Researchers report 15 new species of Coleus (Lamiaceae) and revised 95 taxa in Central Africa

NEWS - Researchers revised the genus Coleus (Lamiaceae) in DR Congo, Rwanda and Burundi based on herbarium taxonomy. Pierre Meerts of the Université Libre de Bruxelles in Brussels and Alan Paton of the Herbarium Royal Botanic Gardens in Richmond reported 95 taxa consisting of 89 species, 1 subspecies and 5 varieties.

The report includes 15 new species and one new variety: Coleus duvigneaudii, C. hildei, C. kaminaensis, C. kundelunguensis, C. linarioides, C. lisowskii, C. marunguensis, C. minusculus, C. mitwabaensis, C. mystax, C. pengbelensis, C. piscatorum, C. pseudoschizophyllus, C. ruziziensis, C. zigzag and C. esculentus var. kolweziensis.

The specimens comprise 14 new species recorded in DR Congo and 2 new species recorded in Burundi. The report also makes 4 new combinations: Coleus betonicifolius var. kasomenensis, C. esculentus var. densus, C. esculentus var. primulinus and C. parvifolius. The lectotype includes 10 names and the neotype includes 1 name.

The researchers also report 13 new synonyms. Special attention is paid to the Coleus bojeri complex. The report also makes 3 names to accommodate the wide variation pattern in Central Africa consisting of C. chevalieri, C. collinus and C. heterotrichus. Meanwhile, the endemic species of DR. Congo, Rwanda and Burundi include 15 taxa.

The genus Coleus (Lour) was first formally described by the Portuguese botanist João de Loureiro (1717-1791) in 1790 in Fl. Cochinch.: 372. The large genus includes more than 300 species, dozens of synonyms and most occur naturally in Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia and Australia.

Original research

Meerts PJ, Paton AJ (2024). The genus Coleus (Lamiaceae) in Central Africa (Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Burundi), with the description of 15 new species. PhytoKeys 246: 71-178, DOI:10.3897/phytokeys.246.129476

Screw tree (Helicteres isora)

Screw tree ( Helicteres isora ) is a species of plant in the Malvaceae family. It is a shrub or small tree, up to 8 meters tall. It has gray bark and alternate leaves, up to 22 cm long and 17 cm wide, oval in shape, with serrated edges and hairs. The flowers are red or white and reach a total length of 5.5 cm. The fruit is green when unripe, brown or gray when dry, twisted, spiral-shaped, and pointed at the tip. The seeds are black or brown, shiny, and diagonal, triangular, or rectangular. TAXON Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Malvales Family: Malvaceae Subfamily: Helicteroideae Tribe: Helictereae Genus: Helicteres Pluk. ex L. in Sp. Pl.: 963 (1753) Species: Helicteres isora L. in Sp. Pl.: 963 (1753) HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS Helicteres baruensis var. ovata DC. in Prodr. 1: 476 (1824) Helicteres chrysocalyx Miq. ex Mast. in J.D.Hooker, Fl. Brit. India 1: 365 (1874) Helicteres corylifolia Buch.-Ham. ex Dillwyn in Rev. Hortus Malab....

Breng (Coldenia breng)

Breng ( Coldenia breng ) is a species of plant in the Boraginaceae family. It is a herbaceous plant that grows along the ground, with radial, cylindrical stems, red, multi-branched, alternate, and white-haired. C. breng has alternate leaves along the stem, oval to nearly round, up to 2.5 cm long, up to 1.5 cm wide, and white-haired. This plant grows in floodplains, seasonally inundated riverbanks, and drying rice fields. It thrives in sandy or silty soils and is drought-tolerant. TAXON Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Boraginales Family: Boraginaceae Subfamily: Cordioideae Genus: Coldenia L. in Sp. Pl.: 125 (1753) Species: Coldenia breng Aryo Bandoro Dlium TheDlium YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dlium

The oldest drawing specimen collection, Balaenoptera physalus Linnaeus, 1758 (OBS.296787995)

BLOG - Before the invention of photography, everything was explained by hand drawings that required naturalists to be able to draw to describe the specimens they documented. Scholars from taxonomy to medicine had to be able to sketch leaves to the human heart, this is why the academic world at that time had the subject of "art and science". A tradition that taxonomic drawings are accompanied by a measurement scale usually by placing a measuring tool in millimeters or centimeters or inches that supports scientific sketches has an identification context, but of course there are obstacles to having to document large specimens. I found a picture of a large specimen: Balaenoptera physalus (Linnaeus, 1758). Uniquely, the specimen with catalogue number: OBS.296787995 and stored at the Observation International, Aarlanderveen, Netherlands, is the oldest I have ever known. The shabby drawing with three folds and worn edges was made in 1547 or more than 500 years old. Previously I ...

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