Uvariopsis dicaprio

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Uvariopsis dicaprio
Uvariopsis dicaprio by Lorna MacKinnon 02.png
Trunk apex with cauliflorous flowers and canopy
Uvariopsis dicaprio by Lorna MacKinnon 01.png
Cauliflorous inflorescences on trunk

Critically Endangered (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Magnoliids
Order: Magnoliales
Family: Annonaceae
Genus: Uvariopsis
Species:
U. dicaprio
Binomial name
Uvariopsis dicaprio
Cheek &  [d]
Synonyms[1]

Uvariopsis ebo nom. nud.

Uvariopsis dicaprio is a critically endangered species of tropical evergreen tree in the genus Uvariopsis.[1][2] It has only been found in the Ebo Forest in Cameroon.[1]: 10 [3] It was the first new plant species described in 2022,[4] and was named after Leonardo DiCaprio by botanists from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.[1]: 12 [3][5]

Description[]

U. dicaprio is an evergreen tree reaching 3–4 meters tall. Its trunk is smooth and tapering, reaching a diameter of "1.8–2.5 cm … at 1.5 m above the ground", with dark brown bark and occasional white horizontal lenticels.[1]: 9 

Its leaves are oblanceolate, and are typically 17.7–20.3 cm long (but sometimes as long as 23 cm) and typically 7–7.9 cm wide (but sometimes only 6.4 cm wide). They are hairless, and coloured "pale yellow-green" but later turn "orangish brown". Their arrangement is distichous, and they are typically spaced 1.5–2.8 cm apart (but are sometimes as close as 1.2 cm or as far as 4.3 cm).[1]: 7, 9 

The specimen collected had only male flowers, but Gosline & Cheek et al. hypothesise that U. dicaprio is monoecious, with separate male and female flowers. Its male flowers are cauliflorous, growing directly from the stem, and glossy. Their pedicels, which connect the flower to the stem, are 1.8–2.5 cm long and about 1 mm in diameter. Each flower has two sepals and four petals. The sepals are 1–1.5 by 2.1–2.5 mm and hairless. The petals are typically about 16 by 9 mm (but sometimes as small as 14 by 5.5 mm), and 0.25–0.3 mm thick; they are thin and leathery but not fleshy, and are "yellow-green when live" but black when dried. There are typically 4–7 flowers in each inflorescence (but sometimes as few as 1).[1]: 7, 9–10 

Habitat and range[]

U. dicaprio is endemic to the Ebo Forest, in the Littoral Region of Cameroon.[1]: 10 [4]

It is found in the submontane forest, at elevations from 200 to 1,200 m.[1]: 10 

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j George Gosline; Martin Cheek; Jean Michel Onana; Eric Ngansop Tchatchouang; Xander M. van der Burgt; Lorna MacKinnon; Léo-Paul M. J. Dagallier (6 January 2022). "Uvariopsis dicaprio (Annonaceae) a new tree species with notes on its pollination biology, and the Critically Endangered narrowly endemic plant species of the Ebo Forest, Cameroon". PeerJ. 10: e12614. doi:10.7717/PEERJ.12614. ISSN 2167-8359. PMC 8743011. PMID 35036131. Wikidata Q110445002.
  2. ^ Gleeson, Scott (6 January 2022). "Leonardo DiCaprio inspired London scientists to name an endangered tree after him". USA Today. Archived from the original on 6 January 2022. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  3. ^ a b Briggs, Helen (6 January 2022). "Kew scientists name new tree after Leonardo DiCaprio". BBC News. Archived from the original on 6 January 2022. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  4. ^ a b Ly, Chen (6 January 2022). "Newly identified tree species named in honour of Leonardo DiCaprio". New Scientist. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  5. ^ Haq, Sana Noor (9 January 2022). "Scientists name new tropical tree species after Leonardo DiCaprio". CNN. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.

External links[]

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