Madagascar became an island about 90 million years ago after its separation from India. Since then, the fauna and flora of the island evolved in isolation. Its geographical pattern and climates have brought the island a great plant diversity with high endemism.
Madagascar has about 14000 species of plants, and 85% of them are found nowhere else.
Those plants are well-split up in different forest types that cover some part of Madagascar: the rainforest in the east, dry deciduous forest in the west, and in the dry, semi arid desert in the south of Madagascar, you will be in a completely different ecosystem which is the spiny forest, described as the spiny thicket. It is a vegetation dominated by octopus-like plants with spikes known as the Didieraceae.
As the climates and the altitudes account for the plant evolution, the rainforest in the east of Madagascar is very rich in plant species including Palm trees (Arecaceae), Ferns (Pterydophytes), Diospyros (Ebenaceae), Canarium (Burseraceae), Ocotea (Lauraceae), and Symphonia (Clusiaceae).
Besides, the central highland, which covers about 40% of the island, has vegetations that take over other species. Some of them are the Tambourissa (Monimiaceae), Weinmania (Cunoniaceae), Uapaca (Euphorbiaceae) in the central west, Philippia (Ericaceae) up the hills and mountains.
As for the west of the island, some species have become dominant such as the Commiphora (Burseraceae), Dalbergia (Fabaceae), and the Hildegardia (Malvaceae).
Then, in the south of Madagascar, the Alluaudia (Didieracea), Euphorbia (Euphorbiaceae), Moringa (Moringaceae), Pachypodium (Apocynaceae), Uncarina (Pedaliaceae) are plants that make up the spiny forest or the spiny thicket as they can survive in the dry arid land.
For all the expeditions that you are doing with us, we will show you more plant species and tell you about some of their medical use, and, why not, their connection with the people.