A flowering shrub from the Andean cloud forests made taxonomic
history last month. The plant—now dubbed Brunfelsia
plowmaniana—had puzzled botanists for decades as they endeavored
to determine whether or not it was truly an evolutionary
newcomer. When its DNA revealed this to be true, researchers
made the unprecedented move to include B. plowmaniana's genetic
code in its description as a new species, in the journal
PhytoKeys. That decision could open the door to future DNA
definitions of new botanical species—and heal a rift in the
field of botany. B. plowmaniana's saga began 30 years ago, when
botanist Michael Nee approached ethnobotanist Timothy Plowman at
The Field Museum in Chicago with specimens from a flowering
shrub collected in the Bolivian mountains. A member of the
nightshade family, Brunfelsia are known for their occasionally
toxic and hallucinogenic properties, as well as their bright,
color-changing flowers. The particular species Nee presented to
Plowman was labeled Brunfelsia uniflora—however,