Madagascar

Photo: S.Cable

Avenue of the baobabs (Adansonia grandidieri) near Morondava 

Introduction

The Madagascar Science Team is a multi-disciplinary collaboration of scientists and horticulturists drawn from all departments at RBG Kew and our office in Madagascar. Our common goal is the better understanding and conservation of Madagascar’s unique and highly diverse flora. The team’s strength is founded on exhaustive taxonomic research and expertise in some of the most important plant groups of the Madagascan flora, including Euphorbiaceae, legumes, orchids, palms, Rubiaceae and yams. As well as publishing checklists, revisions, field guides and numerous new species, we are committed to developing taxonomic research in Madagascar and have trained or are training eight DEA (MSc) and four PhD students.

Over the last few years the team has drawn on RBG Kew’s expertise in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), horticulture and ex situ conservation to add three flagship conservation projects to the Madagascar programme. The Threatened Plants Project has developed local capacity for ex situ conservation focusing on the most critically endangered plant species. It aims to reduce collection pressure on wild populations, provide insurance against extinctions and facilitate the re-establishment of species and populations in the wild. The project has built two nurseries, a greenhouse, an orchid shade house for public display and interpretation, developed a micro-propagation unit and is currently working on re-introductions of several species that are on the brink of extinction in the wild. The Millennium Seed Bank project in Madagascar aims to collect and preserve the seeds of 1,000 dryland species by 2010. So far it has banked over 5 million seeds of over 850 species, including many that are known from only a few small and vulnerable populations. Lastly, the Madagascar Vegetation Map project is producing an accurate vegetation atlas based on the latest satellite image data and extensive ground surveys. This will be an invaluable tool for researchers, resource managers, conservation organisations and the Government of Madagascar for many years to come and it will be updated regularly through an innovative website.

RBG Kew has a team of six in Madagascar, including three botanists and three support staff.  We have recently acquired a 4x4 vehicle, which is in constant field use, and installed a small computer network in RBG Kew's local office. We are developing the capacity and tools for rapid inventories and conservation assessments, which will include a database covering the complete flora with preliminary IUCN conservation assessments and extinction risk probabilities for selected species, as well as identification guides to difficult plant groups. The driving force behind our work in Madagascar is conservation, and with our unique range of expertise we are in a strong position to help Madagascar meet its targets under the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation by 2010.

Background

Madagascar has been a research focus at RBG Kew since 1986, and we have enjoyed an excellent working relationship with partner institutions in Madagascar since that time. In June 1989, RBG Kew Herbarium signed a formal Memorandum of Understanding with Le Parc Botanique et Zoologique de Tsimbazaza (PBZT), the University of Antananarivo and the Association Nationale pour la Gestion des Aires Protégées (ANGAP). Since that agreement was implemented, RBG Kew has developed collaborations with many other partners, including working with the Silo National des Graines Forestières (SNGF) to establish a national seed collection, with Missouri Botanical Garden (MBG) to produce the new vegetation atlas and with ANGAP, Antsokay Arboretum and Centre Technique Horticole d’Antananarivo (CTHA) for the conservation of critically endangered species. RBG Kew has made a major contribution towards the better understanding of the flora, including five key publications: the vegetation atlas with innovative web-based data exchange and exhaustive treatments of the palms, orchids, legumes and tree genera of Madagascar.

SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS (2001 - 2005)

KEY ELEMENTS OF FUTURE PLANS (2006 onwards)

RECENT ACHIEVEMENTS (2001 - 2005)

Collections (2001-2005)

3,000 new collections were accessioned at RBG Kew, with duplicates lodged at Le Parc Botanique et Zoologique de Tsimbazaza (PBZT) and other partner herbaria. In September 2005 an agreement was signed between the Millennium Seed Bank and the Silo National des Graines Forestières (SNGF), to run for five years until September 2010 as a follow on from the initial agreement signed in 2000 for the establishment of a national seed collection and joint collections with RBG Kew. SNGF made over 900 seed collections, representing 600 species (about 15% of the dryland flora of Madagascar) and contributed over 4 million seeds to the MSB.

