Thamnosma (Rutaceae) in Africa

The African members of the remarkably disjunct Afro-American genus Thamnosma are revised. Six species are recognized, T africana, T. rhodesica and T. crenata in southern Africa, and T. somalensis, T. socotrana and T. hirschii in the Horn of Africa region, including the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula and Socotra. T. somalensis , sp. nov., is described from north-eastern Somalia. T. crenata , comb, nov., is based on T. africana var. crenata . A key to the species is given and two lectotypes and one neotype are selected.     

Bauhinia leucantha sp. nov. (Leguminosae-Caesalpinioideae) and notes on B. ellenbeckii

Bauhinia leucantha sp. nov. is described from central Somalia. The new species is related particularly to B. ellenbeckii in Ethiopia and Somalia, B. teitensis in Kenya, and B. natalensis in eastern South Africa. B. somalensis is reduced to a synonym of B. ellenbeckii and the distribution of this species is shown to extend to northern Somalia.     

New or noteworthy species of Leguminosae in NE tropical Africa

The following new species are described: Chamaecrista dunensis (Somalia), Acacia densispina (Somalia), A. flagellaris (Somalia), Tephrosia karkarensis (Somalia), T. scopulata (Somalia), Indigofera ancistrocarpa (Kenya), I. curvirostrata (Ethiopia), I. hiranensis (Somalia), I. karinensis (Somalia), I. kucharii (Somalia), I. nugalensis (Somalia), I. pellucida (Kenya, Somalia), I. sabulosa (Ethiopia, Somalia), I. sessilis (Somalia), I. ienuirostris (Somalia), Rhynchosia megalocalyx (Somalia), Crotalaria allophylla (Somalia), C. intricata (Somalia), C. warfae (Somalia), and Coronilla somalensis (Somalia). 2n = 22 is reported in Tephrosia karkarensis. Cassia somalensis, Acacia puccioniana, Sophora somalensis , and Crotalaria sennii are reduced to synonyms of respectively Senna hookeriana, Dichrostachys kirkii, Millettia usaramensis and Crotalaria boranica subsp. trichocarpa . Thirty-seven taxa are reported from Somalia for the first time, including Ptycholobium biflorum , known previously only from Southern Africa. Crotalaria pieropoda , known previously only from Socotra, is reported from Somalia and Oman. Neptunia oleracea and Vatovaea pseudolablab are new generic records for respectively Ethiopia and Oman. The fruits of Indigofera boranica are described. Vigna somaliensis and an allied species are discussed. Rhynchosia gansole is lectotypified and its flowers and fruits are described.     

A new species of Zehneria (Cucurbitaceae) from Somalia

The new species Zehneria somalensis , from shady limestone rocks in north-eastem Somalia, is described and illustrated.     

A new species of Scutellaria (Lamiaceae) from Somalia

The new species Scutellaria somalensis, from limestone slopes in north-eastem Somalia, is described and illustrated.     

Section of tropical taxonomy: Seven new species and one new record of Polygala (Polygalaceae) from Somalia

The following new species are described: Polygala gypsophila (northern, central and southern Somalia, on gypsum), P. bariensis (northern Somalia, on limestone), P. hamarensis (coastal dunes near Mogadishu), P. argentea (central Somalia, on limestone near coast), P. gawenensis (central Somalia, on limestone), P. effusa (central Somalia and eastern Ethiopia, on sand), P. citrina (southern Somalia, on granitic outcrops). P. meonantha is reported for the first time from Somalia.     

Another arborescent umbellifer: a new species of Steganotaenia from north-east tropical Africa

THULIN, M., 1991. Another arborescent umbellifer: a new species of Steganotaenia from north-east tropica] Africa. The new species Steganotaenia commiphoroides is described from central and southern Somalia, and south-eastern Ethiopia. It differs from the likewise arborescent S. araliacea , widespread in tropical Africa, in, for example, its 3-foliolate or occasionally simple leaves, leaf teeth with shorter aristae, shorter petioles and pedicels, and fruits with a pair of distinctly winged dorsal ridges.     

Seven new species of Pavonia (Malvaceae) from the Horn of Africa

Pavonia friisii , sp. nov., from south-eastern Ethiopia and south-central and southern Somalia, P. nigrescens , sp. nov., from south-central and southern Somalia, P. matteiana , sp. nov., from south-central Somalia, P. longipilosa , sp. nov., from eastern Ethiopia, P. rotundifolia , sp. nov., from eastern Ethiopia and northern and central Somalia, P. marginata , sp. nov., from central Somalia, and P. paucibracteata , sp. nov., from central Somalia, are described and illustrated.     

Calliandra (Leguminosae) in continental Africa

The mainly neotropical genus Calliandra Benth. (Leguminosae–Mimosoideae–Ingeae) is reported for the first time as native in continental Africa. There are two species known, C. gilbertii Thulin & Hunde sp. nov. in E Kenya and Somalia and C. redacta (J. H. Ross) Thulin & Hunde comb. nov. in South Africa near the Namibia border. On pollen morphological grounds they are supposed to be most related to certain neotropical species but the pollen does not agree entirely with any previously known group of the genus. The distribution of C gilbertii and C. redacta stresses the phytogeographical link between the arid zones of northern and southern Africa.     

Three new species of Portulaca sect. Neossia from east and northeast Africa

Three new species of Portulaca sect. Neossia are described: P. constricta from SE Ethiopia and Somalia; P. commutata , widespread in the Somali-Masai phytochorion of east and northeast Africa, and P. bulbifera from S Ethiopia and N Kenya.     

