Aulacocalyx lujae (also spelled Aulacocalyx lujai) is a species of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is a shrub or tree with white flowers, that is native to west-central Africa. The species was described in 1915, and is listed as Endangered by the IUCN.
Taxonomy The species was described by Émile Auguste Joseph De Wildeman in 1915.
Distribution Aulacocalyx lujae is native to the wet tropical biome of Gabon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Republic of the Congo. Its extent of occurrence is around . The species grows in rainforests, at elevations of .
Description Aulacocalyx lujae is a shrub or tree that grows up to high. The branches are striped.
The leaves are long, wide, elliptical to lanceolate or oblanceolate, and light green to brown when dry. The leaf stem is long.
The inflorescence grows on a stem around long, and normally has five to twenty flowers. The calyx is long, and has triangular, long lobes. The corolla is long, and white. The corolla has five elliptical to lanceolate lobes, which are long, and wide.
Conservation In 2019, the IUCN listed Aulacocalyx lujae as Endangered. The species is threatened by agriculture and logging. One subpopulation is present in Lopé National Park, a protected area.
Etymology The species is named after the collector "Éd. Luja", and was originally published as Aulacocalyx lujai. The specific epithet was amended from "lujai" to "lujae", per article 60.8. of the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants.
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