Baseline Plant Diversity Research (2001-2005)

RBG Kew published two major treatments: The Leguminosae of Madagascar (D.J. Du Puy et al., 2002) and the Generic Tree Flora of Madagascar (G.E. Schatz, 2001). A milestone for biodiversity research in Madagascar was the publication of The Natural History of Madagascar (Goodman, S.M. & Benstead, J. eds., University of Chicago Press 2003). RBG Kew botanists contributed to 10 papers covering Euphorbiaceae, Leguminosae, Palmae and Rubiaceae. Systematic studies continued in selected groups of Dioscoreaceae, Euphorbiaceae sensu lato, Orchidaceae, Palmae, Poaceae and Rubiaceae, and many new species were published. RBG Kew trained eight DEA (Masters) and four PhD students based in Madagascar.

Comparative Plant Biology (2001-2005)

Kew staff co-authored a study on the phylogenetics of Euphorbia (Euphorbiaceae). The phylogenetic analysis of Phyllanthus and relatives (Phyllanthaceae) was co-authored by Kew core staff and a Kew-funded PhD student based in Madagascar. A phylogenetic study of Dioscorea (Dioscoreaceae) was published by Kew staff with collaborators including researchers at the University of Antananarivo, Madagascar. It aimed to discover the major species groups in the genus. The paper focused extensively on the yams of Madagascar, because all but five of the species form an endemic lineage in which there have been important changes in flower, seed and tuber morphology promoting diversification. The phylogeny generated was used in a sister publication on pollen evolution in Dioscorea, in which Madagascar also played an important part; many of the Malagasy species possess a unique striate ektexine morphology. Materials for both the phylogenetic and palynological studies came from collaborative fieldwork in Madagascar. Pollen morphology was also used in papers describing new species of Dioscorea from Madagascar.

Sustainable Uses of Plants (2001-2005)

In the southern littoral forest areas we are advising on a domestication programme of forest species for the house plant market. Our partner QMM hopes to raise local incomes and reduce exploitation of the few remaining patches of forest, which it is actively conserving.

The Threatened Plants Project focused on propagating and marketing threatened orchid species through PBZT to take pressure off wild populations.

Conservation and Environmental Monitoring (2001-2005)

A significant contribution to conservation planning in Madagascar will be the forthcoming accurate and up-to-date vegetation map: Vegetation Atlas of Madagascar (Moat, J. & Andriambolantsoa, H. et al., due summer 2007). Based on satellite image data and extensive ground surveys, it is supplemented by an interactive website www.vegmad.org for downloading maps or uploading new information.

The Threatened Plants Project was a three year project, funded by an appeal through Friends of Kew, to establish an infrastructure for ex situ conservation and the re-introduction of Madagascar’s rarest plant species. The project focused on 20 critically endangered succulent, palm and orchid species. Although officially ended, donations have not stopped, allowing the team to continue the work. The collections held in the nurseries and greenhouse are being bulked-up and re-introductions of selected species are starting at Andisabe National Park and a new protected area north of Toliara. ANGAP has undertaken to monitor the success of the re-introductions.

The MSB with SNGF has concentrated on the dryland flora, ensuring the preservation of over 600 species through seed banking. It has gathered information on the distribution of over 1,000 species based on herbarium data and has discovered many new populations of some of the rarest species during field surveys.

