Each year, the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Science and Conservation staff discover and name about 200 plant species new to science. That’s roughly 10% of all new plant species scientists describe worldwide annually.
Discovery is the first crucial step in plant conservation. Many newly-described species are critically endangered and at risk of disappearing. Once the species has a name, plans to try to ensure its survival can begin.
We’re still counting the number of new species discovered by the Garden this year, but here are a few highlights so far.
A New Darwin Orchid
Species name: Solenangis impraedicta
Type of plant: Orchid
Where it’s from: Madagascar
Describers: Garden Scientists, Brigitte Ramandimbisoa, Simon Verlynde, and Tariq Stévart along with collaborators João Farminhão, University of Coimbra, and Marie Savignac Université libre de Bruxelles
Preliminary conservation status: Endangered
More: This species has the longest nectar spur of any known plant relative to flower size. It is the only new orchid species with such an extreme adaptation to hawkmoth pollination described since 1965. It is closely related to the famous Darwin Orchid.
Bellflower in the Cloud forest
Plant name: Burmeistera kitrinaima
Type of plant: Bellflower family
Describers: Garden scientists Brock Mashburn and Carmen Ulloa, and University of Missouri St. Louis colleague Nathan Muchhala
Where it’s from: Ecuador
Preliminary conservation status: Least concern or vulnerable
More: This shrub comes from the Western Andean cloud forests. Its name combines the Greek words for “yellow” and “blood” in reference to its unique yellow latex. Most species of in the genus have white or cream-colored latex. Nectar-eating bats pollinate this, and most other plants in the genus.
Did you know? Latex is a milky fluid found in many plants, such as poppies and spurges, which exudes when the plant is cut and coagulates on exposure to the air. The latex of the rubber tree is the chief source of natural rubber.
Never Before Seen Distribution
Species name: Whittieria hengduanensis
Describers: Garden Scientist Li-Bing Zhang and Zhen-Long Liang, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Type of plant: Fern family
Where it’s from: Western China
More: Previously, scientists believed this genus only contained one species native to the Americas. This new plant species, however, is found only in the Himalayas of western China. Scientists have not previously documented a genus of plants with this unique distribution pattern.
Bullseye for Pollinators
Species name: Danais schatzii
Describer: Garden Scientist Charlotte Taylor
Charlotte Taylor has described more new plant species than any woman alive!
Type of plant: Quinine family
Where it’s from: Madagascar
Preliminary conservation status: Unknown
More: This species is found in the wet lowland forests of central eastern Madagascar. It is distinctive in its flowers with orange lobes, a white “bullseye” center for the pollinator to aim at, and a green tube, along with the very finely netted leaf venation.
The species’ name honors longtime Garden Scientist George Schatz, who collected several specimens of the species along with Pete Lowry. George joined the Garden’s staff in 1987 and stayed there for the duration of his career. He passed away in November 2024.
On the slopes of volcano
Species name: Anthurium antisanense
Describers: Garden Scientist Tom Croat and collaborator Ricardo Zambrano, Jardín Botánico de Quito
Type of plant: Aroid family
Where it’s from: Ecuador
Preliminary conservation status: Critically endangered
More: This plant stands out with its glossy, arrow-shaped leaves and a tall, colorful flower spike. Its reddish bract and purple flower structure make it especially eye-catching. It grows by climbing tree trunks in its natural habitat. The species’ name refers to the Antisana volcano, one of Ecuador’s highest peaks standing at 5,758 meters. The plant was collected from a reserve situated on the eastern slopes of this imposing volcano.
Parrot Plant?
Species name: Bulbophyllum psittacinum
Describers: Garden scientist Brigitte Ramandimbisoa and colleague Simon Verlynde, New York Botanical Garden
Type of plant: Orchid
Where it’s from: Madagascar
Preliminary Conservation status: Vulnerable
More: This new plant species is known from a single plant collected in central eastern Madagascar. Its name is a nod to its flower’s appearance, which resembles a parrot’s beak.
Hawaiian Moss
Species name: Ctenidium multiseriatum
Type of plant: Moss
Where it’s from: Hawaii
Describers: Garden Scientist Si He and colleague Miles K. Thomas, Bishop Museum
Preliminary conservation status: Rare
More: This new moss species grows in Metrosideros wet forests on Maui along with invasive species. The species is of particular interest to scientists studying non-native species’ impact on the ecosystem of Hawaiian flora.
Harsh Life High in the the Andes
Name of species: Polylepis rociorojasii
Type of plant: Rose Family
Where it’s from: Peru
Describers: Garden scientists Luis Valenzuela and collaborator Maria Isabel Villalba
Preliminary Conservation Status: Critically endangered
More: Polylepis is a genus of small trees that thrive at extreme elevations in the Andes, marking the uppermost limit of forest growth and the transition to alpine grasslands. These trees form unique forests in harsh, cold environments, providing critical habitats for rare birds and mammals.
This new plant species is named in honor of Rocío del Pilar Rojas Gonzales – a longtime member of the Garden’s Peru program. The recognition honors her contributions to knowledge of plant diversity in Peru’s Andean-Amazonian forests, her dedication to training botanists, and her exceptional leadership at the Garden and the Herbarium Selva Central Oxapampa.
A new Plant species three decades in the making
Name of species: Clusia salicifolia
Type of plant: Clusia family
Where it’s from: Northeast Costa Rica and west Panama
Describers: Garden Scientists Barry Hammel and Emma A. Wodcke, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Preliminary conservation status: Endangered
More: Scientists collected the earliest specimen of this species 37 years ago and the most recent, 14 years ago. These specimens sat in the Garden’s Herbarium until their recent identification as a new species.
Did you know? The Missouri Botanical Garden has one of the largest Herbaria in the world. Learn more about the essential role Herbaria play in science here.
This new plant species of Clusia is named for its slender, willow-like leaves, which are an uncommon feature for plants in this genus. This tree is hemiepiphyte, which means it begins life on the branches or trunks of other trees. This strategy allows it to thrive high in the forest canopy before anchoring to the soil below.
Flattened by Evolution
New Species: Drymonia cutervoensis
Type of plant: African violet family
Where it’s from: Peru
Describers: Garden scientist Rocío del Pilar Rojas Gonzáles and colleagues John L. Clark, Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, and Robin Fernandez-Hilario, CORBIDI in Peru.
Preliminary conservation status: Endangered
More: The genus Drymonia, found in tropical America, is known for its incredible variety of flower shapes, fruit types, and growth habits. This new Drymonia species is the only one in the group that grows on the ground and has unusually flattened flowers. Its evolution is linked to the rise of the Andes around 5–12 million years ago, a time that gave rise to many distinctive plant species in the region.
Catherine Martin
Senior Public Information Officer
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