AN ANNOTATED CHECKLIST OF THE VASCULAR FLORA OF GUINEA-BISSAU (WEST AFRICA)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 résumé . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 resumo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 introduction – the country’s main features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Vegetation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Botanic collections in Guinea-Bissau . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Material and Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Checklist of the vascular flora of Guinea-Bissau . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Pteridophyta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Magnoliophyta (Angiospermae) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Magnoliopsida (Dicotyledones). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Liliopsida (Monocotyledones) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 references . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 taxonomic index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

Because water flow has a strong dependence on rainfall, the fresh watercourses show a seasonal flow regime, classified as tropical pluvious (Costa 1946). As a consequence most of the streams and some rivers dry up by the end of the dry season. there are a few permanent fresh watercourses in the country with the Corubal, Farim and Geba being the most important rivers. Most of the locally called rivers are in fact estuaries and inlets, which penetrate deeply in the continental territory due to the plain relief.
in addition to the rivers, there are some small lakes in the country, namely in the southern and eastern regions. temporary pools with variable sizes, locally called vendus, are common in the south-east (Alves 2000).

Climate
Without geomorphologic features sufficiently marked to influence it, the climate in Guinea-Bissau depends mainly on its geographic position between the tropics. the climate, and particularly the rain regime, is conditioned by the seasonal migration of the intertropical Convergence zone (itCz).
in the dry season, from November to May, the itCz is positioned to the south of the territory, which is under the influence of continental, dry air masses coming from the north-east or north (McGregor & Nieuwolt 1998). When the itCz, in its yearly movement from south to north reaches the territory, the rainy season begins. the rains start usually in late May or early June, advance from south-west to north-east and last during the length of time in which the itCz is over or has moved to the north of the country. the rainy season usually ends in late october, when the itCz returns south. Annual rainfall is the climatic factor that shows the largest differences in the country, decreasing from 2400-2600 mm in the south-west to 1200-1400 mm in the north-east (Machado 1972).
the differences in temperature between regions are small: the annual means vary from 25.9 to 27.1 °C and the mean annual temperature in the country is around 26.5 °C. there are two annual maxima and minima in the air temperature: by the end of the dry season, in April or May, there is a primary maximum and in october or November a secondary one. the mean minimum temperatures have a primary minimum in the December or January and a secondary one in August, in the rainy season. the annual thermal ranges are also low: the differences between the annual minimum and maximum averages vary from 7.0 to 14.7 °C which is greater in the eastern inner region (Costa & resende 1994).
the relative humidity shows large seasonal variations related to the rain regime and the prevailing winds. their annual means vary from 69 to 79%. Hayward & Oguntoyinbo (1987), in a classification of the climatic regions in West Africa locate the country in zone 7 West, characterized by rains from June to November, with a peak in August, annual rainfall from 1500 to 2000 mm and the higher annual temperatures occurring in April-May. According to Fosberg et al. (1961) only the coastal part of the country is included in the humid tropics.

