Table Of ContentThe PlanTs of
Sudan South Sudan
and
an annotated checklist
edited and compiled by
iain darbyshire, maha Kordofani, imadeldin Farag, Ruba candiga and Helen pickering
© The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 2015
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First published in 2015 by
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew,
Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3AB, UK
www.kew.org
Distributed on behalf of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in North America by the
University of Chicago Press, 1427 East 60th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
ISBN 978-1-84246-473-1
eISBN 978-1-84246-517-2
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Design and layout by Christine Beard
Kew Publishing
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Front cover images: upper – Arbaat Valley, Red Sea Hills, Sudan, April 2011 (photo.: Imadeldin Farag);
lower – Boma Plateau near Towot, South Sudan, April 2012 (photo.: Aaron Davis, RBG Kew).
Back cover map of Sudan and South Sudan: base map retrieved from
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Contents
List of figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .iv
List of tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
Forewords
Prof . Essam Ibrahim Warrag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .vi
Prof . Sebsebe Demissew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ix
1 . Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2 . Notes on some of the principal collectors
in the Sudan region and their historical setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3 . Conservation priority species in the Sudan Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
4 . The Checklist: explanatory notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
5 . The Checklist: statistical summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
6 . The Checklist of Gymnosperms and Angiosperms
in Sudan and South Sudan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Bibliography for the study of plants and their habitats
in the Sudan region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389
iii
LIST oF FIGuRES
List of figures
Figure 1.1: satellite image of Sudan and South Sudan showing the location of
the nine towns and cities for which weather data are presented in figure 1.2......... 4
Figure 1.2: mean monthly temperature and monthly rainfall for nine towns
and cities across Sudan and South Sudan ................................... 5
Figure 1.3: a summary of the vegetation of Sudan (adapted from Wickens 1976)....... 7
Figure 3.1: Panicum bambusiculme ........................................ 43
Figure 3.2: Umbilicus paniculiformis........................................ 44
Figure 3.3: Dorstenia annua.............................................. 45
Figure 3.4: Pandiaka elegantissima and Acalypha hochstetteriana ................. 46
Figure 3.5: Heliotropium sudanicum and Nepeta sudanica ....................... 47
Figure 3.6: Lindernia sudanica ............................................ 48
Figure 3.7: Brachystephanus sudanicus...................................... 49
Figure 3.8: Lepidagathis medusae and Dicliptera lanceolata ...................... 50
Figure 3.9: Pseudognaphalium marranum and Bidens chippii..................... 51
Figure 4.1: map of Sudan and South Sudan showing the subdivision into
the nine checklist regions .............................................. 59
iv
LIST oF TABLES
List of tables
Table 3.1: species occurring in Sudan and South Sudan that are listed
on the IUCN Red List (www.iucn.redlist.org) in any category other
than Least Concern (LC) ............................................... 30
Table 3.2: endemic and near-endemic taxa in Sudan and South Sudan .............. 32
Table 3.3: additional potential conservation priority species in Sudan and
South Sudan that are not endemic and have not so far been assessed
under the categories and criteria of IUCN (2001)............................. 36
Table 4.1: the primary literature sources for the checklist, cited where
relevant for all accepted names and synonymy .............................. 55
Table 4.2: additional notable literature sources cited in the checklist,
with notes on when they are cited ....................................... 56
Table 4.3: the nine regions of Sudan and South Sudan applied in the
checklist and their relation to the historical and current subdivisions
of the two countries.................................................. 58
Table 5.1: summary statistics for the angiosperm and gymnosperm
richness in Sudan and South Sudan....................................... 63
Table 5.2: a comparison of the total angiosperm and gymnosperm
richness in Sudan, South Sudan and neighbouring Floras ...................... 64
Table 5.3: plant taxon (species + infrapecific taxa) species richness
per region of Sudan and South Sudan..................................... 65
Table 5.4: the ten most species-rich plant families in Sudan....................... 66
Table 5.5: the ten most species-rich plant families in South Sudan.................. 66
Table 5.6: a comparison of the ten most species-rich families for selected
Floras of northeast and east Africa ........................................ 67
Table 5.7: the ten most species-rich plant genera in Sudan, South Sudan,
the Flora of Tropical East Africa region and the Flora of Ethiopia & Eritrea .......... 68
v
FoREWoRDS
Foreword
by Professor Essam Ibrahim Warrag
It is a great pleasure to see the publication of this checklist for the flora of Sudan and South
Sudan and to write the foreword for Sudan. The flora of Sudan represents part of our wealth
and heritage, it is a source of pride that should be documented, managed and conserved for
future generations. Sudan covers a vast area of tropical northeast Africa, ranging from desert
in the north to savannah woodland in the south and contains a diverse flora. The Sudan flora
has always been important for people as a source for livestock grazing, fodder, construction
material, firewood, food and traditional medicine. Furthermore, it has vast environmental
value in sustaining and determining ecosystems and biodiversity.
