RBG Kew Botanists Describe 190 New Species, Including a Giant Cameroonian Tree and a Namibian Succulent

At the beginning of 2026, experts from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (RBG Kew), along with their global partners, officially introduced 125 new plant species and 65 new fungi species to the scientific world. This annual announcement highlights the extraordinary wealth of global biodiversity while simultaneously warning of its extreme vulnerability in an era of accelerating species loss.

Current estimates suggest that researchers worldwide describe roughly 2,500 new plant species every year. However, a staggering 100,000 plants and between two and three million fungi species are still waiting for their first formal scientific description and classification.

One of the most significant discoveries in this latest cycle is a critically endangered giant tree known as Plagiosiphon intermedium, found in the Ebo Forest of Cameroon. This member of the legume family, specifically a detarioid legume, can reach a height of 34 meters and has an estimated mass of five tons.

This massive tree represents the first addition to the Plagiosiphon genus in nearly 80 years and is endemic to the Ngovayang Massif in Cameroon's South Region. Due to its very limited geographic footprint, it has received a preliminary conservation status of "Endangered" under the B1(iii,v)+B2(iii,v) classification.

In a troubling contrast, another species from the Ebo Forest, the bromeliad Cryptacanthus ebo, may have already disappeared from the wild due to the impacts of illegal logging. Martin Cheek, a Senior Research Leader for the Africa Team at RBG Kew, noted that it is incredibly difficult to protect a species that remains unknown and unnamed.

The urgency of these discoveries is supported by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew's "State of the World's Plants and Fungi 2023" report. This document reveals a grim statistic: three out of every four plant species that have not yet been described are already threatened with extinction.

In Namibia, researchers identified a new variety of "living stone" called Lithops gracilidelineata subsp. mopane within the mopane woodlands. This succulent is characterized by its smooth, grey-white leaves, which differ from the textured cream or pinkish-brown tones of other subspecies, and it typically inhabits wetter regions.

Known only from a single population in northwestern Namibia, this subspecies faces a severe threat from illegal collection for the international horticultural market. Dr. Cheek emphasized that every scientific name is a vital tool for understanding ecosystems, without which conservation efforts are likely to fail.

While the actual range of Plagiosiphon intermedium might be larger than the 0.51 square kilometers currently recorded, the threats to species like Cryptacanthus ebo demand immediate action. These conservation measures include working with local partners and expanding collections at facilities like the Millennium Seed Bank at Wakehurst.