FUTURE PLANS (2006 onwards)

Collections (2006 onwards)

Our immediate plan is to develop our collection strategy, protocols and data standards so that all RBG Kew work in Madagascar contributes to a single database designed for conservation orientated output, such as checklists, maps and species conservation assessments. The database will be based on over 100,000 historical records that are currently divided between many smaller research databases. We aim to contribute at least 2,000 fully identified herbarium specimens each year to the collections of RBG Kew and our Malagasy partners and other collaborators. The emphasis will be on developing our in-country expertise for naming, as well as filling gaps in the herbarium coverage at RBG Kew. Poorly represented dryland species will be supplemented by new herbarium specimens grown from MSBP seed, when feasible. We are providing technical assistance to Antsokay Arboretum to establish a local herbarium in the dryland SW and we will continue providing duplicates of RBG Kew collections to the national herbarium at PBZT and other institutions with which we have agreements.

We will continue to develop collections for ex situ conservation and education. The MSB will bank the seeds of at least 100 dryland species per year until the end of 2009, and 85% of these will be endemic. The MSB Enhancement species targeting team will produce collection guides to target species for our partner SNGF to focus the collecting. RBG Kew is also developing a partnership with Antsokay Arboretum near Toliara, which has a collection of over 900 dryland species, which we plan to backup in the seed collections at SNGF and the MSB. We will continue to collaborate with PBZT to enhance their living collections, concentrating on palms and orchids, and building on the work of the Threatened Plants Project. We will also continue to develop the living collection of Madagascan plants at RBG Kew.

Baseline Plant Diversity Research (2006 onwards)

Baseline plant diversity research has been the foundation and strength of our programme in Madagascar for many years and we will continue our inventory of the flora with specialist focus on selected groups. Our taxonomists have already contributed hefty treatments covering legumes, palms and orchids. These are being followed-up with field guides and a second edition of Orchids of Madagascar. A checklist to the Rubiaceae is in preparation and we will continue regional revisions of genera in Dioscoreaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Gramineae, Orchidaceae, Palmae and Rubiaceae, as well as publication of new species and genera across the flora.

Several checklists are planned for small geographical areas and vegetation types, including the spiny vegetation of the south west. However, our main objective is to collaborate with PBZT, MBG and Paris herbaria to complete a comprehensive inventory of the flora of Madagscar.

Comparative Plant Biology (2006 onwards)

The new genus Radcliffea (Euphorbiaceae) will be described after confirming its genetic and morphological distinctiveness, and will be placed in the family tree using methods that include molecular phylogenetics and palynology. Research is planned on the phylogenetic systematics of the ‘edible’ yam clade in Dioscorea, a significant subclade of which is the endemic lineage from Madagascar.

Sustainable Utilisation of Plant Resources (2006 onwards)

Currently only a very small proportion of the wild food species growing in Madagascar are used sustainably to provide income to communities. As part of our interests in supporting the Millennium Development Goals to alleviate poverty and support the health of poorer communities we plan to obtain financial support to assess and develop the sustainable utilization and/or domestication of wild food plants in rural areas.

In the southern littoral forest areas we are advising on a domestication programme of forest species for the house plant market. Our partner QIT Minéraux de Madagascar (QMM) hopes to raise local incomes and reduce exploitation of the few remaining patches of forest, which it is actively conserving. We will also continue the work, started by the Threatened Plants Project, on propagating and marketing threatened orchid species through PBZT to take pressure off wild populations, and we are participating in a new project with FOFIFA on crop wild relatives, which aims to identify key areas and priority species for conservation.

Conservation and Environmental Monitoring (2006 onwards)

Our priority is to become proactive in the Durban Vision process, providing expert advice on key areas for plant conservation and species conservation assessments. We have provided a GIS service for the botanical community in Madagascar for many years and this is culminating in the publication of the Vegetation Map of Madagascar in 2007. We are strengthening our local GIS capacity and will maintain and refine the vegetation map with new data. This will combine with enhanced species data across the flora, including habit, habitat, distribution, rarity and conservation status, to enable us to map plant diversity and identify conservation priorities. We will continue to apply and refine techniques for calculating IUCN ratings and extinction risk models.