This complete checklist of the flora that covers all of the higher plants known in Sudan
is an outstanding contribution that provides a baseline reference for future botanical and
conservation measures in Sudan. The comprehensive listing of species with accepted
scientific names, relevant synonymy, habit and habitat notes will have many uses: aids in
identification and correct naming of species are essential resources for biodiversity estimates
and biogeographic studies. The preliminary list of threatened plant species will provide
conservationists, land management agencies and relevant government departments with key
information on potential conservation priorities.
I welcome this important addition to our knowledge of plant biodiversity in Sudan, and
at the same time I want to congratulate Dr Iain Darbyshire, Dr Helen Pickering, Dr Maha
Kordofani, Ruba Candiga, Imadeldin Ahmed Abdalla Farag and the many individuals and
institutions, especially the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, who made it possible.
Prof. Essam Ibrahim Warrag
Director, Institute of Environmental Studies
University of Khartoum
Khartoum
Sudan
vi
FoREWoRDS
Foreword
by Professor Sebsebe Demissew
With the completion of the Flora of Djibouti in 1994, the Flora of Somalia in 2006, the Flora
of Ethiopia and Eritrea in 2009 and the Flora of Tropical East Africa in 2012, many of us were
looking for a modern source of botanical information on the floras of Sudan and South Sudan
to complete the knowledge gap in the flora of Northeastern and Eastern Africa. Thus the
completion of this checklist is a most welcome development.
The checklist of the plants of Sudan and South Sudan covers all taxa of seed plants:
the flowering plants (angiosperms) and gymnosperms occurring in the two countries. It
includes 183 families with 1,351 genera and 3,969 species (4096 taxa). The system of the
family circumscription for the angiosperms follows the latest classification of the Angiosperm
Phylogeny Group III produced in 2009 which is also being regularly updated. The new treatment
shows that the 10 most diverse plant families in order of rank in the two countries combined
are Leguminosae (Fabaceae), Poaceae, Asteraceae, Cyperaceae, Rubiaceae, Malvaceae,
Acanthaceae, Euphorbiaceae and Lamiaceae.
Although, as expected, the checklist does not include descriptions of each species, the life-
form (tree, shrub, climber and herb) is documented. In addition, relevant synonyms together
with the relevant literature are provided, including reference to the completed Floras of
adjacent regions, the Flora Ethiopia & Eritrea (FEE) and the Flora of Tropical East Africa (FTEA),
which can provide more detailed information on each species including descriptions.
The checklist also provides the distribution of each of the species within Sudan and South
Sudan where nine regions are identified. The first six: NS (Northern Sudan), RS (Red Sea), DAR
(Darfur), KOR (Kordofan), CS (Central Sudan) and ES (Eastern Sudan) occur in the Sudan and
the remaining three: BAG (Bahr el Ghazal), UN ((Greater) Upper Nile) and EQU (Equatoria)
occur in South Sudan. In addition, the distribution of each species in tropical and southern
Africa and beyond is recorded.
Within the checklist, species of high conservation concern are also highlighted and their
IUCN status assigned using the IUCN (2001) Categories as DD – Data Deficient; NT – Near
Threatened; VU – Vulnerable; EN – Endangered and CR – Critically Endangered, or assigning
an ‘RD’ Category for potential globally threatened species.
As exemplified in other modern floras, there is a specimen citation which is important in
helping to ascertain the identity of each species and infraspecific taxon. In cases where the
species occurs in both Sudan and South Sudan, two specimens are cited, one for each country.
