Flora of Samoa
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The Flora of Samoa includes species of plants found in Samoa and American Samoa. The volcanic islands of Savaiʻi and Upolu comprise approximately 90% of the total land area of the country. The flora comprises about 550 native species of flowering plants, these species fall into 95 plant families and about 300 genera.[1] In total, there are 833 native and naturalized flowering plants, and 225 ferns and allies. 177 are endemic.[2] The diversity is approximately one-third the size of Fiji's flora, though the two regions share significant floristic affinities due to geographical proximity. In the islands, the largest family of flowering plants is Orchidaceae (orchids), which includes 101 native species. This represents the highest diversity of orchid flora among all Polynesian islands. The second largest family is Rubiaceae (the madder or coffee family), comprising 47 native and five naturalised species.[3]
Vegetation
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The Samoan Islands has many different vegetation zones, mainly composed of lowland, montane, and cloud forests. Of all the ecosystems, the lowland rain forest is mostly dominated by tree genera such as Diospyros, Calophyllum, Dysoxylum, Pometia, Planchonella, Syzygium, and Myristica.[4] Montane forests support Dysoxylum, Syzygium, Weinmannia, Canarium, and Astronidium. Cloud forests are found above 650 m (2,130 ft) with tree genera, such as Polyscias, Weinmannia, and Dysoxylum, as well as a few Cyathea plants.[4] The rarest vegetation community in the country is the upland swamp forest with only one area remaining.[5]
Threats
[edit]Since human arrival approximately 3,000 years ago, over 80 percent of the lowland rainforest has been destroyed. Unregulated logging and land clearing for subsistence and commercial agriculture have been the primary drivers of this ecological decline. On the heavily populated island of Upolu, nearly all accessible lowland, montane, and cloud forests have been entirely cleared. Environmental pressures were further aggravated by two severe cyclones in 1990 and 1991, which killed 53 percent of native forest trees.[6]
Conservation
[edit]Development of the Art Whistler Memorial Garden for rare and threatened plants began in 2019, and the facility was formally opened in 2021 by Samoan Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa. Established in memory of Dr Arthur Whistler, an ethnobotanist who specialized in Samoan flora, the garden preserves more than 10 of the country's rare and threatened plant species. Many of these plants are endemic to the islands., such as the pau (Manilkara samoensis), which natively grows only on Savai'i.[7] they are collected on places such as Mount Le Pue, Mount Vaivai, and Malololelei on Upolu, alongside Mount Matavanu, Safotu, Falealupo, and Aopo on Savai'i. The initiative focuses on rare endemic species, as well as non-endemic plants, medicinal plants such as matalafi, and butterfly-hosting species like talafalu. These specimens are relocated to the Vailima Botanical Gardens for preservation and public education. the project builds community capacity by supporting village-led nurseries in the villages, with plans to expand local propagation efforts to more villages in the future.[8]
Origins
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Many of the native flora came from Southeast Asia and New Guinea.[9] There are some exceptions, such as the Vaccinium whitmeei, a species of the Ericaceae family, which is endemic to Savai'i, which may have origins from the temperate Americas, and Rhizophora mangle, or Togo fafine, which might have came from the Americas, and the Gyrocarpus americanus.[10][11]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ Whistler, Art (January 2011). "The Rare Plants of Samoa" (PDF). The Little Design Company. Conservation International Pacific Islands Programme. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 July 2026. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
- ↑ Balick, Michael J. (1 March 2024). "Flora of Samoa: Flowering Plants". Brittonia. 76 (1): 83–83. doi:10.1007/s12228-024-09787-x. ISSN 1938-436X.
- ↑ Goodale, Matt (3 January 2022). "NTBG completes the Flora of Samoa". National Tropical Botanical Garden. Archived from the original on 17 July 2026. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
- 1 2 "Samoan Tropical Moist Forests". One Earth. 29 July 2022. Archived from the original on 8 June 2026. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
- ↑ "Priority Sites for Conservation in Samoa: Key Biodiversity Areas" (PDF). Conservation International - Pacific Islands Programme, Samoa Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 March 2022. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
- ↑ "Islands of Western Samoa and American Samoa in the Southern Pacific | Ecoregions | WWF". ecoregions.worldwildlife.org. Archived from the original on 20 July 2026. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
- ↑ EPIC. "Securing the future of Samoa's threatened botanical heritage". Botanic Gardens Conservation International. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
- ↑ "Plant Conservation". 10 October 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
- ↑ "How did life get to Samoa?". 20 October 2024. Archived from the original on 13 October 2025. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
- ↑ "Interesting facts about Samoa's biodiversity…". Samoa Conservation Society. 20 October 2024. Archived from the original on 13 July 2026. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
- ↑ Whistler, Arthur (2019). "Plants of Samoa: A unique but threatened flora" (PDF). Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 July 2026. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
Further reading
[edit]- Whistler, W. Arthur (2022). Lorence, David H.; Wagner, Warren L. (eds.). Flora of Samoa: Flowering Plants. Kauai, Hawaii: National Tropical Botanical Garden. ISBN 978-0-915809-04-2.
External links
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Media related to Flora of Samoa at Wikimedia Commons