Rosularia simensis (A. Rich) Ohba (Crassulaceae)

An endemic species from the high Semien Mts. sometimes placed in the monotypic genus Afrovivella A. Berger because of the distinctive large campanulate corolla. Illustration, drawn by Eleanor Catherine for Vol. 3 of the Flora of Ethiopia.

The "Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea" Project

Ethiopia and Eritrea are countries on the Horn of Africa covering 1,127,750 and 125,750 Sq. Km. respectively. Ethiopia and Eritrea are mountainus countries, and the highest peak is Ras Dejen in the Semien Mountains of Ethiopia (4543 m). At least seven other mountains reach above 4000 m.

The two contries are located in Sudanian and Sahelian vegetation zones, and they should therefore be expected to have a dry climate and a vegetation dominated by woodland, wooded grassland and subdesert scrub. While this is true for the lowlands, the Ethiopian and Eritrean highlands have a climate and a vegetation much modified by altitude, and much more plant diversity than should be expected. One of the collaborators of the Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea, Prof. Chr. Puff, Vienna, has made a number of photographs of the Semien Mountains available, both from the high altitude areas and from the surroundings. This area can serve as examples of the often astounding scenery and botanical variety of the countries.

When completed the Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea will be a medium sized to large African flora manual, covering approximately 7,000 species of vascular plants, both indigenous and important cultivated species.

The Flora is planned as a work in eight volumes, but several volumes may be divided into two parts due to the number of taxa to be included. So far five volumes, Vol. 2.1, Vol. 2.2, Vol. 3, Vol. 6 and Vol. 7, have been published.

The Flora gives a full description for each family, genus, species and infraspecific taxon. Data are given on accepted names, including types from the Flora area, important synonyms (including all synonyms described on material from the Flora area), collectors and collection numbers of representative specimens, habitat and distribution. Where appropriate, additional information is given on uses. Vernacular names are also given in appendices with the use of the fidel, the special alphabet used for the Semitic languages of Ethiopia. See below for details on the individual volumes.

The Ethiopian Flora Project was initiated in 1980 after a long planning period. Much of the research work for and all the editorial work and the printing of the Flora has been financed by SAREC, Sweden. The Danish involvement in the field work and other research aspects has been generously supported by the Carlsberg Foundation, Denmark.

Since 1980 the Botanical Museum and Libray has collaborated with the National Herbarium, Addis Ababa University, the Department of Systematic Botany, University of Uppsala. and the Herbarium,  Royal Botanic Gadens, Kew, on the project. The involvement of the Botanical Museum has been:

(1) Prof. Ib Friis, Editorial Board member, has

• contributed a number of family accounts,
• taken part in the general editing, and
• made many field trips to collect material for the study
  of the flora and vegetation in little known parts of Ethiopia

(2) Senior Lecturer Olof Ryding, previously a staff member of Asmara University, Eritrea, joined the staff of the Botanical Museum and Libary in 1994. He is the coordinator of the Lamiaceae (Labiatae) for the Ethiopian Flora Project and has contributed a number of genera to the account of that family as well as the Family Plantaginaceae.

(3) There is a general agreement between the National Herbarium of Ethiopia and the Botanical Museum and Library about help with regard to collecting equipment, conservation of specimens, etc. A botanical artist and technician has been trained in Copenhagen.

The collaboration between the Copenhagen and the Addis Ababa botanists is older than the Ethiopian Flora project; it goes back to 1970 when the first joint field work was started.

The early work concentrated on the forests of South West Ethiopia (Kefa, Illubabor). These results were published in the volume: Friis, I., F.N. Rasmussen & K. Vollesen, 1982. Studies in the flora and vegetation of SW Ethiopia. - Opera Bot. 63: 1 - 70.

Later forest studies were published in the book: Friis, I. 1992. Forests and forest trees of northeast tropical Africa - their natural habitats and distribution patterns in Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia. - Kew Bulletin, Additional Series, No. 15 (pp. i-iv & 1-396). Her Majesty's Stationery Office.

