Suchergebnisse

SummaryThe status of Madagascar's plant diversity is briefly reviewed, together with a consideration of the key threats and approaches used in conserving this unique flora. The role of the Kew Madagascar Conservation Centre is reviewed in relation to species discovery and conservation.

Summary. Rondeletia buxifolia Vahl (Rubiaceae) a critically endangered shrub, restricted to the Caribbean Island of Montserrat, is described and illustrated. Its distribution and conservation status are reviewed.

Summary.  This paper outlines the work of the Madagascar Threatened Plants Project(TPP), partly financed by the Friends of Kew. Several species of orchids, palms and succulents are being studied and propagated as trial subjects. At the same time funds are used to improve the infrastructure of Malagasy Institutions actively involved in plant conservation, and to train post‐graduate students who will be the next generation of Malagasy botanists, conservationists and horticulturists.

SummaryVarronia rupicola (Urb.) Britton (Boraginaceae) a Critically Endangered shrub, restricted to three Caribbean islands – Puerto Rico, Vieques and Anegada—is described and illustrated. Its conservation status and distribution are reviewed.

Originally described by Charles Frederick Millspaugh in 1900, Salvia caymanensis Millsp. & Uline, the cayman sage, is known only from Grand Cayman, a Caribbean UK Overseas Territory; it was thought extinct in the wild until its rediscovery in 2007. Although the species is secure ex situ, its in situ future remains uncertain and it has been red listed as critically endangered. S. caymanensis is illustrated, its botanical history described and conservation measures discussed.

SummaryVachellia anegadensis (Britton) Seigler & Ebinger, a spiny tree endemic to the British Virgin Islands (BVI), a Caribbean UK Overseas Territory, is described and illustrated. It is one of the four known endemic plant species to occur in the BVI, an archipelago of only 153 km2. It has been assessed as Endangered (EN) based on the IUCN categories and criteria. Its botanical history and conservation status are described, and ex situ propagation discussed.

SummaryRecent studies showed that a group of Hypertelis species was neither related to the type of that genus or to other members of Molluginaceae. As a result, these species were segregated as a new genus in its own family, Kewaceae. The St Helenan endemic Kewa acida (Hook.) Christenh. is illustrated here and its relationships, status, cultivation and conservation are discussed.

Biodiversity conservation in Lebanon ought to be guided by practical assessment tools in order to promote conservation efforts amid destructive and profit driven urban and industrial expansion. The challenge for national conservation scientists, however, is to develop such tools while reconciling between scientific 'rigor' and pressing national realities. Those include rapid habitat loss, limited human and financial resources, and the fact that biodiversity is a low national priority compared to other social, political, and economic issues. It is in this context that we propose a rapid management strategy guide based on a habitat assessment tool for riparian ecosystems (which are typically threatened in Lebanon). The proposed riparian habitat assessment tool (RiHAT) consists of a habitat condition index based on twelve indicators grouped under two attributes, floristic and lndscape.

SummaryMetastelma anegadense is a twining perennial vine endemic to the British Virgin Islands, with its largest populations on the low‐lying coralline island of Anegada. It is vulnerable in all sites to changes in land use for tourism and development, grazing pressures, and to elevated sea levels and more intensive hurricanes which are likely with global climate change. It has been assessed as Critically Endangered, the IUCN's highest level threat of extinction.