecevo.2021.1824

Five new species of Streptocarpus (Gesneriaceae) from Katanga, D.R. Congo

Eberhard Fischer^‡, Iain Darbyshire^§

‡ University of Koblenz and Landau, Mainz, Germany§ Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Kew, Richmond, United Kingdom

Corresponding author: Eberhard Fischer ( efischer@uni-koblenz.de )

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: Fischer E, Darbyshire I (2021) Five new species of Streptocarpus (Gesneriaceae) from Katanga, D.R. Congo. Plant Ecology and Evolution 154(2): 264-280. https://doi.org/10.5091/plecevo.2021.1824

Abstract

Background and aims – Five new species of Streptocarpus (Gesneriaceae) are described from D.R. Congo in connection with preparing the family treatment for the Flore d’Afrique centrale.

Methods – Standard herbarium practices were applied.

Key results – Streptocarpus malachiticola sp. nov. is related to S. compressus and S. goetzei while S. bampsii sp. nov., S. malaissei sp. nov., S. salesianorum sp. nov., and S. schaijesii sp. nov. are related to S. michelmorei and S. solenanthus. The differences with these species are discussed and distribution maps for the new taxa are presented. An identification key for all known acaulescent species from D.R. Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi is provided. The conservation status of new species is preliminarily assessed. All taxa are range-restricted in Upper Katanga and the assessments are as follows: S. malachiticola: EN B1+2ab(iii), S. bampsii: CR B2ab(iii), S. malaissei: EN B1+2ab(iii), S. salesianorum: CR B2ab(iii), and S. schaijesii: EN B2ab(iii). Streptocarpus malachiticola is found on metalliferous rocks while the remaining species are either epiphytes in gallery forests (S. bampsii) or occur on humid rocks in gallery forests.

Keywords

central Africa, endemism, new species, Streptocarpus malachiticola, S. bampsii, S. malaissei, S. salesianorum, S. schaijesii, taxonomy

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