'I found a bizarre rainforest plant - and now it's named after me'

A “remarkably strange” plant has been named after a University of Leeds professor who discovered it while trekking in the Tanzania rainforests.

Professor Jon Lovett from the university’s school of geography was conducting an environmental survey when he discovered the plant on the forest floor.

The ‘Afrothismia lovettii’ was found in the most humid parts of the rainforest, near a large waterfall in the Kihansi Gorge of the Udzungwa Mountains.

A new study, with the preprint published on bioRxiv, describes the specimen as being a critically endangered mycotroph, a type of plant that feeds on fungi.

He said: “I was only able to travel for field work during the university break around Easter, which coincided with the rainy season in Tanzania.

“The regular heavy rain meant it was not easy being in the forest, and because of this, it is a time of the year when there had been little botanical exploration.

“I was conducting an environmental survey as part of my role as an environment advisor on the Lower Kihansi Hydropower Project, and there it was, a remarkably strange-looking plant on the forest floor.”

Prof Lovett brought the plant back to England and handed them to Dr Martin Cheek — an expert on tropical African plants at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew — who recognised the plant as a potential new species to science at the time.

It is only after nearly three decades of researching other species of Afrothismia across Africa, that Dr Cheek is now able to confirm ‘Afrothismia lovettii’ is new to science.

Prof Lovett said: “There can sometimes be a conflict between the need for development and biodiversity conservation, especially for countries like Tanzania that have large numbers of rare species found nowhere else in the world.

“This is a particularly controversial topic amongst experts, who struggle to agree on whether Tanzania is already doing enough, or that extinction crisis is a pressing, global concern that needs to be put first.

“But what we know for sure is that extinction and endangerment are warning bells. Campaigners, researchers and policymakers need to urgently work together to ensure both priorities are recognised and balanced in future developments. Action is needed now to end biodiversity loss and repair our world.”