The strength of our local team is critical to our conservation work and we aim to add at least two new local staff and build team expertise in five key areas: conservation management, the dryland and humid forest floras, GIS and systematics. We are developing the capacity and tools for rapid inventories and conservation assessments, building on our extensive collection data, GIS capacity and the botanical knowledge of our staff. We are widening this capacity through collaboration, and one area we seek to propagate is expertise in conservation genetics. The Threatened Plants Project (TPP) has provided a framework for the ex situ conservation of critically endangered species, in order to reduce collection pressure on wild populations, provide insurance against extinction and facilitate the re-establishment of species and populations in the wild. We aim to build on the TPP with smaller projects focusing on selected groups, as well as integrating ex situ conservation into all future projects where possible.

Identification is a problem for any inventory work in Madagascar as the flora is large, there are few specialists, the herbarium representation is patchy, many groups need revising and the literature is sparse or out of date. We aim to begin to solve this with a series of conservation orientated identification tools, following on from the palm and orchid field guides that will be in press in 2006-07. The format will be similar to the Field Guide to the Rattans of Lao PDR by Tom Evans et al (RBG Kew, 2001) and will cover small and difficult groups. Production will be centred at our local Madagascan office, and we will make full use of recent advances in digital photography and printing. Solofo Rakotoarisoa is producing the Field Guide to the Aloes of Madagascar as a pilot, and we are also working with QMM and MBG to produce the Field Guide to the Littoral Forest Tree Species of Southern Madagascar.

Projects

Aloes (Aloaceae) of Madagascar Identification Guide

CEPF Madagascar Vegetation Mapping

Field Guide to the Orchids of Madagascar

Field Guide to the Palms of Madagascar

Madagascar GIS

Madagascar Houseplants

Madagascar Threatened Plants Project

Phylogenetics and Conservation of Madagascan Euphorbia (Euphorbiaceae)

Rubiaceae of Madagascar

Collecting and Conserving Wild Species from Madagascar and Building Seed Conservation Capacity

Significant Trade in CITES Plants

Southern Madagascar Littoral Forest Tree Guide

Systematics and Biogeography of Phyllanthus (Phyllanthaceae) of Madagascar

Yams of Madagascar

People

Foundation

Gemma Marchant

Herbarium

Susana Baena, William Baker, Stuart Cable, Colin Clubbe, Phil Cribb, Aaron Davis, John Dransfield (HRF), Soejatmi Dransfield (HRF), Thomas Heller, Petra Hoffmann, Della Lindsay, Justin Moat, Solofo Rakotoarisoa, Hélène Ralimanana, Tianjanahary Randriamboavonjy, Dave Roberts, Paul Wilkin

HPE

Phil Griffiths, Margaret Ramsay

Jodrell Laboratory

Monique Simmonds

Seed Conservation Department

Stephanie Miles, Moctar Sacande, Paul Smith

Partners

France

Laboratoire de Phanérogamie, Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle

Madagascar

Association Nationale pour la Gestion des Aires Protégées (ANGAP)

Antsokay Arboretum

Centre Technique Horticole d’Antananarivo (CTHA)

CITES Management Authority and Scientific Authority

Foibe Fikarohana momba ny Fambolena (FOFIFA), Department of Agriculture, Government of Madagsacar

Groupe des Spécialistes des Plantes Malgaches (GSPM)

Parc Botanique et Zoologique de Tsimbazaza (PBZT)

QIT-Fer Minéraux de Madagascar (QMM)

Silo National des Graines Forestières (SNGF)

Université d’Antananarivo, Département de Biologie et Ecologie Végétale

WWF Madagascar

UK

ESRI UK

USA

Centre for Applied Biodiversity Science (Conservation International)

Conservation International

Missouri Botanical Garden

Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund??

International Organisations

CITES Secretariat

Publications

Bosser, J. & Cribb*, P.J. (2001). Trois nouvelles especes de Bulbophyllum (Orchidaceae) de Madagascar. Adansonia ser. 3, 23 (1): 129-135.