Soils
As most tropical soils, the greater part of Guinea-Bissau soils are poor both in organic matter and ion exchange bases. the most representative soil groups in the country are Ferralsols, Plinthosols, Gleysols, Fluvisols and Arenosols. there are other substrates that cannot be considered as soils, such as lateritic cuirasses and mud deposits (teixeira 1962;FAo-iSriC-iSSS 1998).
Ferralsols -deep soils with a sandy or sandy-clayish texture, are very common all over the country. the soils of this group are quite poor in nutrients and organic matter and, according to the topographic position can have red, orange, yellow or grey colours. the natural vegetation in these soils is mainly woodland and savannah woodland, as well as forest in the south-west of the country. Most of the country's agriculture is done on this kind of soils. Plinthosols -mineral soils that show, at small deepness, layers of lateritic materials more or less consolidated. these soils occur in a greater extent in the inner part of the country, and particularly in the south-east and are occupied mostly by woodland and savannah woodland. Even though these soils are poor and shallow, some areas are used for rainfed agriculture. Arenosols -sandy soils, mainly quartzose, scarce in organic matter, deep and well drained. Derived from consolidated dunes, these occur in belts in the north and south coastal regions of the mainland as well as in some islands in the Bijagós archipelago and are mainly covered by savannah woodland. Gleysols -fine textured soils, deep, grey-coloured, from alluvial origin, with the upper layers often rich in organic matter. occurring mainly in the inner lowlands and near the upper and middle courses of rivers in the continental territory and in some islands, Gleysols are almost absent in the inner east region. As most of the Gleysols are flooded in the rainy season, the natural vegetation is mainly composed of wet grass savannah, locally called lala. they are often used to crop wetland rice.
Fluvisols -fine textured soils from fluvial origin, occur along the coastline and in the lower courses of rivers. they are often reached by salt water and therefore rich in sodium. the natural vegetation on the Fluvisols is mainly mangrove and grass savannah, and this kind of soils is often cropped with wetland rice, after an ingenious desalinization process. other substrates -the lateritic cuirasses are layers of secondary rock at the surface, not covered by fine earth particles, that fill only the gaps and holes. In most cases only sparse herbaceous vegetation develops on it. the coastal muds and sands are flooded on each high tide and most of them support mangrove. VEGEtAtioN in the currently accepted phytogeographic framework of Africa (White 1981(White , 1983, Guinea-Bissau is included in the Guinea-Congolia/Sudania regional transition zone, or zone XI. As a consequence of human intervention, mainly fire and shifting agriculture, the more common vegetation types in this zone are secondary formations, such as woodland and savannah woodland. on the other hand, some residual patches of closed forest types may have significant affinities to the peripheral and driest types of Guinean forest. Nevertheless, according to White (1983), even before the increase of human activity that has led to vegetation degradation in most of the area, the open formations could have been already dominant, especially where the soils are shallow. thus, the phytogeographic zone Xi can be characterized by the occurrence of transition woodland types, which are an ecotone between the Guineo-Congolian forest to the south and the woodland and savannah woodland to the north and north-east of the zone. the two main factors responsible for the distribution of terrestrial vegetation types in the country are soil features, for instance their deepness, and the climate, especially rainfall which shows a large variation from the south to the north and from the littoral to the inner territory.
Besides the woodland, the dominant formation, its location in a climatic and phytogeographic transition zone permits the occurrence in Guinea-Bissau of the probably northernmost patches of dry Guinean forest in the south-west and savannah with Sudanian affinities in the south-east (Malaisse 1996;Catarino et al. 2001b).
The dry Guinean forest is nowadays confined to some patches in the south-west of the country, with the better edapho-climatic features and little human pressure over a long period. Some common tree species in it are Anisophyllea laurina, Dialium guineense, Hunteria umbellata, Malacantha alnifolia, Parinari excelsa and Strombosia pustulata. Lianas such as Agelaea pentagyna, Calycobolus heudelotii and Landolphia dulcis are also common (Fig. 2).
Woodlands occupy large areas of the western part of the mainland and in the Bijagós Archipelago (see Fig. 1), with some variation in structure and composition (Catarino 2004). Near the coastline, in the mainland and in the islands, Ceiba pentandra, Elaeis guineensis and Spondias mombin can be found in the tree stratum, Dichrostachys cinerea subsp. platycarpa, Newbouldia laevis and Psychotria peduncularis in the shrubby stratum, and climbers such as Landolphia heudelotii, Mezoneuron benthamianum and Paullinia pinnata.
the woodlands, present mainly in the western part of the mainland where annual rainfall exceeds 1500 mm, show some affinities with the forests of the south-west,    the lateritic cuirasses present mainly in the Boé region, in the south-eastern part of the country, there are patches of herbaceous or shrubby steppe-like vegetation (Fig. 6). Some common species there are Andropogon pseudapricus, Melliniela micrantha and Polycarpaea tenuifolia.
there are several communities of aquatic and wetland vegetation in rivers, streams, small lakes and temporary pools, mostly in the mainland. Anthostema senegalense, Elaeis guineensis, Pterocarpus santalinoides and Sarcocephalus latifolius are the most common species in the riparian forests and in the woody vegetation of river banks and edges of small lakes (Fig. 7). Along river edges there are herbaceous communities with Acroceras zizanioides, Eleocharis acutangula, Fuirena ciliaris, F. umbellata and Rhynchospora corymbosa as prominent species. in river beds with permanent running water there are communities in which some common species are Eichhornia natans, Nymphoides indica, Ottelia ulvifolia, Rotala tenella, Sphenoclea zeylanica and Utricularia gibba. the herbaceous communities above are found mainly in the Boé region, in the south-east of the country. in this region temporary pools and streams are often found, in which Bryaspis lupulina, Eriocaulon nigericum and Oryza brachyantha are frequent species (Fig. 8). in some small lakes and rivers with standing water there are communities dominated by floating plants, with Pistia stratiotes as the most frequent but also with Azolla pinnata subsp. africana, Chrysopogon nigritanus and Lemna aecquinoctialis. the vegetation on the beds of small lakes is composed of Nymphaea micrantha and N. lotus as dominant species, and the shallower belts are dominated by Oryza longistaminata and Leersia hexandra   (Fig. 9). the most extensive wetland vegetation in the country is the locally called lala, a wet grass savannah with a dominancy of Anadelphia afzeliana. it grows in the inner lowland plains flooded by rainwater during the wet season, located mostly in the lower zones of the mainland (Fig. 10).
Most of the areas subject to the tide effect on the coastal belts are occupied by mangroves (Fig. 11). in the deeper zones the mangrove is dominated by Rhizophora spp. (mainly R. mangle but also R. racemosa and to a lesser extent R. harrisonii). in the zones less frequently flooded by salt water Avicennia germinans is the prominent species. other halophytic communities are the so-called salt water lala, a grassland found on Fluvisols in coastal plains with Paspalum vaginatum as common species and the communities of Blutaparum vermiculare and Sesuvium portulacastrum which are found in small patches along the shoreline (Catarino 2004).

