A new species emerges from the shadows
Researchers from the Plant Diversity, Adaptation, and Development Laboratory (IRD/University of Montpellier) participated in the discovery of a previously unknown flowering plant. Many questions remain.
It lived hidden from the world and could undoubtedly have remained so for centuries, lurking in the thick tropical forest of Gabon. It is Sirdavidia solannona, a flowering plant brought out of anonymity by Gabonese and French botanists from the Ecology, Systematics and Evolution Laboratory (Paris-Sud University/CNRS) and the Plant Diversity, Adaptation and Development Laboratory (IRD/University of Montpellier). For any botanist, the discovery of an unlisted plant is like finding the Holy Grail. When, on top of that, it belongs to no known genus, it's like hitting the jackpot!
New species
The discovery of this plant with delicate red flowers is unexpected, to say the least. The region where it grows—the Crystal Mountains—is one of the areas of Gabon most explored by botanists. Proof that the tropical forest and its maze of vegetation still hold many surprises...
Analysis of DNA sequences confirmed the need to create a new genus to classify this plant, whose closest relative turned out to be a species endemic to Tanzania, located in an isolated forest more than 3,000 km away!
Another curiosity is that Sirdavidia solannona, which belongs to the Annonaceae family, is characterized by a mode of pollination never before observed among Magnoliidae (the group of plants that includes, among other families, the Annonaceae). Many unknowns therefore remain to be deciphered in order to unravel the mysteries of this species. One thing is certain, however: Sirdavidia solannona can say goodbye to its tranquility...