Harveya kiangombensis Ngugi, Kirika & Mwachala, 2022

Ngugi, Grace, Kirika, Paul M. & Mwachala, Geoffrey, 2022, Harveya kiangombensis (Orobanchaceae), a new parasitic species from Kenya, East Africa, Phytotaxa 559 (3), pp. 293-297 : 295-296

Harveya kiangombensis Ngugi, Kirika & Mwachala sp. nov. ( Fig. 2 )

= ‘ Harveya sp. A’ Ghazanfar et al. (2008: 121)

Diagnosis:—Parasitic annual 8–20 cm high, stems white, sparsely glandular pubescent. Flowers solitary in the axils of leafy bracts, calyx tubular to campanulate, unequally five lobed, the lobes triangular, acute.

Type: — KENYA. Embu County, Kiang’ombe Hill , in shade at edge of riverine moist forest, 8 July 2005, Ngugi, Mwachala & Kirika 279 (holotype EA!; isotypes K!, KOBL!) .

Erect annual herb, 20 cm or more high; stems sparsely glandular-pubescent. Leaves fleshy, brittle, opposite; broadly ovate 2–23 × 15–16 mm, base cuneate, apex subacute. Flowers white, solitary in axils of leaves; bracteoles 1–2, or lacking; pedicels 7–10 mm long, glandular-pubescent. Calyx tubular to campanulate, 18–25 mm long, unequally 5-lobed; lobes triangular, 5 mm long, acute. Corolla white with yellow throat, 40–45 mm long, tube narrow below, expanding above, 30–33 mm long, densely glandular pubescent outside and inside; lobes rounded, 7–11 mm long, reflexed. Filaments white, 10.0– 12.5 mm long, attached where corolla tube narrows, glandular. Style shorter than corolla tube, bent downward at apex; stigma clavate. Capsule sub-rotund, 10 mm long, 9 mm thick, glabrous.

Etymology: —The new species is named for the type locality, Kiang’ombe Hill, Embu County, Kenya.

Distribution and ecology: — Harveya kiangombensis occurs in Embu County, Kenya, and is not known elsewhere. It is found in undergrowth of riverine vegetation at the edge of moist forest at altitude 1 330–1 350 m. There were two populations about 200 m apart at latitude 00º.33’S and longitude 37º.41’E, one underneath Phoenix reclinata Jacquin (1801: 27 , t. 24), and the other under Croton sylvaticus Hochstetter (1845: 82 .)

Conservation status: —The new species is so far only known from two populations, both occurring in an ungazetted forest area, close to development and other extractive activities. We assess it here as Critically Endangered (CR B1a+2ab(iii)) based on an estimated extent of occurrence (EEO) of less than 100 km 2 existing at a single location ( IUCN 2012).

Other material examined: — KENYA. Embu County: Kiang’ombe Hill , 8 July 2005, Mwachala & Ngugi 616 ( EA!); 6 June 2003, Ngugi & Kirika 40 ( EA!) .

Figures

FIGURE 2. Flowering shoot of Harveya kiangombensis. (Pen is 14 cm long). Photo by: G. Mwachala, 8 July 2005.