New species of tree identified in Ethiopia
The Acacia fumosa is widespread but had probably been
overlooked by botanists because of its remote location and the
violence there.
25 April 2009 | By Thomas H. Maugh II Los Angeles Times
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As many as 10,000 new species of plants, animals and insects are
discovered each year, but these are usually isolated specimens or
small clusters hidden away in forests or other remote areas. Often
they are small and easily overlooked.
But on recent visits to Ethiopia, Swedish botanist Mats Thulin
discovered a new species of tree that covers more than 3,100
square miles, an area about the size of the island of Crete.
Botanist David J. Mabberley of Britain's Royal Botanic Gardens in
Kew described the new tree in a report Friday in the journal
Science, noting that it has most likely been overlooked by botanists
because few have visited the region where Ethiopia's Ogaden
National Liberation Front is fighting for self-rule.
The area is also difficult to get to, he said, and the trees can be seen
from drivable roads in only a few places.
The newly identified tree, Acacia fumosa, grows about 18 to 20 feet
tall, with a canopy that spreads 24 to 30 feet in diameter. It sprouts
pink flowers during the dry season, when it is leafless. It differs from
closely related species in the color of its flowers and in its gray,
smooth bark, among other things.
The number of the trees in the region "must be in the millions,"
Mabberley wrote.
People living in the sparsely populated region are familiar with the
tree, he noted, but have no uses for it other than as firewood. He
speculated, however, that gum from the tree might be used in foods
and glues.
The discovery was a result of the Flora of Somalia project,
established to look for new plants in Ethiopia's Somali National
Regional State. Researchers with the project have discovered and
described more than 400 new species of flowering plants in Ethiopia
Courtesy
The Acacia fumosa is widespread but had probably been
overlooked by botanists because of its remote location and the
violence there.
25 April 2009 | By Thomas H. Maugh II Los Angeles Times
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As many as 10,000 new species of plants, animals and insects are
discovered each year, but these are usually isolated specimens or
small clusters hidden away in forests or other remote areas. Often
they are small and easily overlooked.
But on recent visits to Ethiopia, Swedish botanist Mats Thulin
discovered a new species of tree that covers more than 3,100
square miles, an area about the size of the island of Crete.
Botanist David J. Mabberley of Britain's Royal Botanic Gardens in
Kew described the new tree in a report Friday in the journal
Science, noting that it has most likely been overlooked by botanists
because few have visited the region where Ethiopia's Ogaden
National Liberation Front is fighting for self-rule.
The area is also difficult to get to, he said, and the trees can be seen
from drivable roads in only a few places.
The newly identified tree, Acacia fumosa, grows about 18 to 20 feet
tall, with a canopy that spreads 24 to 30 feet in diameter. It sprouts
pink flowers during the dry season, when it is leafless. It differs from
closely related species in the color of its flowers and in its gray,
smooth bark, among other things.
The number of the trees in the region "must be in the millions,"
Mabberley wrote.
People living in the sparsely populated region are familiar with the
tree, he noted, but have no uses for it other than as firewood. He
speculated, however, that gum from the tree might be used in foods
and glues.
The discovery was a result of the Flora of Somalia project,
established to look for new plants in Ethiopia's Somali National
Regional State. Researchers with the project have discovered and
described more than 400 new species of flowering plants in Ethiopia
Courtesy
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