Other works with relevance to the Flora of Ethiopia include: Hulton, P., Hepper, F.N. & Friis, I. 1991. Luigi Balugani's drawings of African plants - From the collection made by James Bruce of Kinnaird on his travels to discover the source of the Nile 1763-1773. - Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, U.S.A., and A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, Holland. (140 pp. text, plates with 330 illustrations).
Friis, I., 1983. Phytogeography of the tropical North-East African mountains (Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia). - Bothalia 14: 525 - 532.
Friis, I. & K. Vollesen, 1984. Additions to the Flora of Ethiopia. - Willdenowia 14: 355 - 371.
Friis, I. 1986. The forest vegetation of Ethiopia. - Symbolae Bot. Uppsal. 26: 31 - 47.
Friis, I. 1986. Ethiopia in regional phytogeography. - Symbolae Bot. Uppsal. 26: 68 - 85.
Friis, I., M.G. Gilbert & K. Vollesen, 1987. Additions to the flora of Ethiopia, 2. - Willdenowia 16: 531 - 564.

In August, 1999, a symposium entitled Flora of the Horn of Africa and its relation to adjacent Floras - 3rd Symposium on the Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea was held at the Carlsberg Academy, Copenhagen, Denmark.

A volume of Proceedings from that symposium has recently been published. It is entitled Biodiversity Research in the Horn of Africa Region - Proceedings of the Third International Symposium on the Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea at the Carlsberg Academy, Copenhagen, August 25–27, 1999, and has been edited by Ib Friis and Olof Ryding.

The volume contains 26 papers from the Symposium on a wide range of subject matters:

• taxonomic case studies on Callitrichaceae, Portulacaceae, Asteraceae and Pedaliaceae and a review of the orchid flora.
• Historical reviews analyse the progress of the Flora project and the study of the plants of Ethiopia and Eritrea since the 18th Century.
• New contributions to the flora of Southern Yemen emphasise the relationship between the floras of both sides of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
• Analyses of data from the hitherto published volumes of the Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea point out centres of diversity and endemism of the region.
• The phytogeography of recently treated families, e.g. Cyperaceae, Commelinaceae, lilioid geophytes ("Liliiflorae"), and the genus Aloë (Aloaceae).
• Analyses of diversity and endemism in the birds of the region show interesting parallels with patterns found in plants.
• A study of Ethiopian homegardens points out the importance of these for conservation of traditionally grown species and cultivars; there are close relations between the cultivated flora and the indigenous species, especially in the forest region of southwestern Ethiopia.
• A detailed study of the relationship between cultivated and wild enset (Ensete ventricosa; Musaceae), an important food plant in southern Ethiopia.
• A review of plant materials used in traditional Ethiopian handicrafts shows a wide variety of species used, but many traditional materials are now being replaced with synthetic materials.
• Three papers deal with vegetation, one with degraded bushland of the Adwa region in northern Ethiopia, another with the vegetation of the high Semien Mountains in north-central Ethiopia, and one with the Sudanian dry forests, woodlands and wooded grasslands of the lowlands in western Ethiopia. A study deals with the seeds of grasses in the soil seed banks of the same area.
• A review paper points out that many features on the vegetation maps hitherto published for Ethiopia and Eritrea do not agree, particularly with regard to the vegetation on the Ethiopian Highlands

The volume covers 440 pages in quarto and has been published by Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab (The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters) as its Biologiske Skrifter, Vol. 54.

The volume of Proceedings is available from the Commission Agent of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters: C.A. Reitzels Forlag, Nørregade 20, DK-1165 København K, Denmark. Tlf.: + 45 33 12 24 00. Fax.: + 45 33 14 02 70. E-mail: info@careitzel.com

The price is 500 DKK plus packing and postage outside the contries where the Danish VAT on books applies; within these countries the price is 625 DKK.

The editorial board of the Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea is currently:

Dr. Tewolde Barhan G/Egziabher, Addis Ababa.

Prof. Sebsebe Demissew, Addis Ababa.

Prof. Olov Hedberg, Uppsala..

Dr. Mesfin Tadesse, p.t. Ohio State University.

Dr. Ensermu Kelbessa, Addis Ababa.

Prof.  Ib Friis, Copenhagen.