Bosser, J. & Cribb*, P.J. (2003). Contribution á l'étude des Orchidaceae de Madagascar, des Comores et des Mascareignes. XXXIV. Bathiorchis, nouveau genre monotypique de Madagascar. Adansonia ser. 3, 25 (2): 229-231.

Britt*, A. & Dransfield*, J. (2005). Dypsis delicatula. Palms 49 (1): 40-44.

Britt*, A. & Lambana, B.R. (2003). Can captive-bred Varecia variegata variegata adapt to a natural diet on release to the wild? International Journal of Primatology 24 (5): 987-1005.

Britt*, A., Clubbe*, C. & Ranarivelo*, T. (2004). Conserving Madagascar's plant diversity: Kew's Madagascar Threatened Plants Project. Curtis's Botanical Magazine 21 (4): 258-264.

Britt*, A., Lambana, B. & Randriamboavonjy, T. (2004). A new locality for Marojejya darianii in Madagascar. Palms 48 (1): 5-9.

Britt*, A., Lambana, B.R., Welch, C.R. & Katz, A.S. (2003). Project Betampona: re-stocking of Varecia variegata variegata into the Betampona Reserve. In Goodman, S.M. & Benstead, J.P. (eds) The natural history of Madagascar. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 1547-1552.

Britt*, A., Welch, C. & Katz, A. (2003). Project Betampona update. Lemur News 8: 6.

Britt*, A., Welch, C. & Katz, A. (2003). Can small, isolated, primate communities be effectively reinforced through the release of individuals from a captive population? Biological Conservation 115 (2): 319-327.

Britt*, A., Welch, C., Katz, A., Lambana, B., Porton, I., Junge, R., Crawford, G., Williams, C. & Haring, D. (2004). The re-stocking of captive bred ruffed lemurs (Varecia variegata variegata) into the Betampona Reserve: methodology and recommendations. Biodiversity and Conservation 13: 635-657.

Cribb*, P., Du Puy, D.J. & Bosser, J. (2002). An unusual new epiphytic species of Eulophia (Orchidaceae) from southeastern Madagascar. Adansonia ser. 3, 24 (2): 169-172.

Davis*, A.P. (2001). Two new species of Coffea (Rubiaceae) from eastern Madagascar. Kew Bulletin 56 (2): 479-489.

Davis*, A.P. (2003). Psychotria and related genera (tribe Psychotrieae). In Goodman, S.M. & Benstead, J.P. (eds) The natural history of Madagascar. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 446.

Davis*, A.P. (2003). Coffea (tribe Coffeeae). In Goodman, S.M. & Benstead, J.P. (eds) The natural history of Madagascar. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 437-438.

Davis*, A.P. & Bridson*, D. (2003). Vangueria and related genera (tribe Vanguerieae). In Goodman, S.M. & Benstead, J.P. (eds) The natural history of Madagascar. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 447-448.

Davis*, A.P. & Bridson*, D. (2003). Introduction to the Rubiaceae. In Goodman, S.M. & Benstead, J.P. (eds) The natural history of Madagascar. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 431-434.

Davis*, A.P. & Rakotonasolo, F. (2001). Three new species of Coffea L. (Rubiaceae) from NE Madagascar. Adansonia ser. 3, 23 (1): 137-146.

Davis*, A.P. & Rakotonasolo, F. (2001). Two new species of Coffea (Rubiaceae) from northern Madagascar: C. ankaranensis and C. sambavensis. Adansonia ser. 3, 23 (2): 337-345.

Davis*, A.P. & Rakotonasolo, F. (2003). Gardenia and related genera (tribe Gardenieae subtribe Gardeniinae). In Goodman, S.M. & Benstead, J.P. (eds) The natural history of Madagascar. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 441-442.

Davis*, A.P. & Rakotonasolo, F. (2003). New species of Coffea L. (Rubiaceae) from Madagascar. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 142 (1): 111-118.

