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
Authors: Martin Cheek
Léo-Paul M J Dagallier
Eric Ngansop Tchatchouang
George Gosline
Jean Michel Onana
Lorna MacKinnon
Xander M van der Burgt
Journal: PeerJ (2022)
Discipline: Multidisciplinary
Keywords: Cauliflorous; Conservation; Cross-sanaga interval; Moth-pollination; Threatened species.
Affiliations: Science, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, United Kingdom, Faculty of Science, Department of Plant Biology, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon, National Herbarium of Cameroon, IRAD, Yaoundé, Cameroon, DIADE, Univ Montpellier, CIRAD, IRD, Montpellier, France

Abstract:  Background: The Ebo Forest area is a highly threatened centre of diversity in the Littoral Region of Cameroon, globally important for conservation with many threatened species including 68 threatened species of plant, yet not formally protected. The tropical African evergreen forest tree genus Uvariopsis Engl. &amp; Diels (Annonaceae) is characterised by unisexual, usually cauliflorous flowers with a uniseriate corolla of four petals, and two sepals. Cameroon is the centre of diversity of the genus with 14 of the 19 known species. Methods: The herbarium collection MacKinnon 51 from Ebo is hypothesized to represent a new species to science of Uvariopsis. This hypothesis is tested by the study of herbarium specimens from a number of herbaria known to hold important collections from Cameroon and surrounding countries. Results: We test the hypothesis that MacKinnon 51 represents a new species to science, using the most recent dichotomous identification key, and comparing it morphologically with reference material of all known species of the genus. We make a detailed comparative morphological study focussing on three other Cameroonian species, Uvariopsis solheidii, U. korupensis and the sympatric U. submontana. In the context of a review of the pollination biology of Uvariopsis, we speculate that in a genus otherwise with species with dull, flesh-coloured (pink, red to brown) flowers pollinated (where known) by diptera, orthoptera and blattodea (flies, crickets and cockroaches), the glossy, pale yellow-green flowers of Uvariopsis dicaprio, with additional traits unique in the genus, may be pollinated by nocturnal moths. Based on MacKinnon 51, we formally name Uvariopsis dicaprio Cheek &amp; Gosline (Annonaceae) as new to science, and we describe, and illustrate, and map it. Restricted so far to a single site in evergreen forest in the Ebo Forest, Littoral Region, Cameroon, Uvariopsis dicaprio is provisionally assessed as Critically Endangered using the IUCN, 2012 standard because the forest habitat of this species remains unprotected, and there exist imminent threats of logging and conversion to plantations. Discussion: We show that the highest density of species of the genus (12), and of narrow endemics (5), is found in the Cross-Sanaga Interval of SE Nigeria and Western Cameroon. A revised key to the 14 Cameroonian species of Uvariopsis is presented. We review the other seven narrowly endemic and threatened species unique to the Ebo forest of Cameroon and discuss the phytogeographic affinities of the area. Conclusions: Uvariopsis dicaprio adds to the growing list of species threatened with extinction at Ebo Forest due to current anthropogenic pressures. 

Retracted: No

PubPeer comments:
 If the plant is identical to, and was named as Uvariopsis ebo (compare, for example, Fig 1 and 2 with Fig 1 and 2 of https: www.biorxiv.org content 10.1101 2021.03.26.437154v1.full)* on March 28, 2021, then why change the name to Uvariopsis dicaprio? The taxonomic sense of this synonym is difficult to comprehend. Both biorXiv and PeerJ plants cannot be u201cnewu201d if they are the same. * u201cIn this paper we test the hypothesis that it is a new species to science, and name the new species as Uvariopsis ebo.u201d Finally, if there is only a single specimen of this plant from Ebo Forest, what are the ethical restrictions of sampling it? , 
 #1 It is important to understand that the earlier bioRxiv article was a pre-print, a draft, with no nomenclatural standing. So the name we used there is not legitimate, and could not be registered with the International Plant Names Index (ipni.org). The correct name for the species, which is internationally registered, is Uvariopsis dicaprio. We do draw attention to the change in the PeerJ paper itself. Why change the name to Uvariopsis dicaprio? Because we already had quite a few other species recently named for the Ebo forest, e.g. Pseudohydrosme ebo, Ardisia ebo, Talbotiella ebo, Palisota ebo (and more to come, it is an amazing forest)u2026u2026u2026and someone suggested naming the Uvariopsis instead after Dicaprio, who had been so brilliant helping our campaign with the Ebo Forest Research Project (zoologists supported by San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance SDZWA) supporting the local communities lobbying for the Cameroon Government to drop the logging concession that had shockingly been granted for Ebo in Feb. 2020. Dicapriou2019s intervention may have made all the difference to the President revoking that logging concession in Aug. 2020, so this seemed an excellent way to show our sincere gratitude to him. All co-authors including our Cameroonian colleagues, agreed without exception, so we went ahead with the name. Although the future of Ebo is uncertain, the immediate threat has been removed, and quite possibly, without Dicapriou2019s intervention, the plant species unique to Ebo, including this Uvariopsis, could already be extinct, and the 78 globally threatened plant species that much closer to extinction (for details on the threatened plants of Ebo see the Tropical Important Plant Areas datasheet for Ebo at https: tipas.kew.org site ebo-forest ). Concerning the ethics of collecting three herbarium specimens from the single tree seen: firstly, when collected, the collector, as is usually the case, was not aware at the time that this would turn out to be a new species to science that would be found to be extremely rare. Secondly, snipping three or four leafy twigs from a tree with hundreds, using secateurs, is not going to threaten that treeu2019s survival. If you cultivate a plant, you know that when it is large, in this case a tree about 4 metres tall, it is possible to take clippings to propagate or shape it (or in this case make a herbarium specimen) without negative effects. And just think, without those clippings there would be no herbarium specimen, and then we would not have been certain that this was indeed a new species to science that we could show is highly endangered and needs protection. Thirdly, in the paper we report that additional trees were observed (u201cless than 50 mature individuals have been observedu201d). A note from the collector: where the quantity of material is not sufficient a collection should not be made, overharvesting is extremely poor scientific practice and generally contrary to the reason most of us chose this career! In this case I was (and still am) confident that my collections would not be detrimental to the health of the plant, or impact itu2019s ability to reproduce. ,