BotANiC CoLLECtioNS iN GUiNEA-BiSSAU
The first botanic collectors in Guinea-Bissau were French, most of them working in Senegambia. the naturalist Michel Adanson collected some specimens in the mid 18th century. these specimens are nowadays kept at the herbarium of the Paris Museum (P) (De Ficalho 1884;Hepper & Neate 1971). In the first half of the 19th century, George Perrottet and F. Leprieur collected some specimens in the territory and these are kept at the herbaria of the Berlin Botanic Garden (B) and Natural History Museum of London (BM) (Keay 1962). From the same century, the specimens collected by the naturalist Heudelot in the Bijagós Archipelago are housed at the National Botanic Garden of Belgium (Br), in the Genova Botanic Garden (GE) and in P, and the ones    collected by Desiré Jardin are at the Kew herbarium (K), in the Laboratory of Algology of Caen (CN) and at the Natural History Museums of Bayonne (BAy) and Stockholm (S) (Hepper & Neate 1971).
The first Portuguese collector in Guinea-Bissau was Henrique de Carvalho, in the second half of the 19th century, whose specimens are in the herbarium of the University of Coimbra (Coi). the collections of Manuel rodrigues de Carvalho from the Bolama region compiled between 1881 and 1883 (Exell et al. 1952), by Jacinto de Souza in 1883 and 1884 (Liberato 1994) and by João António Cardoso in 1889 are conserved in the same herbarium.
Julius Dinklage, German consul in Liberia between 1894 and 1922 and an amateur botanist also collected some specimens in the territory, which are nowadays distributed in several herbaria, namely the Botanic Garden of Edinburgh (E), B, BM, Br, K and P.
Nevertheless, it was not until the 20th century that the flora of Guinea-Bissau was extensively collected. By the end of the 1920s, Gomes e Sousa collected several dozens of specimens, nowadays kept at Coi and in the following decade Manuel Baptista collected about two hundred vouchers kept at LiSC and Coi (Liberato 1994).
the largest collection of Guinea-Bissau vascular plants was compiled by Joaquim Espírito Santo. Between 1932 and, this agronomist collected about 5000 specimens all over the country, which are now distributed among several herbaria, such as BM, Coi, K and LiSC. Most of the labels of the Espírito Santo specimens have also data on the ecology of species, vernacular names and traditional uses of plants.
During the 1940s, José Soares collected about 400 specimens, kept at LiSC, and in the following decade José d'orey and colleagues collected about 3000 specimens, distributed to several herbaria: Museum, Laboratory and Botanic Garden of the University of Lisbon (LiSU), Coi, LiSC and K (Carvalho & Nunes 1956;Hepper & Neate 1971). in the 1960s raimundo, Pereira & Guerra and Pereira & Correia collected a total of about 4000 specimens, kept at LiSC (Liberato 1994), and Alves Pereira collected more than 3000 specimens housed at the same herbarium. Some other collectors, such as José Santareno (Silva 1959), collected also specimens now held at LiSC.
After the independence of Guinea-Bissau, in 1974, the botanic exploration of the country continued by means of cooperative projects. Since 1988 to the present, the scientists of LISC have made several field missions all over the country that have resulted in more than 5000 specimens included in the collections of L. Catarino, M.A. Diniz, E.S. Martins and M.P. Vidigal. in the Cantanhez forests, south-west of the country, François Malaisse and collaborators (Malaisse 1996) and Amélia Frazão-Moreira collected several hundred specimens housed at Br and LiSC, respectively. Some other collectors have worked in the country, such as Börge Peterson, and the Guinean technicians Quintino Bancessi, Umaru Candé and Fodé Sané, as well as Pinto-Basto, whose specimens are at LiSC and in Guinea-Bissau.
Several thousands duplicates of the later collections where left in the country in order to begin a national herbarium in Guinea-Bissau and, when the proper conditions are achieved, many duplicates of the former collections that are kept at LiSC, can also be made available.
Keeping the largest collections of the country, LiSC can be considered the major reference herbarium to the flora of Guinea-Bissau, with more than 20,000 vascular plant specimens.
MAtEriAL AND MEtHoDS the data on the vascular plant species in Guinea-Bissau's flora have been obtained mostly from the historical collections compiled in the country and preserved at the LiSC herbarium as well as from about 5000 specimens collected by the authors over the last two decades. Data on some species that are not represented at LiSC are also included and are identified in the text as known only from bibliographic reference. those data were obtained from Espírito Santo (1963), Breteler (1982), Malaisse (1996) and Paiva (1998).
Before the name of some species, one character indicates their introduced condition or uncertain identification. After each species name, the basionym and the synonyms for West Africa are referred, when they are known. the life form and habitats where the species was found in the Guinea-Bissau territory and the vernacular names in the  languages of the ethnical groups of the country, as well as in Creole, French and Portuguese are also cited. For some species there is also an explanatory note.
Introduced species (I) in addition to the native vascular plants, the introduced species known to be found nowadays in a sub-spontaneous or naturalised state in the country are also referred. those plants are marked, before the species name, with an 'i'.
To confirm (cf.) in some cases it was not possible to identify with total certainty a taxon, mainly due to the lack of herbarium material for comparison. in such cases the 'cf.' abbreviation is placed before the genus name or before the specific epithet, indicating an identification under reserve, needing further confirmation.
Basionym (Bas.) First valid name ascribed to a taxonomic entity (a species in most cases), which was subsequently changed into the name accepted at present.

Synonyms (Syn.)
Names ascribed to the same taxonomic entity but considered without priority or rejected in favour of the accepted name.

Species life forms and Habitats
Life form of the species and kinds of habitats in which it was found in the Guinea-Bissau territory, collected from the herbarium labels. For some species this information may be incomplete.

