Kew | The Conservation Report

Image of Nymphaea thermarum by Andrew McRobb

The world’s smallest waterlily, the thermal lily (Nymphaea thermarum), has been grown from seed at Kew Gardens. This tiny species of waterlily is a specialist—before becoming extinct in the wild, it could be found “in the hot springs of Rwanda.” According to Kew Gardens, “Nymphaea thermarum is the smallest waterlily in the world, and the only Nymphaea to grow in damp mud rather than water.” More on Nymphaea thermarum via Kew Gardens:

This ‘thermal’ waterlily, which grew around freshwater hot springs, was discovered in 1987 by German botanist Professor Eberhard Fischer of Koblenz-Landau University. It is known from just one location in Mashyuza, in southwest Rwanda. However, it disappeared from there about two years ago due to over-exploitation of the hot spring that fed this fragile habitat. Water was prevented from reaching the surface, resulting in the desiccation of the few square metres where this species grew, and no plant is known to have survived in the wild.

Video: Plants back from the brink (mentions Nymphaea thermarum):

What you see here, on this bench, is the world’s total population of [the thermal lily].

Video: Waterlily saved from extinction:

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

Google continues to demonstrate its utility. A scientist using Google Earth discovered a “7,000 hectares of forest, rich in biodiversity” in northern Mozambique. The forest was subsequently inventoried by a British-led expedition, which described several new species. The image at left, by Julian Bayliss, shows a pygmy chameleon (Rhampholeon sp.), and more images can be found at Wildlife Extra. From Telegraph.co.uk:

Julian Bayliss, a scientist for Kew based in the region, discovered Mount Mabu while searching on Google Earth for a possible conservation project. He was looking at areas of land 5,400ft (1,600m) above sea level where more rainfall means there is likely to be forest.

To his surprise he found the patches of green that denote wooded areas, in places that had not previously been explored. After taking a closer look on more detailed satellite maps, he went to have a look.

An expedition was organised for this autumn with 28 scientists from the UK, Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania and Switzerland. The group was able to stay at an abandoned tea estate but had to hack through difficult terrain and use 70 porters in order to carry out their investigations.

Within weeks they had discovered three new species of Lepidoptera butterfly and a new member of the Gaboon viper family of snakes that can kill a human in a single bite. There were also blue duiker antelope, samango monkeys, elephant shrews, almost 200 different types of butterflies and thousands of tropical plants

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::