At the end of 2016, the Sino-Africa Joint Investigation Team, made up of the researchers from the Wuhan Botanical Garden and National Museum of Kenya, conducted a large-scale field investigation in western Kenya. During the investigation, a special Zehneria with dominant leafy probract attracted the researchers' attention for the first time.
In the following years, more specimens from different populations of this Zehneria were collected for in-depth study.
Under the guidance of Prof. WANG Qingfeng and Prof. HU Guangwan, PhD student WEI Neng and other members from Sino-Africa Joint Research Center (SAJOREC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences carried out the comprehensive taxonomy study of the Zehneria species.
After sufficient literature consultant, specimen examinations as well as the molecular phylogeny based on representative sampling, this species was finally confirmed to be new to science. The result was published at the latest issue of Phytokeys.
This new species is named as Zehneria grandibracteata G.W. Hu, Neng Wei & Q. F. Wang, based on the characters of the obvious leafy probract. It is most similar to Z. scabra, but differs by its ovate leafy probract at the base of the inflorescences, subglabrous condition of the entire plant, shorter receptacle-tube and filaments, as well as denser and sessile inflorescences.
The plate to show morphological character of new species, Zehneria grandibracteata (Image by SAJOREC)
In the years of 2016 and 2017, a team of researchers from Wuhan Botanical Garden and the National Museums of Kenya embarked on a field investigation in Ngangao forest, one of the 13 fragments of the Taita Hills. They collected a new species of Zehneria.
Under the guidance of Prof. WANG Qingfeng and Prof. HU Guangwan, WEI Neng and the research group from Sino-Africa Joint Research Center (SAJOREC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, carried out the comprehensive morphological study of this Zehneria.
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