Davis*, A.P., Bridson*, D.M. & Rakotonasolo, F. (2005). A reexamination of Coffea subgenus Baracoffea and comments on the morphology and classification of Coffea and Psilanthus (Rubiaceae-Coffeeae). In Keating, R.C., Hollowell, V.C. & Croat, T. (eds) Festschrift for William G. DArcy: The Legacy of a Taxonomist. Missouri: MBG Press. Monograph in Systematics Botany. Vol. 104: 398-420.

Dawson*, S.E. (2003). Carphalea (tribe Hedyotideae). In Goodman, S.M. & Benstead, J.P. (eds) The natural history of Madagascar. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 436-437.

Dransfield*, J. (2002). Beccariophoenix madagascariensis flowers in cultivation. Palms 46 (3): 130-131.

Dransfield*, J. (2003). Ny Fomba Fiotazana Santiona Tsara Amin'ny "Palmier" Malagasy. (Guide to collecting palm specimens.) Ravintsara 1 (2): 20-21, 23.

Dransfield*, J. & Beentje*, H.J. (2003). Arecaceae, palms. In Goodman, S.M. & Benstead, J.P. (eds) The natural history of Madagascar. Chicago: Chicago University Press. 448-457.

Dransfield*, S. (2002). Sirochloa, a new bamboo genus from Madagascar (Poaceae-Bambusoideae). Kew Bulletin 57 (4): 963-970.

Dransfield*, S. (2003). Poaceae, Bambuseae, bamboos. In Goodman, S.M. & Benstead, J.P. (eds) The natural history of Madagascar. Chicago: Chicago University Press. 467-471.

Du Puy, D.J. & Moat*, J. (2002). Ecology of the Leguminosae in Madagascar. In Du Puy, D.J., Labat, J.N., Rabevohitra, R., Villiers, J.F., Bosser, J. & Moat, J. (eds) The Leguminosae of Madagascar. Kew: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 9-16, colour plates 11-14.

Du Puy, D.J. & Moat*, J. (2003). Using geological substrate to identify and map primary vegetation types in Madagascar and the implications for planning biodiversity conservation In Goodman, S.M. & Benstead, J.P. (eds) The natural history of Madagascar. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 51-67.

Du Puy, D.J., Labat, J.N., Rabevohitra, R., Villiers, J.F., Bosser, J. & Moat*, J. (2002). The Leguminosae of Madagascar. Kew: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. x, 737 pp.

Glessner, K.D.G. & Britt*, A. (2005). Population density and home range size of Indri indri in a protected low altitude rain forest. International Journal of Primatology 26 (4): 855-872.

Haevermans, T., Hoffmann*, P., Lowry, P.P., Labat, J.N. & Randrianjohany, E. (2004). Phylogenetic analysis of the Madagascan Euphorbia subgenus Lacanthis based on ITS sequence data. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 91 (2): 247-259.

Haigh*, A., Wilkin*, P. & Rakotonasolo, F. (2005). A new species of Dioscorea L. (Dioscoreaceae) from Madagascar and its distribution and conservation status. Kew Bulletin 60 (2): 273-281.

Hermans*, J. & Cribb*, P.J. (2005). The Angraecum germinyanum complex. Orchid Review 113 (1262): 90-97.

Hermans*, J. & Cribb*, P.J. (2005). Plant portraits: 519. Paralophia epiphytica. Orchidaceae. Curtis's Botanical Magazine 22 (1): 47-52.

Hermans, J., Cribb*, P.J. & Bosser, J. (2002). A distinctive new species of Angraecum from Madagascar. Orchid Review 110 (1243): 22-24.

Hermans, J., La Croix, I. & Cribb*, P.J. (2001). Angraecum clareae Hermans, la Croix & Cribb. Orchid Review 109: 43-45.

Hoffmann*, P. & McPherson, G. (2003). Transfer of Madagascan Glochidion to Phyllanthus (Euphorbiaceae s.l. or Phyllanthaceae). Novon 13 (3): 307-310.

