Amazonian tree with human-sized leaves finally gets ID’d as new species

Although C. gigantifolia has been known the public and the scientific community for nearly four decades, describing it formally and giving it an official name was an essential step to complete.

“A known but undescribed species is like a person without a birth certificate or ID; it is like a person who does not formally have their identity recognized,” Gribel said. “For example, in Brazil there is currently a major effort by the scientific community to catalog the national flora. Although known for many years, Coccoloba gigantifolia could not so far be added to the Brazilian Plant List by the scientists participating of this great initiative.”