The Flora of Cape Verde includes the flowers and plants of Cape Verde, mostly native to the islands. There are about 240 species of plants.

Losna (Artemisia gorgonum), an endemic plant of Fogo Island
Cynanchum daltonii, an endemic plant found in the islands except Sal and Maio
Echium vulcanorum found only in Fogo's uppermost parts
Capeverdean sagebrush (Artemisia gorgonum)
Echium hypertropicum near Ribeira Principal in Santiago
Cape Verde date palm (Phoenix atlantica)
Lavandula rotundifolia
Asteriscus smithii (Nauplius smithii), an endemic plant
Tamarisk (Tamarix senegalensis), a tree plant grown mainly in sandy areas, places like Tarrafal on Santiago, Tarrafal de São Nicolau and Santo Antão's Tarrafal de Monte Trigo are named after the areas where the plant are found

About the flora

In the process of development, many lands in the islands were converted to agricultural fields and several hundred varieties of herbaceous plant and tree species were introduced, resulting in depletion of the original vegetation. However, efforts are now underway at reforestation to improve the wildlife of Cape Verde, with reported planting of three million new trees every year (about 7000 per day), with pine, oak, sweet chestnut and acacia as the prominent varieties being planted.[1][2] Cape Verde is also one of the world's top ten coral reef Biodiversity hotspots.[3]

Historically, Cape Verde was probably not rich with greenery, although the evidence of the situation in earlier times is severely lacking.[4] When Cape Verde was first discovered and colonized by the Portuguese in the 15th century, the wildlife consisted mainly of dry forests and scrub habitat, which underwent a sea change under the influence of the inhabitants of this then isolated and uninhabited group of islands. The endemic flora and fauna of the islands were disturbed and have now remained confined mostly in the mountain peaks, steep slopes and other inaccessible areas.[4] Vegetation in the islands is basically of the savannah or steppe type. There are trees typical of both temperate and tropical climates, depending on elevation. The flatter parts of the islands sustain semi-desert plants while the higher lands have arid shrubland.[4] The leeward slopes tend to contain desert, with a very sparse shrub cover, mostly thorny or toxic.[5] A number of xerophilous plants grow in the brackish subsoil of Maio, Sal, and Boa Vista.[5]

There are 664 listed plant species, which include two threatened species.[6] Over 80 vascular plant taxa are reported to be endemic to Cape Verde; these include Tornabenea, Aeonium gorgoneum, Campanula bravensis (bellflower), Asteriscus smithii (Nauplius smithii), Artemisia gorgonum (sagebrush), Sideroxylon marginatum, Lotus jacobaeus, Lavandula rotundifolia, Cynanchum daltonii, Euphorbia tuckeyana, Polycarpaea gayi and Erysimum caboverdeanum (wallflower).[3] Several trees are indigenous such as the blue-green flat-topped dragon tree Dracaena draco, Tamarix senegalensis, Phoenix atlantica (tamateira), in the lagoons and deserts of Boavista, the ironwood tree and a species of fig tree and Prosopis juliflora which locally is simply called "acácia"[4]). As a result of extensive tree planting since 1975, there are pine trees, oaks and sweet chestnuts on the cool peaks of Santo Antao, eucalyptus on the heights of Fogo, multiple neem trees in São Vicente and forests of acacia on Maio.[5]

List of endangered flora

Here is a list of endangered flora in Cape Verde, of which 97 are ranked species and 19 are ranked subspecies. They belong to 62 genera and 28 families. Of which 50 of them are in the island of Santo Antão, 45 in São Nicolau, 38 in Santiago and 37 in Fogo. 80% of them are in the highlands.[7]