Raunkiaer's biological types
Raunkiaer's classification of the life forms of plants was made by this Nordic author to group the plants according to the position of the perennating buds in relation to the soil surface (Raunkiaer 1934). This classification suits the floras of cold and temperate climates particularly well. Nevertheless, with some adaptations, this system is also being applied to the tropical climates, namely in Africa (e.g. Lubini 1997;Vanden Berghen 1997).
According to authors such as Lebrun (1966), climatic excesses hamper or prevent plant growth. therefore the concept of unfavourable season can also be applied in most tropical climates. in this case the unfavourable season is not the winter but the dry season, in which the leaves of the deciduous plants shed, the aerial parts of the perennial herbaceous die and the annuals survive as seeds.
in the flora of Guinea-Bissau the following biological types are considered: i) phanerophytes -plants with aerial buds, divided in four sub-types, according to their height (note that some herbaceous plants, mainly climbers, are phanerophytes): MPh: megaphanerophytes -trees or climbers larger than 30 m; mPh: mesophanerophytes -trees or climbers between 8 and 30 m; mph: microphanerophytes -trees, shrubs or climbers between 2 and 8 m; nph: nanophanerophytes -shrubs smaller than 2 m; ii) Ch: chamephytes -herbaceous or sub-woody plants, with aerial perennating buds but close to the soil surface; iii) Hem: hemicryptophytes -plants in which all the aerial parts die during the unfavourable season and the perennating buds remain at the soil level (e.g. plants with leaves in a basal rosette); iv) cryptophytes -herbaceous plants with perennating buds in the substratum or under water. According to the kind of environment they are divided in: Geo: geophytes -with underground organs (bulbs, rhizomes and tubercles), from which they grow after the unfavourable season; Hel: helophytes -with perennating buds in flooded soil or in mud, but producing emergent structures; Hyd: hydrophytes -with perennating buds under water, surviving in the unfavourable season by means of rhizomes or buds remaining at the bottom; v) Th: therophytes -annual plants, surviving during the unfavourable season as seeds or spores. Nevertheless, some annual herbs are aquatics, (e.g. Lemna spp., Utricularia spp.), or hygrophilous (e.g. Fuirena ciliaris, Xyris spp.), ecologically similar to hydrophytes and helophytes, and this classification only as therophytes is inadequate. Some authors such as Braun-Blanquet (1979) proposed the name hydrotherophytes to the annual aquatic plants, but the ones from wet or swampy environments are sometimes omitted. others, as Denny (1985) suggest for plants from aquatic and wet environments classifications based only on their position in the water. As the terminology in these groups is not uniform, in this work the aquatic annual plants will be referred to as aquatic therophytes (ThA) and the plants from wet or swampy environments as hygrophylous therophytes (ThH).
three specialisations in the biological types are also considered: climbing, epiphyty and parasitism. So, within the biological types considered, those specialisations are pointed out by the addition of a supplementary character to the respective abbreviation: C -climber; E -epiphyte; P -parasite (e.g.: mPhC: climbing mesophanerophyte; mphE: epiphytic microphanerophyte; GeoP: parasitic geophyte). the inclusion of this character between brackets means that the attribute is facultative (e.g.: mPh(C): mesophanerophyte that may or may not be a climber).
Species chorology the distribution of each species is important in vegetation and phytogeographic studies. in the flora of Guinea-Bissau species show different distributions: from pluricontinental and cosmopolitans to species restricted to the Guineo-Congolian or Sudanian regions. in the species chorology the following distributions are considered: i) species with pluricontinental distribution AAt: amphi-Atlantic -species occurring in the coastal regions on both sides of the Atlantic ocean, in Africa and America; AfAm: afroamerican -species distributed in the tropical or subtropical regions of Africa and America; synonym of afro-neotropical; Pal: paleotropical -species occurring in the tropical or subtropical regions of the old World (Africa, Asia, Europe and oceania); Pan: pantropical -species occurring in the tropical or subtropical regions all over the world; Cos: cosmopolitan -species distributed all over the world; ii) African linking and wide range species AfT: afrotropical -species distributed in the tropical and/or subtropical regions of the African continent; GC/SZ: Guineo-Congolian and Sudano-zambezian -species occurring in the Guineo-Congolian and Sudano-zambezian phytogeographic regions; GZ: Guineo-zambezian -linking element between the Guinean sub-region and the zambezian phytogeographic region; SG: Sudano-Guinean -linking element between the Sudanian phytogeographic region and the Guinean sub-region; SGC: Sudano-Guineo-Congolian -linking element between the Sudanian and the Guineo-Congolian phytogeographic regions; SS: Sahelo-Sudanian -linking element between the Sahelian and Sudanian phytogeographic regions; SZ: Sudano-zambezian -linking element between the Sudanian and zambezian phytogeographic regions. iii) species with limited distributions GC: Guineo-Congolian -species from the Guineo-Congolian phytogeographic region; G: Guinean -species confined to the Guinean phytogeographic sub-region; S: Sudanian -species from the Sudanian regional centre of endemism.
For plants whose present distribution is different from their autochthonous range, the reference of the present distribution is followed by the original range between brackets (e.g.: AfAm(Am) -plant native to America, introduced in Africa; Pan(Sz) -plant native to the Sudano-zambezian regions, nowadays introduced all over the tropics). the following abbreviations are used for the regions of origin: Am -America; Ar -Arabia; As -Asia; In -india; EAf -East Africa; Mad -Madagascar.

Distribution in the territory of Guinea-Bissau
in this work, Guinea-Bissau has been divided into four main regions, represented by their respective initials: North, South, East and the Bijagós archipelago, whose limits are shown in Fig. 1. these regions are based on the administrative division of the country. The Gabú and Bafatá administrative regions are included in the East; the Oio, Cacheu and Biombo administrative regions in the North; the Quínara and tombali in the South and the Bijagós archipelago in the region with the same name. The Bolama Island, being closer to the continental land than to the Bijagós archipelago, is included in the South region.

