(ECNS) -- A research team from the Wuhan Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has discovered a new species of Eureiandra, a genus in the cucumber family, in coastal areas of Kenya and Tanzania, the garden said Thursday.
Named Eureiandra orientalis, the new species adds to the known diversity of the Cucurbitaceae family. The findings were recently published in the international plant taxonomy journal PhytoKeys.
Eureiandra is a genus endemic to Africa, with eight species documented to date, primarily in eastern and southern Africa. During a systematic survey of plants in Kenya conducted under the Flora of Kenya project, researchers noticed a species of Eureiandra with stems and leaves that were almost hairless.
From 2018 to 2026, the team conducted repeated observations of the plant across multiple populations. By comparing specimens with collections held at the East African Herbarium and the herbarium at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in the United Kingdom, as well as reviewing relevant literature, the researchers confirmed that the plant belonged to a taxonomic group that had long remained without a formal scientific name.
Neng Wei, an associate researcher at the Wuhan Botanical Garden and corresponding author of the paper, said the species grows at low elevations along the coasts of Kenya and Tanzania, typically on limestone or coral-rock slopes and along the edges of coastal forests. The team named it Eureiandra orientalis because of its distribution in eastern Africa.
The species has sparse hairs only at the nodes. Its leaves are relatively large, glossy and dark green, while its male inflorescences have short stalks and ovate petals. Its fruits measure about 6.5 to 11.5 centimeters in length. The seeds are oblong and dark brown, with indistinct margins.
Based on currently available data, the species has been provisionally assessed as being of Least Concern. However, its habitat is facing pressure from human activities, including land clearing and mining. (End)
(By Evelyn)
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