Two new species of Dyschoriste (Acanthaceae) from Somalia

The new species Dyschoriste bayensis, from a granitic inselberg in southern Somalia, and D. miskatensis, from open bushland on limestone in north-eastern Somalia, are described and illustrated.     

Cleome socotrana (Capparaceae) and allied species in the Horn of Africa region

Four species of Cleome with small flowers, 6 stamens, petals without appendages, spreading to erect capsules, and hairy seeds, are recognized in the Horn of Africa region: C. socotrana in the Socotra archipelago (Yemen), C. hadramautica , sp. nov., in southern Yemen, C. omanensis , comb, nov., in the Mahrah Region of Yemen and in Oman, and C. albescens in northern Somalia. C. socotrana is lectotypified and a key to the species treated is provided.     

Distribution of the common warthog (Phacochoerus africanus) and the desert warthog (Phacochoerus aethiopicus) in the Horn of Africa

The Somali warthog, Phacochoerus aethiopicus delamerei, is the surviving relative of the Cape warthog, P. a. aethiopicus, which formerly inhabited Cape Province but became extinct in the last century. It is only recently that these two subspecies of Phacochoerus aethiopicus have been restored to the status of a species – the ‘desert warthog’– distinct from the common warthog, P. africanus ( Grubb, 1985 ; Grubb & Oliver, 1991 ; Grubb, 1993 ). Mitochondrial DNA analysis has recently confirmed that the common and desert warthogs are two different and widely divergent species (Randi et al., unpublished). This preliminary study maps their distribution in the Horn of Africa, and discusses the significance of ecological barriers that limit these distributions. One hundred and thirty‐three skulls from 64 different localities in five countries – mostly from museum collections – were identified. New material was obtained from the field and reliable literature data were also recorded. Locality records suggest that the optimal habitats of desert warthog are low altitude arid lands. The two species may overlap locally in northern Somalia, northern and eastern Kenya and southern and south‐eastern Ethiopia, but the desert warthog's precise range is still not accurately established and basic data about its conservation status, ecology and behaviour are still very poor.     

Ten new species of Commiphora (Burseraceae) from Somalia

The following new species are described: Commiphora arenaria from bushland on sand in south-central Somalia, C. gardoensis from limestone slopes in the Qardho area in north-eastem Somalia, C. stellatopubescens from bushland on limestone outcrops or stony ground in the Hiiraan Region in south-central Somalia, C. spinulosa from limestone rocks on the escarpment along the Gulf of Aden in northeastern Somalia, C. lobatospathulata from bushland on sand in central and south-central Somalia, C. quercifoliola from bushland on shallow soil over limestone near Eil in north-eastem Somalia, C. chiovendana from bushland in northern and central Somalia, C. multifoliolata from limestone hills and ridges in south-westem Somalia, C. murraywatsonii from limestone outcrops near Hobyo in central Somalia, and C. kucharii from bushland on shallow soils over limestone in central and southern Somalia.     

Notes on Convolvulus, Astripomoea, Ipomoea and Merremia (Convolvulaceae) from the Horn of Africa

The six new species Convolvulus scopulatus, a shrub from gypseous semidesert coastal plains in northern Somalia, Astripomoea procera, a woody climber in Acacia-Commiphora bushland on sand in south-central Somalia, Ipomoea hiranensis, a prostrate or climbing shrublet in Acacia-Commiphora bushland in rocky places on sandstone in south-central Somalia, Ipomoea galhareriana, a woody climber in bushland on sand in central Somalia, Ipomoea pogonantha, a woody climber in bushland usually on red soil over limestone in eastern and southern Ethiopia, southern Somalia and northern Kenya, and Ipomoea corrugata, a herb with trailing stems in bushland on sandy soil in south-central Somalia, are described, and illustrations are provided for most of them. The new combinations Ipomoea ovatolanceolata (= I. adenoides var. ovatolanceolata) and Merremia obtusa (= M. ampelophylla subsp. obtusa) are made, and a new synonymy is provided for M. ampelophylla. Merremia ellenbeckii is neotypified and M. lobata is placed in synonymy.     

New species of Cucumis (Cucurbitaceae) from northeast tropical Africa

The new species Cucumis hastatus (widespread in southern Somalia, in deciduous bushlands), C. pubituberculatus (central Somalia, on open coastal dunes), C. Jeffrey-anus (southwestern Somalia and eastern Ethiopia, on alluvial soils), and C. baladensis (south-central Somalia, on fixed dunes), are described and illustrated. C. figarei is shown to be illegitimate, the correct name for the species apparently being C. pustulatus.     

Digitaria brunoana (Gramineae), nuova specie della Somalia

Abstract

Digitaria brunoana (Gramineae), a new species from Somalia. - Digitaria brunoana, a new species occurring on the coastal sand dunes at Gesira near Mogadishu (Somalia), is described. This new taxon is related to D. longiflora which is distributed in the Tropical Africa.     

A revision of the desert shrub Fagonia (Zygophyllaceae)

The taxonomy of the desert shrub genus Fagonia is revised in detail. In total 167 names are accounted for, lectotypes are selected for 33 names, and two names are neotypified. A key to the 34 species is presented, as well as distribution maps for each species. Three new species are described and illustrated, F. densispina and F. latistipulata from Somalia, and F. hadramautica from Yemen. Of the accepted species, 24 are restricted to the Old World and eight to the New World. Most of the Old World species are confined to the Saharo‐Sindian region, with two extending to parts of Macaronesia. Eight species are endemic to the Somali‐Masai region, and two are restricted to southern Africa. In the New World four species are endemic to Baja California, two to northern Baja California and adjacent parts of southwestern USA, one to the province of Coahuila in northeastern Mexico, and one to Chile and Peru. The names of all four species of Fagonia currently on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants are put into synonymy.