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The Gilbertiodendron ogoouense species complex (Leguminosae: Caesalpinioideae), Central Africa

Kew Bulletin volume 70, Article number: 29 (2015) Cite this article

Summary

The Gilbertiodendron ogoouense species complex consists of 14 tree species. Eight species are here newly described and one is here reinstated: G. bambolense Burgt; G. breteleri Burgt; G. ebo Burgt & Mackinder; G. ecoukense (Pellegr.) Burgt; G. maximum Burgt & Wieringa; G. minkebense Burgt & Estrella; G. quinquejugum Burgt; G. scutatum Wieringa & Estrella and G. sulfureum Burgt. Five species in the complex were already recognised as accepted: G. brachystegioides (Harms) J. Léonard; G. klainei (Pierre ex Pellegr.) J. Léonard; G. newberyi Burgt; G. ngouniense (Pellegr.) J. Léonard and G. ogoouense (Pellegr.) J. Léonard. All 14 species are medium-sized or large trees of evergreen rain forest on well-drained or periodically inundated soil, at 0 – 900 m altitude. Each of the 14 species is distributed in one or more of the following Central African countries: Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Congo (Brazzaville), Angola (Cabinda) and Congo (Kinshasa). Included are a key, a table comparing the main morphological characters, illustrations drawn to the same scale and distribution maps of all species. The conservation status of all species is assessed according to IUCN categories and criteria: G. maximum is classified as Critically Endangered, G. ebo and G. newberyi as Endangered, G. breteleri, G. klainei, G. minkebense, G. ngouniense and G. scutatum as Vulnerable, and the remaining six species as Least Concern.

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Acknowledgements

The staff of the herbaria BM, BR, BRLU, IEC, K, MPU, P, PRE, SCA, WAG and YA facilitated visits to study the collections. The herbaria mentioned in the methods section prepared loans of their collections. The Bentham-Moxon Trust at K funded a field visit by Xander van der Burgt to Cameroon which resulted in the collection of the type specimens of Gilbertiodendron ebo. Manuel de la Estrella was funded by a Juan de la Cierva grant of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and a grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada to Anne Bruneau; visited K herbarium under a European–funded Synthesis grant and received a travel award from the Québec Centre for Biodiversity Science. Martin Cheek from K is thanked for continuing encouragement. Katherine Challis from IPNI at K gave advice on nomenclature. Theo Damen from WAG provided photos of LBV specimens.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Herbarium, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3AB, UK

    Xander M. van der Burgt & Barbara A. Mackinder

  2. Naturalis Biodiversity Centre (section NHN), Herbarium Vadense, Darwinweg 2, 2333 CR, Leiden, The Netherlands

    Jan J. Wieringa

  3. Biosystematics Group, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Jan J. Wieringa

  4. Institut de Recherche en Biologie Végétale and Département de Sciences Biologiques, Université de Montréal, 4101 Sherbrooke est, H1X 2B2, Montréal, Québec, Canada

    Manuel de la Estrella

Authors
  1. Xander M. van der Burgt
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  2. Barbara A. Mackinder
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  3. Jan J. Wieringa
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  4. Manuel de la Estrella
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Correspondence to Xander M. van der Burgt.

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van der Burgt, X.M., Mackinder, B.A., Wieringa, J.J. et al. The Gilbertiodendron ogoouense species complex (Leguminosae: Caesalpinioideae), Central Africa. Kew Bull 70, 29 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12225-015-9579-4

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Key Words

  • Conservation
  • Macrolobium
  • new species
  • taxonomy