Phenology
Data related to flowering and fruiting seasons, collected from the herbarium material at LiSC. information on the months in which the species was collected is presented in roman numbers (flowering -fl; fruiting -fr; simultaneously with flowers and fruits -fl&fr). When there are enough data, a temporal sequence for each phenologic condition is established (e.g.: fl: i-vi -flowering from January to June), otherwise only the months in which the species was observed in each phenologic condition are indicated. For pteridophytes, the months when spore production structures were observed are referred to -sp.
Vernacular Names (V.N.) Names of the plants in the several ethnical languages of the country, as well as in Creole, French and Portuguese, obtained mainly from the herbarium sheets and from Espírito Santo (1963). the writing of the vernacular names for plants in ethnical languages has some difficulties due to the transcription of languages without an established spelling. So, different collectors can spell the same vernacular name in different ways. in such cases we tried to choose the more common spelling or, if this was not possible, two or more options are shown. the vernacular names found for each species are sorted alphabetically by ethnical groups and inside those alphabetically by name. After each vernacular name or group of vernacular names, a two-letter abbreviation identifies the respective language, as follows: ba balanta ff futa-fula nl nalu bb bambará fl felupe oi oinca bf biafada fr fula foro pj padjadinca bn banhum fs Senegalese felupe pl peláè bj bijagó fu fula pp papel bm balanta-mané ja jacanca pt portuguese cb cobiana mc mancanha (brame) sr saracolé cr creole md mandinga ss sosso cs creole -from Senegal Flora mj manjaco su suará fc french mn mansoanca (cunante) td tanda AnACARdIACeAe -8 genera, 2 introduced; 10 species, 2 introduced and sub-spontaneous FWTA 2nd ed. 1: 726 -739; ePFAT 2: 223 -230; FIS 1: 237-289. A family of woody plants, mainly tropical. The 8 autochthonous species are shrubs and small to medium-sized trees, found mainly in woodland and savannah woodland and less frequently in forest, riparian forest, river banks and palm groves. The two introduced and sub-spontanous species are cultivated and have a great economic importance. Anacardium occidentale, the cashew tree, is one of the major crops in the country and the cashew nut is probably the major export product. Mangifera indica, the mango tree, is planted in and near the villages all over the country and its fruit is one of the most consumed. ii-iv; fr: ii-vi V.n.: katchá (ba); buadjú (bf); cadjú (cr); ialaguei (ff); udaracassá (fs); cadjudje (fu); cadjuo (md); ialiké (nl); caju (pt); ialiké, kusso (ss). Introduced species, cultivated and nowadays subspontaneous, native to Central America and Antilles. Cashew production is an important economic activity in the country. 148. Small tree or shrub, in woodland, savannah woodland and palm groves. mph -AfT -N, S, E, B -fl: xi-v; fl&fr: x-iv;
CARyoPHyLLACeAe -2 genera; 7 species and varieties FWTA 2nd ed. 1: 129 -132; ePFAT 1: 82 -86; FIS 2: 239-257. A large family of herbaceous plants, widespread but more diverse in the temperate and warm regions of the northern Hemisphere, especially in the Mediterranean basin. The seven taxa found in Guinea-Bissau are annual or perennial herbs occurring in several kinds of dry, wet and moderately saline habitats, such as woodland, savannah woodland, palm groves, herbaceous steppe, mangrove borders, coastal sands, river banks and edges of small lakes and temporary pools. Some of them are also ruderal and adventive in cultures. A pantropical family of trees, shrubs and lianas. Combretum with 18 autochthonous taxa, and Terminalia with 5, are the most representative genera of this family in the country. Most of the species, principally of shrubs and small trees are found in woodland and savannah woodland. Conversely, the woody climbers are more common in forest, riparian forest and palm groves. Laguncularia racemosa is a typical mangrove species and Conocarpus erectus and Terminalia scutifera are found in mangrove borders. A species common in West Africa, Anogeissus leiocarpus, was not yet recorded in the country.  (1832) 276, t. 63 Tree or shrub in woodland, savannah woodland and wet grass savannah; also in rainfed crops. mPh -S -n, S, e, B -fr: i-iv V.n.: fadi (ba); bulofôr (bf); karkone, macete, macite (cr); djamba-catam (ff); bóde, bói (fu); bolóbô (mc); hólô-fôro (md); betáli, betcháli, betèlèdje, braqui, têlêjê (mj); n'kone (nl); n'túlam, untulam (pp). One of the largest families of flowering plants includes herbs, shrubs and small trees from all over the world. In the flora of Guinea-Bissau most of its species are herbs, annual or perennial. Only Microglossa pyrifolia, Vernonia colorata and V. tenoreana are shrubs. Most of the species seems to prefer open and sunny habitats, dry as woodland and savannah woodland, wet as river banks and wet grass savannah or saline as mangrove borders and coastal sands. Several species are ruderals and adventives in rainfed cultures and flooded rice fields. The two introduced and naturalized species, both native to America, are also ruderals and adventives in rainfed cultures. Kunth (1820) 20 Perennial herb, ruderal, naturalized in savannah woodland, palm groves and wet grass savannah; also in disturbed areas. Hem -Pan(Am) -S, E, B -fl: x, xi; fl&fr:

Connarus africanus
Some ones are also ruderals and adventives in flooded rice fields and rainfed crops. Calycobolus heudelotii is a woody climber in forest, woodland and riparian forest; Cuscuta australis is a parasite and Bonamia thunbergiana and Stictocardia beraviensis are herbaceous climbers in forest, woodland, riparian forest and river banks. Ipomoea quamoclit was probably introduced as ornamental, being nowadays naturalized.

