A ‘remarkably strange-looking' plant has been named after Professor Jon Lovett, who discovered it in the Tanzania rainforests.
Back in 1997, ‘Afrothismia lovettii’ was found in the most humid parts of the rainforest, near a large waterfall in the Kihansi Gorge of the Udzungwa Mountains.
A new study, with the preprint published on bioRxiv, concludes that ‘Afrothismia lovettii’ is a critically endangered mycotroph, a type of plant that feeds on fungi.
Co-author of the preprint, Professor Jon Lovett of the University of Leeds, School of Geography, said: “I was only able to travel for field work during the university break around Easter, which coincided with the rainy season in Tanzania. The regular heavy rain meant it was not easy being in the forest, and because of this, it is a time of the year when there had been little botanical exploration.
“I was conducting an environmental survey as part of my role as an environment advisor on the Lower Kihansi Hydropower Project, and there it was, a remarkably strange-looking plant on the forest floor.”
‘Afrothismia lovettii’ has a translucent, golden yellow base that almost looks extraterrestrial, with white antennae arranged like petals around its gaping mouth. It is only about the size of a penny.
Professor Lovett brought the plant back to England and handed them to Dr Martin Cheek — an expert on tropical African plants at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew — who recognised the plant as a potential new species to science at the time.
It is only after nearly three decades of researching other species of Afrothismia across Africa, that Dr Cheek is now able to confirm ‘Afrothismia lovettii’ is new to science.
‘Afrothismia lovettii’ will be the eighth plant species named after Professor Lovett, whose extensive botanical work in eastern Tanzania during the 1980s led to the area being declared one of the world’s top biodiversity hotspots.
The eight plants include two trees, a liana, a shrub, an orchid, and three mycotrophs. The other two mycotrophic plants were also collected from the Kihansi Gorge by Professor Lovett and previously named by Dr Cheek.
Dr Cheek explains: “The coincidence of these three native species makes the Kihansi Falls the most important site for species diversity of mycotrophic plants in eastern Africa, alongside Mount Kupe in Cameroon.”
Conservation concerns
Since the Kihansi Hydroelectric Power Station started operating in 2000, the dam diverted the Kihansi River into tunnels in the heart of the mountain where turbines produced more than 10% of Tanzania’s electricity.
Action is needed now to end biodiversity loss and repair our world.
Now, the waterfall no longer flows in the dry season, substantially changing the uniquely moist microclimate of the gorge.
Professor Lovett said: “There can sometimes be a conflict between the need for development and biodiversity conservation, especially for countries like Tanzania that have large numbers of rare species found nowhere else in the world.
“This is a particularly controversial topic amongst experts, who struggle to agree on whether Tanzania is already doing enough, or that extinction crisis is a pressing, global concern that needs to be put first.
“But what we know for sure is that extinction and endangerment are warning bells. Campaigners, researchers and policymakers need to urgently work together to ensure both priorities are recognised and balanced in future developments. Action is needed now to end biodiversity loss and repair our world.”
Further information
The preprint ‘‘Afrothismia lovettii’ sp. nov. (Afrothismiaceae) Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct) and endemic to the Kihansi Falls Forest, Tanzania’ was published on bioRxiv on 5 June 2026.
For more information, please contact Heidi Tam at the University of Leeds via C.H.Tam@leeds.ac.uk