blogtecaolivelli

NEW PLANTS FOUND OUT IN 2018....

Science & Environment

By Helen BriggsBBC News

• 21 December 2018

• Media captionThe woman who draws plants

Plant collectors have searched for the hidden wonders

of the plant world for centuries.

Yet plants that are new to science are still being described,

at a rate of about 2,000 a year.

Scientists at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, discovered

and named more than 100 new plants in 2018.

Their list of the top new plants includes carnivorous pitcher

plants, exotic orchids and climbers with untapped

medicinal powers.

Prof Aiah Lebbie discovered an unusual plant clinging

to rocks near a water fall in Sierra Leone. He collected

a specimen and sent it to Kew, where it was identified

as a new species. The plant, Lebbiea Grandiflora, has

been named after him.

Image copyrightRBG KEWImage captionAn

aquatic herb found in a waterfall in the Sewa River

"It's got unique characteristics, that are unlike any

other plant in that particular family and that straight

away indicated to me that we had come across

something very unique," he told BBC News. "My

name will forever be linked to it."

The plant has been classed as critically endangered.

Found in an area that is under threat from mining

and a hydro-electric project, the scientists believe

it may be extinct within a few years.

ADVERTISEMENT

It is thought that fish feed on the plants, strengthening

the health of the ecosystem.

"Every single species of plant on earth is also important

for our survival," said Prof Lebbie, of the National

Herbarium of Sierra Leone.

"If we say we are not going to be custodians or guardians

of it and allow them to disappear, for me that is something

the world has lost, and as of now we don't even know

the value of it."

There are more than 150 species of pitcher plant in the world.

This new discovery, Nepenthes biak, only grows on the small

island of Biak, off the north coast of Indonesian New Guinea.

copyrightMARTIN CHEEK, RBG KEWImage caption

Carnivorous pitcher plant from New Guinea

It is threatened by tourism when ships stop at the island.

"It's known that the plant has been hunted to be dug up

from the wild for sale to passing tourists," said Kew botanist,

Dr Martin Cheek. "Unless something is done about protecting

this species it's heading for extinction."

It is our job to protect these plants for future generations

to appreciate, he said. Pitcher plants, known as Nepenthes,

have a number of potential uses in medicine, which have

yet to be fully explored.

They are finding new things in plants all the time, Lara

Jewitt, nurseries manager at Kew, said. "We never know

what we are going to discover within these plants."

The new plant, named Kindia gangan, is a member of

the coffee family. Kew scientists on a field trip spotted

it growing on sandstone cliffs near the town of Kindia

 in Guinea in West Africa.

Image copyrightMARTIN CHEEKImage caption

A plant related to coffee

Biological extracts suggest the plant may have

medicinal applications, perhaps even anti-cancer

properties.

A spectacular orchid was found being sold off the

back of a barrow in Vientiane, the capital of Laos.

The slipper orchid, Paphiopedilum papilio-laoticus,

is gravely endangered.

Image copyrightADUNYADETHLUANGAPHAY

Image captionSlipper orchid from Laos

The climbing yam - a food crop in many parts of the

world - was initially seen in a photograph sent to Kew

in 2002. More than a decade later, pressed, dried

specimens in Kew's herbarium were found to be a

match.

The purple-flowered plant, Dioscorea hurteri, is found

in six locations in KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. It is

classed as vulnerable to extinction.

Image copyrightGARETH CHITTENDONImage

captionA climbing yam from South Africa

This brand new species, Oreocharis tribracteata, was

seen on an expedition to northern Vietnam. It was

subsequently grown in the UK.

Image copyrightSADIE BARBERImage caption

Bright-orange-flowered plant from Vietnam

This large tree was seen growing in a rainforest in

Guinea, West Africa. In the spring it has shocking

pink flowers. Talbotiella cheekii was unknown to

science until 2015.

Image copyrightMARTIN CHEEKImage caption

A rainforest tree from Guinea

Image copyrightTHAISVASCONSCELOS3Image caption

A new tree from the spice family

This tree, Pimenta berciliae, is related to the tree that

brings us Allspice, a vital ingredient in food and beauty

products.

This plant with pink flowers was found in a

valley in Bolivia.

Image copyrightMT MARTINEZImage captionA flower

from the valleys of Bolivia

One tree from Cameroon, Vepris bali, is known to grow

only in a forest reserve in the Bamenda Highlands.

It is thought to be extinct already due to habitat destruction.

Follow Helen on Twitter.