Ledermanniella letestui (Pellegr.) C.Cusset (Cusset 1974: 274)

Bidault, Ehoarn, Boupoya, Archange, Ikabanga, Davy U., Nguimbit, Igor, Texier, Nicolas, Rutishauser, Rolf, Mesterhazy, Attila & Stevart, Tariq, 2023, Novitates Gabonenses 93: a fresh look at Podostemaceae in Gabon following recent inventories, with a new combination for Ledermanniella nicolasii, Plant Ecology and Evolution 156 (1), pp. 59-84 : 59

Ledermanniella letestui (Pellegr.) C.Cusset (Cusset 1974: 274)

Inversodicraea letestui Pellegr. ( Pellegrin 1927b: 525)

Type.

GABON • Douvouca river in Kwango territory ["Terre de Kwango dans la Douvouca "]; 17 Jul. 1908; [2°55 ’00” S, 11°05 ’00” E]; 300 m; fl., fr.; Le Testu 1347; holotype: P [P00179329]; isotypes: BM [BM000910389, BM000910390], BR [BR0000006267568], P [P00179330, P00179331] .

Distribution.

Equatorial Guinea, Gabon. This species is so far known from four collections only. Two collections were made in southern Gabon by Georges Le Testu in 1908 and 1927 in the Douvouca and Ngounié rivers. In 1968, Nicolas Hallé collected L. letestui at the Kinguélé waterfall on the Mbé river.

Habitat and ecology.

Rapids in rivers from ca 10 to 50 m wide, 150-600 m in elevation. No information could be found regarding its abundance on sites where it has been found. Flowers were collected in January and June, fruits in June and July. Inversodicraea cristata , I. tenax , and Ledermanniella bifurcata have been collected at the Kinguélé waterfall, but the precise habitat partitioning occurring at this site before its modification is unknown.

Notes.

No recent inventories took place in the Douvouca river, and samples gathered from the Ngounié river in 2019 did not allow for the rediscovery of this species, though the type locality has not been visited again. The authors and colleagues visited the Kinguélé waterfall in Monts de Cristal, where Podostemaceae have now disappeared. Despite its relatively large distribution range, L. letestui remains rare.