Deep in the forests of Príncipe, off the west coast of Africa, a tropical giant still held onto some secrets. In 2020, a dedicated team with a head for heights edged closer to uncovering them and securing this unique tree’s future.

It has been at least three years since we first realised that the tree called “Gogô” in Príncipe, a tree well known by the communities, represented at least two different species. Although there is a known distinction between Gogô (Carapa gogo) and Gogô-bravo (Anthonota sp.), the existence of a second species also called Gogô (Strephonema sp.) was a surprise. Both trees have very distinct habitat preferences and distribution, but it is easy to understand why they get mixed up – both are tall and the leaves seem similar, but Strephonema sp. only occurs inside the most pristine areas of the forest of Príncipe, inside the Natural Park, very far from the communities.

What started as a hunch ended up in one year of hard fieldwork to prove that Strephonema sp. is in fact a new and endemic tree species for Príncipe. To guide our plan for conserving the species in the future, it is important to assess how threatened the population is currently. Drafts of IUCN Red Listing assessments were developed with the available distribution data, but without fertile material it’s not possible to publish the description and, without said description, it’s not possible to submit the Red Listing status to the IUCN. But how were we to collect fertile specimens of a 40 metre-high tree? Furthermore, one where we have no clue about when the fertile season occurs.

Together with our local partner, Fundação Príncipe (FP), and led by experts from the Missouri Botanical Garden (MBG), we started our hunt for Strephonema´s flowers and fruit, checking the area almost every month. We taught all the staff at FP how to recognise the species and how to collect samples, we spoke with many tourist guides and hunters about it and we hired three brave local climbers to help us. Our project team, Davide Dias, Osvaldo Lima and Jeremias Prazeres, were nothing short of heroes in carrying out this task. Sometimes we found rotten fruit on the ground and were happy for a brief moment, until the taxonomist flagged, “You need a full sample from the tree, fruit from the ground is not proof enough”. So, back to the field! But then the Covid-19 pandemic hit and so did lockdown, so we needed to wait.

Around July 2020, we spotted what looked like the fruit, high in the tree’s branches. Our climber said: “No, I am not good enough to climb this.” Of course, we obliged – who would have the courage to climb it?

Now we had to chase not only the species, but also someone brave and skilled enough to collect it. We found them, and his name is Junca (Rocilão do Carmo). Junca not only collected the fruit samples in August 2020, but has since become an enthusiastic botanist and member of all our expeditions. He joined us in the next challenge – to find the flowers! Again, many months walking around the forest passed until November 11^th, the day Junca came down from the tree holding a branch with flowers in his hands. Pure joy for our team, both in Príncipe and the UK!

After sending photographs of the flowers to Olivier Lachenaud, a taxonomist from the Meise Botanic Garden in Brussels, we received very exciting feedback: “The flowers of the Príncipe tree resemble those of S. mannii from the continent, but the inflorescences seem to be laxer, and S. mannii is a small tree growing in marsh forest. So, the plant is likely to be a new species, but I would need to see the material in person and compare it to S. mannii, to be able to confirm.”

My next challenge was to fly to Europe with the samples in my bag and find a way to ship them to Brussels. After safely receiving the samples, Lachenaud and Tariq Stévart (of MBG) confirmed that our Strephonema is indeed a new species and we are ready to start to work on the scientific description.

As the tree has only been found in a small area of undisturbed forest in Príncipe, and it is a good indicator of highly diverse mature forest, we will work with local stakeholders and government partners to protect this new species and its habitat, and to reinforce the population.

Confirming Strephonema sp. as a new species for Príncipe was the best way to start a fresh year, especially after a weird 2020, don’t you agree?