Boswellia hesperia: A new species of Dwarf Frankincense from Socotraa Island.

Frankincenses, Boswellia spp., are trees and small shrubs noted for the aromatic resin they produce, found in East Africa, Arabia, and parts of South Asia. In 1971 Frank Nigel Hepper of Kew Royal Botanic Gardens described a Dwarf Frnakincense, Boswellia nana, from the Yemeni island of Socotra in the Indian Ocean (a noted hotspot for botanical endemism). In 2004, botanists Anthony Miller and Miranda Morris reported a second species of Dwarf Frankincense from Socotra, something which several subsequent studies have also recorded, but which has not, to date, been formally described.

In a paper published in the Nordic Journal of Botany on 20 February 2025, Mats Thulin of the Department of Organismal Biology at Uppsala University, Michael Weber from Bad Berka in Germany, Sami Ali Mohammed Mubarak from Socotra Island, and Alain Rzepecky from São Brás de Alportel in Portugal, formally describe the second species of Socotran Dwarf Frankincense.

The new species is named Boswellia hesperia, where 'hesperia' means 'west', the species having been found exclusively at the western end of the Island of Socotra; this is in contrast to Boswellia nana, which is found exclusively at the eastern end of the island. Boswellia hesperia is an entirely prostrate dwarf species, found growing within holes and crevasses in limestone rock. This habit is also seen in Boswellia nana, although that species sometimes also produces dwarf shrubs up to 2 m high. Boswellia hesperiai also differs from Boswellia nana in its leaves, which are waxy above, but covered in white fur below, whereas those of Boswellia nana are waxy on both sides.

Boswellia hesperia from mountain ridge above Neet, 5–6 km from the coast, Socotra, 18 May 2021. (A) plant filling out crevice in limestone rock, leafless, showing reddish white flowers and fruits, (B) leafless plant with flowers and fruits. Alain Rzepecky in Thulm et al. (2025).

The total area over which Boswellia hesperia is found is about 63 km², however, the distribution of the species is patchy, and it probably is only found over an area of about 20 km². This limited distribution, along with the apparent risk of the species being overgrazed by Goats, leads Thulm et al. to recommend that Boswellia hesperia be classified as Critically Endangered under the terms of the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species.

Boswellia hesperia, seedling flowering after about one and a half year in cultivation. Alain Rzepecky in Thulm et al. (2025).

See also...

Cryptomaster behemoth: A new species of Harvestman from the forests of southwest Oregon.

Harvestmen, Opiliones, of the suborder Laniatores are an extremely diverse group of small predatory Arachnids noted for a high level of endemism (i.e. most species have extremely limited ranges). There are currently around 4100 described species, but this is likely to be a severe underestimate, as the group are not well studied and populations of similar Harvestmen at even nearby locations often turn out to be different species. The genus Cryptomaster was erected in 1969 to describe a single large species of Harvestman from the forests of southwest Oregon, Cryptomaster leviathan, which was found dwelling under spruce bark in virgin forest to the south of the town of Gold Beach in Curry County.

In a paper published in the journal ZooKeys on 20 January 2016, James Starrett of the Department of Biology at San Diego State University, Shahan Derkarabetian and Casey Richart of the Department of Biology at San Diego State University and the Department of Biology at the University of California, Riverside, and Allan Cabrero and Marshal Hedin also of the Department of Biology at San Diego State University, describe a new species of Cryptomaster from Oregon.

The new species is named Cryptomaster behemoth, in reference to Behemoth, a large monster mentioned in the Book of Job (the single previously decscribed species in the genus was named Cryptomaster leviathan, in reference to another such moster from the Book of Job). This species was found at a number of locations, though all were within Lane County, to the east of Eugene in the Cascade Mountains, from Brice Creek in the south to the Mckenzie River in the north. This is to the northeast of the known distribution of Cryptomaster leviathan, with no known specimen of either species found at a site producing the other. This suggests a very limited range for both species (typical of Laniatorine Harvestmen), though both species seemed to be fairly abundant within their ranges.

 

Cryptomaster dorsal coloration. (A) Male Cryptomaster leviathan. (B) Male Cryptomastern behemoth. (C) Female Cryptomaster leviathan. (D) Female Cryptomaster behemoth. Scale bars are 1 mm. Starrett et al. (2016).  

See also...

Cyphophthalmus solentiensis: A new species of Mite Harvestman from the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia.                                         Mite Harvestmen, Cyphophthalmi, are a distinctive group of Harvestmen, Opiliones, which are thought to...

Iandumoema smeagol: A new species of Harvestman from caves in Minas Gerais State, Brazil.                                                          Harvestmen, Opiliones, are carnivorous Arachnids resembling Spiders, though they are not closely related and are incapable of producing silk...

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