El proyecto Flora de Guinea Ecuatorial ha presentado en el 19º Congreso de AETFAT celebrado los días 24 a 30 de Abril de 2010 en Antananarivo (Madagascar) un poster y una comunicación oral. En el poster se desarrolla el método de trabajo en línea. En la comunicación oral se expusieron los avances de la Flora, incluyendo la reciente publicación del volumen 5, en el que se incluyen las Leguminosae.//

Flora of Equatorial Guinea has been present in the 19th AETFAT Congress held from April 24th to April 30th, 2010 in Antananarive (Madagascar). We have presented one poster, where our new on-line managing system was explained, and an oral communication, in which the recent results of the Flora were also shown, including the publication of the volume 5, the one including Leguminosae.

Oral communication

Advances and progress on the Flora of Equatorial Guinea.

Flora of Equatorial Guinea is a research project coordinated by the Real Jardín Botánico of Madrid and financed by the Spanish Dirección General de Investigación Científica y Técnica (Projects CGL2009-07405).

The aim of our project is to produce a modern Flora for this unknown territory. We have planned our task in different steps. Compile all the literature records from the country; identify all the specimens available in the most representative herbaria for tropical Africa. With these we obtain two sets of results: comprehensives Checklist -with the complete list of taxa and specimens growing in the country - and the Flora, with keys for identification, descriptions, images and maps.

Till this moment more than 1800 specimens have been studied. They were collected mainly by British and German expeditions (Historical collections studied at B, BM, K, P) and modern collecting trips funded by Belgians and Spanish (studied at BR, BRLU and MA). For comparative purposes the collections from neighboring countries were also studied. In this aspect WAG, MO, LISC, LISU herbaria were essential tools.

Our main results (floristic knowledge of the country increased c. 120% ; new taxa described; new records for Guinea) reveal the high value of this still poorly known region.



Poster

The management of a modern flora; www.floradeguinea.com

Flora of Equatorial Guinea is a research project coordinated by the Real Jardín Botánico of Madrid and financed by the Spanish Dirección General de Investigación Científica y Técnica (Projects CGL2009-07405).

One of the goals of this modern flora is the development of our website, www.floradeguinea.com, where i.e. new identifications are updated immediately. Any specialist working on Flora of Africa can check our results freely.

We have designed a system of relational databases with several Thesaurus implemented for families, genera and species, thus typographical mistakes are minimized. Nomenclatural information, specimens, literature records, vernacular names and bibliography can be managed and updated on-line. Digital images and maps with the plant distribution in Equatorial Guinea are also linked to any accepted name.

Data related to climate, vegetation, soils, hydrography, relief and fitogeography of the country is also available and updated. As well as all our publications and those papers related to the flora of the country.

This Website is only a virtual desk of work and discussion for anyone interested in botany of this Central African country. It is obvious that this project needs the collaboration of botanists of different nationalities. Any help will be welcome.