It is hoped that the publication of this checklist will stimulate further botanical research and
documentation both in the botanical community at large and within the two countries. The
checklist will also help development projects in the two countries and regional organizations
such as the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in Eastern Africa, created
in 1996, who coordinate activities that affect the seven countries of IGAD (Djibouti, Eritrea,
Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda), politically and scientifically.
vii
FoREWoRDS
The checklist is a product of a joint collaboration between scientists working in Sudan
(University of Khartoum), South Sudan (University of Juba) and the Royal Botanic Gardens,
Kew, which will undoubtedly strengthen the relationship between these institutions and
promote knowledge transfer and future collaboration.
I would like to express my strong appreciation to the authors for their dedication to
providing this comprehensive checklist.
Prof. Sebsebe Demissew
Keeper, National Herbarium and Leader of the Ethiopian Flora Project (1996–2010)
Department of Plant Biology and Biodiversity Management
College of Natural Sciences
Addis Ababa University
Ethiopia
viii
ACKNoWLEDGEMENTS
Acknowledgements
Completion of this checklist has only been possible thanks to the considerable support from
the staff and facilities of the Herbarium at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, for which we
would particularly like to thank Professor David Mabberley, the Keeper of the Herbarium at
the commencement of the project, and Professor David Simpson who saw its completion. The
continuous support and encouragement throughout the project of Dr Abdelazim Ali Ahmed,
head of the Department of Botany at the University of Khartoum, is highly appreciated. We
acknowledge the support of the College of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies at
the University of Juba.
The concept of the checklist was initiated by Dr Loutfy Boulos from Cairo University and Dr
Henk Beentje at Kew. We thank them both for allowing us to take their ideas forward and to
build on some of the early drafts of the family accounts they produced. Dr Shahina Ghazanfar
at Kew is also thanked for her very useful involvement in the early stages of development of
the checklist. We are hugely grateful to George Gosline for his considerable input through
the creation of the database and his unstinting help with many of the design features of
the publication. We are grateful to the volunteer support of Robert Vanderstricht who also
contributed to aspects of the database design as well as writing several family accounts.
We are indebted to Sebsebe Demissew of Addis Ababa University, Ib Friis of the University
of Copenhagen and Kaj Vollesen, Mike Lock and Roger Polhill, all retired staff members from
the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, for their wide range of helpful information and support
throughout the project.
We would like to thank the many botanists who provided specialist advice on plant
family treatments and identifications. From the Kew Herbarium, we particularly thank:
Henk Beentje (Asteraceae), Gill Challen (Euphorbiaceae and Phyllanthaceae), Martin Cheek
(various families), Aaron Davis (Rubiaceae), David Goyder (Apocynaceae), Timothy Harris
(Gentianaceae), Nicholas Hind (Asteraceae/Compositae), Gwil Lewis and Brian Schrire
(Leguminosae), Maria Vorontsova (Poaceae), Odile Weber (Aloe in Xanthorrhoeaceae) and
Paul Wilkin (Dioscoreaceae and other monocots). From the University of Khartoum, we
particularly wish to thank Haytham Hashim Gibreel for his major contribution to several family
accounts (Aizoaceae, Amaranthaceae, Clusiaceae, Gisekiaceae, Hypericaceae, Limeaceae,
Lophiocarpaceae, Molluginaceae, Nyctaginaceae and Phytolaccaceae). In addition, we are
grateful to Zachary Rogers from Missouri Botanical Garden (Thymelaeaceae); Eberhard Fisher
from University of Koblenz (Scrophulariaceae and allies); Olivier Lachenaud from Université
Libre de Bruxelles (Psychotria in Rubiaceae); David Johnson from Ohio Wesleyan University
(Xylopia in Annonaceae) and Marc Sosef from the National Botanic Garden of Belgium
(Ochnaceae) for their expert advice.
We are grateful to Juliet Williamson for producing the four excellent new illustrations of
endemic plants for this book and Victoria Gordon Friis for her kind permission to re-use the
plates of Dorstenia annua and Brachystephanus sudanicus that were first published in Kew
Bulletin in 1982.
ix
