During our expedition to Gabon for project MAGNIPHY in 2013, Thomas Couvreur and I stumbled upon this beautiful species of Annonaceae. Not only did it turn out to be completely new to science and also deserve the creation of a new genus, it may also well be the first suspected case of buzz-pollinated flower in Magnoliidae! We decided to name the new genus Sirdavidia, in honor of Sir David Attenborough.
The paper just came out today:
Couvreur TLP, Niangadouma R, Sonké B, Sauquet H. 2015. Sirdavidia, an extraordinary new genus of Annonaceae from Gabon. PhytoKeys 46: 1–19. link
Original press release: A rare new plant inspires the first genus named after Sir David Attenborough
The paper just came out today:
Couvreur TLP, Niangadouma R, Sonké B, Sauquet H. 2015. Sirdavidia, an extraordinary new genus of Annonaceae from Gabon. PhytoKeys 46: 1–19. link
Original press release: A rare new plant inspires the first genus named after Sir David Attenborough