No.SpeciesFamily
1Aeonium gorgoneumCrassulaceae
2Aeonium webbiiCrassulaceae
3Arenaria gorgoneaCaryophyllaceae
4Aristida cardosoiPoaceae
5Aristida funiculata var. paradoxaPoaceae
6Artemisia gorgonumAsteraceae
7Asparagus squarrosusAsparagaceae
8Asteriscus daltoniiAsteraceae
9Asteriscus smithiiAsteraceae
10Asteriscus vogeliiAsteraceae
11Brachiaria lata subsp. caboverdianaPoaceae
12Campanula bravensisCampanulaceae
13Campanula jacobaeaCampanulaceae
14Campylanthus benthamiiPlantaginaceae
15Campylanthus glaber subsp. spathulatusPlantaginaceae
16Carex antoniensisCyperaceae
17Carex paniculata subsp. hanseniiCyperaceae
20Centaurium tenuiflorum subsp. viridenseGentianaceae
21Chloris pilosaPoaceae
22Conyza feaeAsteraceae
23Conyza pannosaAsteraceae
24Conyza schlechtendaliiAsteraceae
25Conyza variaAsteraceae
26Cuscuta nothochlaenaConvolvulaceae
27Cyphia sthenoCampanulaceae
28Diplotaxis antoniensisBrassicaceae
29Diplotaxis gorgadensisBrassicaceae
30Diplotaxis gracilisBrassicaceae
31Diplotaxis glaucaBrassicaceae
32Diplotaxis harra subsp. harraBrassicaceae
33Diplotaxis hirtaBrassicaceae
34Diplotaxis sundingiiBrassicaceae
35Diplotaxis variaBrassicaceae
36Echium glabrescensBoraginaceae
37Echium hypertropicumBoraginaceae
38Echium stenosiphon subsp. lindbergiiBoraginaceae
39Echium vulcanorumBoraginaceae
40Enteropogon rupestrisPoaceae
41Eragrostis concertiiPoaceae
42Eragrostis insulatlanticaPoaceae
43Erysimum caboverdeanumBrassicaceae
44Fagonia mayanaZygophyllaceae
45Fagonia sinaica var. albifloraZygophyllaceae
46Festuca gracilisPoaceae
47Forsskaolea procridifoliaUrticaceae
48Forsskaolea viridisUrticaceae
49Frankenia ericifolia subsp. caboverdeanaFrankeniaceae
50Frankenia ericifolia subsp. montanaFrankeniaceae
51Globularia amygdalifoliaPlantaginaceae
52Gongrothamnus bolleanusAsteraceae
53Gossypium capitis-viridisMalvaceae
54Helianthemum gorgoneumCistaceae
55Ipomoea sancti-nicolaiConvolvulaceae
56Ipomoea webbiiConvolvulaceae
57Kickxia brunneriPlantaginaceae
58Kickxia elegans ssp dichondraefoliaPlantaginaceae
59Kickxia elegans ssp elegansPlantaginaceae
60Kickxia elegans ssp webbianaPlantaginaceae
61Launaea gorgadensisAsteraceae
62Launaea intybaceaAsteraceae
63Launaea melanostigmaAsteraceae
64Launaea picridioidesAsteraceae
65Launaea thalassicaAsteraceae
66Lavendula strictaLamiaceae
67Limonium brauniiPlumbaginaceae
68Limonium brunneriPlumbaginaceae
69Limonium jovibarbaPlumbaginaceae
70Limonium lobiniiPlumbaginaceae
71Limonium sundingiiPlumbaginaceae
72Linaria brunneriPlantaginaceae
73Lobularia canariensis subsp. fruticosaBrassicaceae
74Lobularia canariensis subsp. spathulataBrassicaceae
75Lotus arborescensFabaceae
76Lotus brunneriFabaceae
77Lotus jacobaeusFabaceae
78Lotus latifoliusFabaceae
79Lotus purpureusFabaceae
80Lythanthus amygdalifoliusPlantaginaceae
81Melanoselinum insulareApiaceae
82Nauplius daltoniiAsteraceae
83Nauplius smithiiAsteraceae
84Nervilia simplexOrchidaceae
85Odontospermum daltoniiAsteraceae
86Odontospermum volgeliiAsteraceae
87Papaver gorgoneumPapaveraceae
88Paronychia illecebroidesCaryophyllaceae
89Periploca laevigataApocynaceae
90Phagnalon melanoleucumAsteraceae
91Phoenix atlanticaArecaceae
92Pluchea bravaeAsteraceae
93Polycarpaea gayiCaryophyllaceae
94Pulicaria burchardiiAsteraceae
95Pulicaria diffusaAsteraceae
96Sarcostemma daltonii
syn. of Cynanchum daltonii
Apocynaceae
97Satureja forbesiiLamiaceae
98Sideroxylon marmulana var. marginataSapotaceae
99Sinapidendron decumbensBrassicaceae
100Sonchus daltoniiAsteraceae
101Sporobolus minutus subsp. confertusPoaceae
102Stachytarpheta cayennensisUrticaceae
103Stoechas rotundifoliaLamiaceae
104Tephrosia gorgoneaFabaceae
105Tithymalus tuckeyanusEuphorbiaceae
106Tolpis farinulosaAsteraceae
107Tolpis glanduliferaAsteraceae
108Tornabenea annua Apiaceae
109Tornabenea bischoffiiApiaceae
110Tornabenea humilisApiaceae
111Tornabenea insularisApiaceae
112Tornabenea tenuissimaApiaceae
113Umbilicus schmidtiiCrassulaceae
114Verbascum caboverdeanumScrophulariaceae
115Verbascum capitis-viridisScrophulariaceae
116Verbascum cystolithicumScrophulariaceae

Extinct flora

SpeciesFamily
Stachytarpheta fallaxVerbenaceae
Habenaria petromedusaOrchidaceae

See also

References

  1. "Cape Verde Islands". Birdlife International. Retrieved 3 April 2011.
  2. Aisling Irwin; Colum Wilson (25 March 2009). Cape Verde Islands. Bradt Travel Guides. pp. 38–41. ISBN 978-1-84162-276-7. Retrieved 3 April 2011.
  3. 1 2 "Cape Verde". Living National Treasures. Retrieved 3 April 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Cape Verde Islands dry forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved 3 April 2011.
  5. 1 2 3 "Cape Verde:Plant and animal life". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 3 April 2011.
  6. "Biodiversity and Protected Areas – Cape Verde" (PDF). Earthtrends countryprofiles. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 January 2011. Retrieved 3 April 2011.
  7. The Cape Verde Islands // Sociedade Caboverdiana de Zoologia

Sources

Further reading

  • Brochmann, C., Rustan, O. H., Lobin, W. & Kilian, N. 1997. The endemic vascular plants of the Cape Verde Islands, W Africa. Sommerfeltia, 24: 1-356. (in English)
  • Isildo Gomes et al., Endemic plants and indigenous trees of the Cape Verde islands, Ministry of Environment, Agriculture and Fishery and the Projects "Conservation and Exploration of the Natural Resources on the Island Fogo" (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeitand) and « Conservation of Biodiversity », 2003, p. 36
  • Duarte, M. C., Rego, F., Romeiras, M. M. & Moreira, I. 2008. Plant species richness in the Cape Verde Islands — eco-geographical determinants. Biodiversity and Conservation, 17: 453–466. (in English)
  • Sunding, P. 1973. Endemism in the flora of the Cape Verde Islands, with special emphasis on the macaronesian flora elements. Monogr. Biol. Canar. 4: 112–117. (in English)
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