Rediscovery of Lychnophora humillima

(PhysOrg.com) -- This curious daisy was previously found only once, over a hundred and fifty years ago.

Lychnophora humillima was known from a single collection made in the nineteenth century by the famous Russian botanist Riedel, who covered hundreds of kilometres of land in Eastern Brazil collecting new and interesting plants, but his detailed itinerary had not yet been investigated.

Kew staff involved in the Toucan Cipó Project have finally established the exact location of Riedel’s collections in the Serra da Lapa (NW part of the Serra do Cipó, in Minas Gerais).

These discoveries were made in the course of a project aiming to increase knowledge and awareness of the exceptionally diverse flora of one of Brazil’s ‘biodiversity hotspots’ and to promote the establishment of new protected areas in the region.