Ricinus communis L. (1753) 1007
Large perennial shrublike herb, cultivated; subspontanous in disturbed areas. Ch -Pan(Pal) -N, E, B -fl: i; fr: i, iv, ix V.n.: metaconhe (ba); buorai (bf); djague-djague (cr); dakdak (cs); djácula (ff); entôgai, torra, tumbessume (fs); bupurura (mj); rícino (pt). Species with medicinal and ornamental use, probably native to Africa or Asia, nowadays cosmopolitan after introduction. Uapaca togoensis Pax (1904) 371 Tree, in savannah woodland, palm groves, riparian forest and on river banks. mPh -SG -N, S, E -fl: ix-ii; fr: x-i V.n.: mantchampo (ff); iála-guei (md); bichime, bissime (pp); iágalê (ss). A large family of trees and shrubs, widespread in the tropics and subtropics, but also with some species in temperate regions. The eight species in the country are shrubs and small trees occurring mainly in riparian forest and on river banks and some of them in forest, wet grass savannah and savannah woodland too. A cosmopolitan family of annual or perennial herbs, with some shrubs and small trees too. The six species in the country are annual herbs and most of them seem to prefer wet habitats, such as wet grass savannah, on river banks and small lakes. Some of them are also ruderals. Sebaea oligantha is a plant without chlorophyll, occurring in the forest understorey.  (1877) 68.
Iodes cf. liberica Stapf (1906b)  (1848) t. 778. Shrub or woody climber, in forest, riparian forest, on river banks. mph -AfT -N, S, E -fl: i-iv; fr: ii, iv IRVInGIACeAe -2 genera; 2 species  A large cosmopolitan family of herbs and small shrubs. Among the 27 native species in the country, eight are annual herbs, six are perennials and 13 are shrubs, or woody climbers or trees, found mostly in savannah woodland and wet grass savannah and less frequently in riparian forest, small lake margins, woodland and forest. Several ones are also ruderals and adventives in dry drops and flooded rice fields. The three introduced species were cultivated and are now naturalized in several kinds of dry and wet habitats. Alston (1926) 298 Annual herb, in savannah woodland and wet grass savannah. Th -G -N, E -fl&fr: ix, xii Haumaniastrum buettneri (Gürke) J.K. Morton (1962) 267 Bas.: Acrocephalus buettneri Gürke (1894)  Shrub, in forest, thicket, woodland, savannah woodland, riparian forest, river banks, palm groves and wet grass savannah. mph -SGC -N, S, E, B -fl: iv, vi, xi, xii; fl&fr:

Vitex ferruginea
LAURACeAe -1 genera; 1 species FWTA 2nd ed. 1: 56-58; ePFAT 1: 41-43; FIS 4: 237-243. A large family of trees, shrubs and some parasitic climbers, most diverse in Southeast Asia and tropical America but distributed in all the tropics, subtropics and some genera also in temperate regions. A small paleotropical family with only one genus of trees, shrubs and herbs.
Leea guineensis G.don (1831)  A mainly tropical and subtropical sub-family of trees, shrubs, climbers and herbs. Most of the 30 autochthonous or presumably autochthonous species in the country are woody plants. Seventeen are trees, five are small trees or shrubs, one is a shrub and two are shrubs or woody climbers, occurring mainly in forest, woodland and savannah woodland, and less frequently in palm groves, riparian forest and on river banks, wet grass savannah, mangrove borders and coastal sands. The five herbaceous species are all annuals, four of them from the genus Chamaechrista. They are found mostly in woodland, savannah woodland and wet grass savannah, as well as adventive in rainfed cultures, flooded rice fields and disturbed places. the three introduced species are trees and shrubs occurring mainly in woodland, palm groves and savannah woodland as well as in rainfed crops and disturbed areas.

Crotalaria lathyroides
x-iii V.n.: d'jadjofe (fs) (but this name seems to be given to most small plants).
(1825a) 419 Shrub or tree in riparian forest, palm groves, on river banks, small lakes and temporary pools; also in flooded rice fields. mPh -AfAm -N, S, E, B -fl: xii-iv; fr: vi-xii V.n.: dêssa, dessáha, déxa (ba); antante, benganta (bf); ebontonton (bj); mangantem (cr); djégo (ff); djecudjecumádje, d'jega, d'jego, mangantum,(fu); nitichiba, n'tisebá, sibá (nl). Harms (1901) 90 Herbaceous perennial climber, in savannah woodland and riparian forest. A small cosmopolitan family of carnivorous herbs found in water and moist habitats, rooted in the substrate, free-floating or sometimes epiphytic. The 10 species in the country are small herbs found in wet grass savannah, rivers, small lakes, temporary pools and also in flooded rice fields. A small family of herbs and some shrubs and woody climbers, predominantly temperate but also present in tropical regions. A family of trees, shrubs and climbers found in the tropical, subtropical and temperate regions of the world. The 10 species found in the country occur mainly in woodland, forest and wet places. A.Chev. (1908) 47 Tree, in forest, woodland, savannah woodland and palm groves. mPh -SG -N, S, E, B -fl: iv; fr: i, iv, x V.n.: tagare (fu); bintié (mj).

