A new monocaulous species of Virotia (Proteaceae) from New Caledonia and a rare case of co-accumulation of nickel and manganese

Yohan Pillon; David Bruy; Benoit Henry; Karine Gotty

doi:10.7751/telopea20718

Authors

Yohan Pillon IRD https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1760-329X
David Bruy IRD https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7339-0375
Benoit Henry Endemia
Karine Gotty Laboratoire des Symbioses Tropicales et Méditerranéennes https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1465-5644

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7751/telopea20718

Keywords:

architecture, hyperaccumulator, ionomics, island, monocauly, Proteaceae, New Caledonia, nickel, Virotia

Abstract

Recent fieldwork has revealed a new species of Virotia, a genus of Proteaceae endemic to New Caledonia. This understory monocaulous shrub or tree was found in two nearby rainforests on ultramafic substrate in the Poro region. We report high concentrations of manganese (10,900 mg.g^-1) and nickel (2,900 mg.g^-1) in dry leaves of this species. This is one of the few cases of simultaneous hyperaccumulation of these metals in angiosperms. This rare micro-endemic species is given a conservation status of critically endangered due to the impact of nickel mining, fire and fragmentation on its habitat.

References

Bruy D (2018) Diversité, écologie et évolution des plantes monocaules de Nouvelle-Calédonie. PhD Thesis, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier.

Bruy D, Barrabé L, Birnbaum P, Dagostini G, Donnat M, Fambart-Tinel J, Girardi J, Hequet V, Isnard S, Jaffré T, Munzinger J, Nigote W, Pillon Y, Rigault F, Vandrot H, Veillon J-M, Zaiss R (2021) L’Herbier de Nouvelle-Calédonie. https://doi.org/10.23708/HERBIER-NOUVELLE-CALEDONIE

van der Ent A, Baker AJM, Reeves RD, Pollard AJ, Schat H (2013) Hyperaccumulators of metal and metalloid trace elements: facts and fiction. Plant and Soil 362(1–2), 319–334. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-012-1287-3

Gei V, Isnard S, Erskine PD, Echevarria G, Fogliani B, Jaffré T, van der Ent A (2020) A systematic assessment of the occurrence of trace element hyperaccumulation in the flora of New Caledonia. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 194(1), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1093/botlinnean/boaa029

Hopkins HCF, Pillon Y (2020) Virotia azurea (Proteaceae: Macadamieae), a striking new species endemic to New Caledonia and notes on V. francii and V. leptophylla. Candollea 75(1), 89–98. https://doi.org/10.15553/c2020v751a9

Jaffré T (1979) Accumulation du manganèse par les Protéacées de Nouvelle-Calédonie. Compte Rendus de l’Académie des Sciences de Paris 289, 425–428.

Jaffré T, Pillon Y, Thomine S, Merlot S (2013) The metal hyperaccumulators from New Caledonia can broaden our understanding of nickel accumulation in plants. Frontiers in Plant Science 4, 279. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2013.00279

Johnson LAS, Briggs BG (1975) On the Proteaceae — the evolution and classification of a southern family. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 70, 83–182. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8339.1975.tb01644.x

Le Bras G, Pignal M, Jeanson ML, Muller S, Aupic C, Carré B, Flament G, Gaudeul M, Gonçalves C, Invernón VR, Jabbour F, Lerat E, Lowry PP, Offroy B, Pimparé EP, Poncy O, Rouhan G, Haevermans T (2017) The French Muséum national d’histoire naturelle vascular plant herbarium collection dataset. Scientific Data 4, 170016. https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2017.16

Mast AR, Willis CL, Jones EH, Downs KM, Weston PH (2008) A smaller Macadamia from a more vagile tribe: inference of phylogenetic relationships, divergence times, and diaspore evolution in Macadamia and relatives (tribe Macadamieae; Proteaceae). American Journal of Botany 95(7), 843–870. https://doi.org/10.3732/ajb.0700006

Meyer S, Birnbaum P, Bruy D, Cazé H, Garnier D, Gâteblé G, Lannuzel G, McCoy S, Tanguy V, Veillon J-M (2022) The New Caledonia Plants RLA: Bringing botanists together for the conservation of the archipelago’s crown jewel. In DellaSala DA, Goldstein MI (eds) ‘Imperiled: the Encyclopedia of Conservation’. pp. 859–874. (Elsevier: Amsterdam) https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-821139-7.00171-9

Munzinger J, Bruy D (2023) Compte rendu de mission en Nouvelle-Calédonie, 7–30 avril 2022. Carnets botaniques 150, 1–25. https://doi.org/10.34971/DXQ7-EE25

Reeves RD, Baker AJM, Jaffré T, Erskine PD, Echevarria G, van der Ent A (2018) A global database for plants that hyperaccumulate metal and metalloid trace elements. New Phytologist 218(2), 407–411. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.14907

Virot R (1968) Protéacées. In ‘Flore de la Nouvelle-Calédonie et Dépendances’. (Ed A Aubréville) pp. 1–254. (Muséum national d’histoire naturelle: Paris)