Origin and Diversification of the Flowering Plants of the Gulf of Guinea Archipelago

This Living Earth Collaborative seed grant project focuses on one of the least studied island systems in the world: the Gulf of Guinea archipelago, which comprises four volcanic islands located off the west coast of Africa. The islands are hotspots of plant diversity, with more than 190 species found nowhere else in the world. Surprisingly, although animal diversification on the islands has received some attention, very few studies focus on the origin and diversification of the flora of the islands. This project aims to fill the gap, starting by focusing on when three plant clades arrived on the islands and how they spread and diversified. The effort provides an excellent opportunity to advance our understanding of the processes that build and maintain biodiversity and will improve our knowledge of the taxonomy and conservation of the flora of this highly diverse region.

Research Team

Patricia Barberá, Missouri Botanical Garden
Joan Garcia-Porta, WashU (Biology)
Nathan Muchhala, University of Missouri-St. Louis
Tariq Stévart, Missouri Botanical Garden
Michael Landis, WashU (Biology)