Strychnos splendens Gilg (1893) 571
Woody climber or shrub, in forest, thicket, riparian forest and river banks, palm groves and mangrove borders.   A small family of trees, shrubs and herbs, widely distributed but more diverse in the tropics. Most of the species are found in aquatic or semi-aquatic habitats, such as wet grass savannah, rivers and small lakes as well as in flooded rice fields. A family of climbers, shrubs, trees and some perennial herbs, pantropical but more diverse in South America. Most of the species in the country are found in wet places. Guill. & Perr. (1831) 123, t. 29 Syn.: A. hirundo S.Moore (1880) 1. Shrub or woody climber, in forest, thicket, woodland, savannah woodland, palm groves and river banks. mph/mPhC -G -N, S, E, B -fl: xii-iv; fl&fr:
Coelocaryon oxycarpum Stapf (1909c) 164 Tree, in riparian forest and river banks. A medium sized family of trees, shrubs and climbers, widely distributed from warm temperate to tropical regions. Gilg (1901) 95 Shrub or woody climber, in forest, woodland and savannah woodland. A large family of trees and shrubs, widely distributed in the tropics and subtropics but more diverse in Australia and America. The two native species in Guinea-Bissau occur mainly in wet habitats. Most of the introduced ones have edible fruits. There are probably several Eucalyptus species, but they have no economic importance in the country as timber. i, v, x V.N.: n'ocasso, nopêdê (bj); pó-branco (cr); sotõno, trafidin-tera (cs); butote (dj); cadjô (ff); culelam-ô (md).

Embelia rowlandii
nyCTAGInACeAe -2 genera, 1 introduced; 4 species, 1 introduced, sub-spontaneous FWTA 2nd ed. 1: 176 -178; ePFAT 1: 117-118; FIS 6: 569 -596. A family of herbs, shrubs and trees, pantropical but more diverse in America. All the species in the country are perennial herbs, the native ones are found mostly in wet places and the introduced one is cultivated as ornamental.  A family of trees, shrubs and some herbs, pantropical but more diverse in tropical South America. The woody species occurring in the country are found chiefly in woodland, savannah woodland and riparian forest and the herbaceous ones in aquatic and wet places. Lophira lanceolata Tiegh. ex Keay (1954b) 487 Tree, in woodland, savannah woodland and coastal sands. mPh -SGC -N, S, E, B -fl: xii-ii; fl&fr: xii; fr: iv, v V.n.: p'fancha (ba); udoma (bj); mené (cr); malanga, marnenáe, p'bancar (ff); ledalbodeel, malanga, marnenáe, p'bancar (fu); mufó (pp); mené (ss). A family of trees, shrubs and lianas, pantropical but more diverse in the old World Tropics. The four species native to the country are shrubs or small trees found mainly in forest, woodland, savannah woodland and riparian forest. Shrub, in river banks. nph -GC -S Species known only from bibliographic reference (Malaisse 1996).
oLeACeAe -2 genera; 4 species FWTA 2nd ed. 2: 47-51; ePFAT 4: 61-66. A family of trees, shrubs and woody climbers, almost cosmopolitan. Three of the four species in the country occur mainly in forest, woodland and savannah woodland and the fourth, Jasminum dichotomum, is found in wet places. (1804)   A family of herbs, often aquatic, and some shrubs and trees; cosmopolitan but more diverse in southwestern north America. The native species occur in wet habitats, like rivers, wet grass savannah, small lakes and temporary pools as well as in flooded rice fields. The introduced one has ruderal traits.  Brenan (1953) 164. Perennial herb, in wet grass savannah and small lakes. Hel -AfT -E -fl: xii V.n.: ruta, rutn (ba).

PoLyGonACeAe -3 genera; 4 species and forms
FWTA 2nd ed. 1: 137-142; ePFAT 1: 90 -92. A large family of herbs, shrubs, trees and climbers, cosmopolitan but more diverse in the northern temperate regions. Three perennial herbs and a shrub are autochthonous in Guinea-Bissau, being found in wet habitats, such as river and small lake margins, wet grass savannah, small lakes and temporary pools and in flooded rice fields. An almost cosmopolitan family of annual and perennial herbs or subshrubs, usually with more or less succulent leaves. The two species found in Guinea-Bissau have a wide distribution range and occur mainly in disturbed places.

Portulaca oleracea L. (1753) 445
Annual herb, in rainfed crops and other disturbed places. Th -Cos -N, S, E -fl: ix, ii; fr: iv, ix V.n.: ensámelata (ba); baldroega (cr); dépè (fu); belôluga (mc); umbintchim (mj); n'bossékintã (nl); beldroega (pt). A large family of herbs, shrubs and some climbers, cosmopolitan but centered in the temperate to cold regions of both hemispheres. A small pantropical family of shrubs, trees and climbers found mainly in tropical rain forests and mangroves. The three Rhizophora species are important in the mangrove communities, being R. mangle the more frequent. Anisophyllea laurina is found mainly in forest and Cassipourea congoensis in savannah woodland.
One of the largest families of flowering plants, comprising trees, shrubs, climbers and herbs in a total of more than 7000 species. even with a cosmopolitan distribution, the majority of the species are tropical and subtropical; in the temperate and cold areas only herbaceous Rubiaceae occur. The 90 autochthonous species in the country cover all ranges of plant habits and almost all kinds of habitats. Coffea liberica, cultivated, seems to be autochthonous in the region.  (1876) 171, t. 24 Shrub or small tree, cultivated for its seeds (coffee). mph -Pan -n -fr: i V.n.: cafeeiro (pt). This species seems to be autochthonous in West Africa.

