Check List 20(3): 636-640, doi: 10.15560/20.3.636
Diospyros barteri Hiern (Ebenaceae): new records for the vascular flora of Benin
Gbèwonmèdéa Hospice Dassou‡, Aristide Cossi Adomou‡, Chabi Ghyslain Kpétikou‡, Peter Neuenschwander§‡ Université d’Abomey-Calavi, Cotonou, Benin§ International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Cotonou, Benin
Corresponding author: Gbèwonmèdéa Hospice Dassou ( daspice2@gmail.com ) Academic editor: Robert Philipp Wagensommer © Gbèwonmèdéa Hospice Dassou, Aristide Cossi Adomou, Chabi Ghyslain Kpétikou, Peter Neuenschwander. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Citation:
Dassou GH, Adomou AC, Kpétikou CG, Neuenschwander P (2024) Diospyros barteri Hiern (Ebenaceae): new records for the vascular flora of Benin. Check List 20(3): 636-640. https://doi.org/10.15560/20.3.636 |  |
Abstract
Diospyros barteri was recorded for the first time from Dodja, a sacred forest in the Commune of Abomey-Calavi, Benin. We provide a detailed description, illustration, habitat, ecology, flowering period, and population size of this species. These occurrences fill a gap in the distribution of the species in the Dahomey-Gap territory. Our new records show the importance of botanical surveys in sacred forests which are hotspots of biodiversity in the country. However, sacred forests are unfortunately poorly maintained and managed and are difficult to access because they serve as central sites for ceremonies of local divinities in vodun celebrations.
Keywords
Sacred forest, species monitoring, first record