Dr. Inga Hedberg, Uppsala..

Ms. Sue Edwards, Addis Ababa.

A main supplier for published parts of the Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea in Europe is:

The Swedish Science Press, Box 118, S-751 04 Uppsala, Sweden.
Tel. + 46 18 36 55 66. Fax + 46 18 36 52 77. e-mail: info@ssp.nu

Another outlet for the Flora is the visitors' centre and the mail order department of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew., although Vol. 6 is not available from there [Listed in the Catalogue of Scientific Publications of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; more volumes than indicated in the catalogue are now available].

The Flora is available from international bookshops, for example Koeltz Scientific Books, Germany, the Natural History Book Shop. UK, and Balogh Scientific Books, Illinois, USA.

The Flora is also available from the Ethiopian National Herbarium, Addis Ababa, P.O. Box 3434, Addis Ababa.

The FLORA OF ETHIOPIA and ERITREA is planned to consist of 8 volumes, of which vol. 2 has been published in two parts, and so far also vol. 4 is planned to appear similarly. The published parts cover close to 3700 species and infraspecific taxa. The series editors since the start of the project been Dr. Inga Hedberg and Ms. Sue Edwards. There is an international group of authors a team responsible for the editing of each volume. The following is a conspectus of the plan for publication:

Volume 1. Pteridophytes, fern allies and Gymnosperms. Due 2002.

Volume 2, Part 1. Magnoliaceae to Flacourtiaceae. ISBN: 91-971285-2-X. - Published 2000 [2001]. LXIII, 532 pp. Large 4to (A4). Paper bd. Many line-drawings. It includes 61 families and 691 species and infraspecific taxa.

Volume 2, Part 2. Canellaceae to Euphorbiaceae. ISBN 91-971285-1-1. - Published 1995 [1996]. XIX, 456 pp. Large 4to (A4). Paper bd. Many line-drawings. It includes 26 families and approx. 682 species and infraspecific taxa.

Volume 3. Pittosporaceae to Araliaceae. ISBN 91-971285-4-6. - Published 1989 [1990]. LXXI, 659 pp. Large 4to (A4). Paper bd. Many line-drawings.
This was the first volume to appear. It was published before the peace settlement which made Eritrea independent, and the title of the volume is therefore "Flora of Ethiopia." It includes 51 families and approx. 1100 species.

Volume 4, Part 1. Apiaceae to Dipsacaceae. Due 2001.

Volume 4, Part 2. Asteraceae. Due 2001.

Volume 5. Gentianaceae to Lamiaceae. Due 2002.

Volume 6. Hydrocharitaceae to Arecaceae. ISBN 91-971285-4-6. - Published 1997. XXVIII, 586 pp. Large 4to (A4). Paper bd. Many line-drawings.It includes 48 families and over 700 species.

Volume 7. Poaceae (Gramineae). ISBN 91-971285-3-8. - By Sylvia Phillips. Published 1995 [1996] . XX, 420 p. 153 figs. Large 4to (A4). Paper bd. Many line-drawings. It includes only the grass family which in the Flora area is represented by over 500 species.

Volume 8. General part and indices. Due 2003.

Recent volumes of the flora has been reviewed in various journals, including Nordic Journal of Botany 18(5): 518 & 562 (1998), TAXON 47: 779-80 (1998), and Kew Bulletin 53(3): 758-760 (1998). A review of Vol. 2(1) is in press in the Kew Bulletin.

The flora area consists of a large mountain dome, deeply disected by the Rift Valley system and by large rivers. The floristic regions used in the Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea are based on the old administrative regions from the time before the division into two independent countries. The borders of the old administrative regions follow the major rivers as far as this has been possible. Eritrea and the former regions of Tigray, Wollo and Shewa  have been divided into upland and lowland parts at the 1000 m contour in order to take into account the large phytogeographical difference between the montane and lowland floras. The lowlands of the former Ethiopian regions og Tigray, Wollo and Shewa are for the use of the Flora united into the region of AF (Afar).

The first page of the account of the family Violaceae by M.G. Gilbert.

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Last update: 26 November 2001