Lippia chevalieri
Phyla nodiflora (L.) Greene (1899)  A family of herbs, shrubs and some trees, cosmopolitan but more diverse in the temperate regions. The two species in the country are shrubs found mainly in forest, woodland and riparian forest.  A small family of trees, shrubs and climbers, native to tropical Central and South America and West Africa. Mildbr. (1913) 549 Tree, in forest or woodland. mPh -GC -S Species known only from bibliographic reference (Malaisse 1996).
A small family of aquatic or wetland rhizomatous herbs, cosmopolitan but more diverse in the New World. The three species in the flora of Guinea-Bissau are found in rivers, wet grass savannah and temporary pools. A large family, cosmopolitan but more diverse in the tropics, mostly of rhizomatous terrestrial herbs but also with some climbers, epiphytes and aquatic members. The native species in the country are perennial herbs and herbaceous climbers found in forest, palm groves, woodland, riparian forest, savannah woodland, thicket, coastal sands, wet grass savannah, rivers and small lakes. A large cosmopolitan family of annual and perennial rhizomatous herbs, most of them growing in damp sites. It is also one of the largest families in the flora of Guinea-Bissau, whose species are found in a wide range of habitats, as forest, woodland, palm groves, savannah woodland, wet grass savannah, herbaceous steppe of the lateritic cuirasses, mangrove borders and coastal sands, river banks and beds, small lakes and temporary pools; also in rainfed crops, flooded rice fields and other disturbed places.

Dioscorea preussii Pax
fr: xi-i V.N.: n'paba (umpaba) (ba); etóco-n'sanha (mc); dandam-ô, malá (md); bombôpale (mj); etété, etóe (pp). A family of large rhizomatous herbs, trees and shrubs, distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical regions, mainly in arid and semiarid habitats. (1874) 164 Syn.: D. perrottetii Baker (1874) 165. Shrub or small tree, in forest, woodland, savannah woodland, riparian forest, on river banks, palm groves and mangrove borders; also in flooded rice fields. mPh -SGC -N, S, B -fl: ii-v; fr: iii-viii V.n.: betenhe (mj); taga (pp). (1875b) Meikle ex Brenan (1950) 231 Annual herb, in wet grass savannah. A very large cosmopolitan family, mainly of herbs but with some woody plants (bamboos). It is also one of the largest families in the flora of Guinea-Bissau, occurring in all kinds of habitats and being dominant in some of them, as savannah woodland, wet grass savannah, herbaceous steppe of lateritic cuirasses and in some small lakes and temporary pools. Several grasses are also adventives and weeds in rainfed crops and flooded rice fields. There are several cultivated grasses in the country, including the rice, base of local food, and the maize. Three native grasses (Pennisetum glaucum, Sorghum bicolor and Digitaria exilis) are cropped as cereals. Oryza glaberrima, cultivated in some West African countries, does not seem to be grown here. Stapf (1920) 625 Annual herb, in palm groves and wet grass savannah; also in flooded rice fields, rainfed crops and other disturbed places. Th -AfT -N, S, E, B -fl&fr: vi-xii V.n.: lábar, n'tchungo-blande (ba); inhamosso, quevel-faró, quewel, qwel (fu); bomdium (md).

Pennisetum pedicellatum Trin. (1834) 184
Annual herb, in woodland, savannah woodland, palm groves and wet grass savannah; also in rainfed crops and other disturbed places.

Rhytachne gracilis
A small cosmopolitan family of small to minute aquatic herbs, free-swimming, floating or submerged. A very large family of terrestrial or epiphytic perennial herbs, cosmopolitan but more diverse in the tropical regions. Many orchids are cultivated as ornamentals. Among the 29 species recorded in the country, seven are epiphytes on trees, mainly in wet or shady places and the remaining occur in a wide range of habitats, as woodland, palm groves, riparian forest, savannah woodland and wet grass savannah as well as in flooded rice fields.

Lemna aequinoctialis
Polystachya saccata (Finet) Rolfe (1918) 107 Bas.: Epiphora saccata Finet (1911)  A very large family of trees, shrubs and lianas, widespread in tropical to warm temperate regions. The seven spontaneous species in the country occur in a wide range of habitats: forest, woodland, palm groves, riparian forest, river banks, wet grass savannah and mangrove borders. The oil palm, Elaeis guineensis is cultivated for its fruits and its timber and sap are also used. Three other palms are also used: Borassus aethiopum as timber in roofs, Calammus deerratus and Raphia palma-pinus to make furniture and handicrafts. Hyphaene thebaica and Laccosperma secundiflorum seem to be rare.
PAndAnACeAe -1 genus; 1 species FWTA 2nd ed. 3: 170; ePFAT 3: 104 -105; FIS 10: 9 -14 (working document). A large family of trees, shrubs and climbers, paleotropical and paleo-subtropical. The only species found seems to be endemic to the country. Huynh (1987)  A small pantropical family of rhizomatous floating, floating-leaved or emergent freshwater aquatic herbs.  A large pantropical family of rhizomatous perennial herbs, most of them found in the understorey of forests and woodlands. One of the five autochthonous species is probably cultivated and the others occur in woodland and savannah woodland.