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Six new Pavetta (Rubiaceae), including three ‘litter-bin’ species from the evergreen forests of Western Africa

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Summary. Six new species of Pavetta L. are described from the Wet Evergreen forests of Ghana, Ivory Coast and Liberia: Pavetta sonjae, P. bomiensis, P. abujuamii, P. ankasensis, P. quasidigita and P. sapoensis, the first of these with ornamental potential. The last three are considered ‘litter-bin’ species, a morphological syndrome whereby forest understorey plants accumulate litter in their leaf axils. Certain venation patterns are defined precisely and used to delimit species. The six new species are illustrated, compared with similar species and their conservation status is evaluated.

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Acknowledgements

I am grateful to John Wood (OXF), Carel Jongkind (WAG) and two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments.

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  1. Dept. Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3RB, U.K

    W. D. Hawthorne

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  1. W. D. Hawthorne
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Correspondence to W. D. Hawthorne.

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Hawthorne, W.D. Six new Pavetta (Rubiaceae), including three ‘litter-bin’ species from the evergreen forests of Western Africa. Kew Bull 68, 559–577 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12225-013-9484-7

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