Hoffmann*, P. & McPherson, G. (2003). Euphorbiaceae. In Goodman, S.M. & Benstead, J.P. (eds) The natural history of Madagascar. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 379-383.

Kay*, J. (2004). Etienne de Flacourt, 'L'histoire de le grand île de Madagascar' (1658). Curtis's Botanical Magazine 21 (4): 251-257.

La Croix, I., Bosser, J. & Cribb*, P.J. (2002). The genus Disperis (Orchidaceae) in Madagascar, the Comores, the Mascarenes and the Seychelles. Adansonia ser. 3, 24 (1): 55-87.

Labat, J.N. & Beentje*, H.J. (2003). A new species of Psidia (Compositae) from Mayotte. Kew Bulletin 58 (4): 971-975.

Labat, J.N. & Moat*, J. (2003). Leguminosae (Fabaceae). In Goodman, S.M. & Benstead, J.P. (eds) The natural history of Madagascar. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 346-373.

Malcomber, S.T. & Davis*, A.P. (2005). Six new Gaertnera (Rubiaceae) species from Madagascar and phylogenetic analyses that support Hymenocnemis as a synonym of Gaertnera. In Keating, R.C., Hollowell, V.C. & Croat, T. (eds) Festschrift for William G. DArcy: The Legacy of a Taxonomist. Missouri: MBG Press. Monograph in Systematics Botany. Vol. 104: 371-397.

Radcliffe-Smith*, A., Hoffmann*, P., Ranaivojaona, R. & Ralimanana, H. (2003). Suregada celastroiodes Radcl.-Sm. & Petra Hoffm. (Euphorbiaceae), a new species from eastern Madagascar. Kew Bulletin 58 (4): 965-970.

Rakotonasolo, F. & Davis*, A.P. (2001). Hyperacanthus ambovombensis - a new species and new generic record for Madagascar. Kew Bulletin 56 (4): 945-953.

Rakotonasolo, F. & Davis*, A.P. (2002). Notes on the genus Hyperacanthus (Rubiaceae) including the description of a new species from Madagascar: H. grevei. Kew Bulletin 57 (4): 955-962.

Rakotonasolo, F. & Davis*, A.P. (2004). A new and endangered species of Hyperacanthus (Rubiaceae) from SE Madagascar: H mandenensis. Novon 14 (3): 327-331.

Roberts*, D.L. (2005). Aeranthes virginalis (Orchidaceae): a new species from the Comoro Islands. Kew Bulletin 60 (1): 139-141.

Roberts*, D.L. & Solow, A.R. (2003). When did the dodo become extinct? Nature 426 (6964): 245.

Stone, J.R. & Davis*, A.P. (2004). New taxa and nomenclatural notes on the flora of the Marojejy Massif, Madagascar. VI. Rubiaceae: a new species of Lemyrea. Novon 14 (1): 119-123.

Weber, O., Wilkin*, P. & Rakotonasolo, F. (2005). A new species of edible yam (Dioscorea L.) from western Madagascar. Kew Bulletin 60 (2): 283-291.

Wilkin*, P., Rakotonasolo, F., Schols, P. & Furness*, C.A. (2002). A new species of Dioscorea (Dioscoreaceae) from Western Madagascar and its pollen morphology. Kew Bulletin 57: 901-909.

Wilkin*, P., Schols, P., Chase*, M.W., Chayamarit, K., Furness*, C.A., Huysmans, S., Rakotonasolo, F., Smets, E. & Thapyai, C. (2005). A plastid gene phylogeny of the yam genus, Dioscorea: roots, fruits and Madagascar. Systematic Botany 30: 736-749.

Wilmot-Dear*, C.M. & Friis, I. (2002). Two notes on Urticaceae: a correction in New World Pouzolzia, and a new species record of Droguetia for Madagascar. Kew Bulletin 57 (4): 1005-1006.

Annex material