Dwarf Morning Glories, Evolvulus spp., are upright herbs and shrubs in the Bindweed Family, Convolvulaceae, from the Americas. Around 100 species have been described to date, with all but two species from tropical regions and 71 of these coming from Brazil.
In a paper published in the Nordic Journal of Botany on 13 October 2016, Ágda Nara Tavares Bandeira of the Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade Vegetal at the Universidade do Estado da Bahia, Maria Teresa Buril of the Programa de Pós-Graduação em Botânica at the Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Francisco Carlos Pinheiro da Costa of the Laboratório de Biologia at the Universidade Federal de Campina Grande, and José Iranildo Miranda de Melo of the Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Conservação at the Universidade Estadual da Paraíba, describe a new species of Dwarf Morning Glory from Paraíba State in Brazil.
The new species is named Evolvulus flavus, where 'flavus' means 'yellow' in Latin, in reference to the colour of the flowers, a colour which is highly unusual in this genus. The plant is a small shrub, reaching about 70 cm in height, with oval leaves and yellow flowers. It was found in an area of Caatinga vegetation (dry thornscrub) within the Engenheiro Ávidos Ecological Park in Paraíba State, Brazil.
Evolvulus flavus. (A) habit, (B) floral buds, (C) inflorescence. Ágda Nara Tavares Bandeira in Bandeira et al. (2017).
Only four specimens of this flower could be located, and all of these were within a limited area. FOr this reason the species is deemed to be Endangered under the terms of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species.
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