Flora of Samoa

Project Managers: Art Whistler and Tom A. Ranker

The flora of Samoa (the archipelago) comprises about 550 native species of flowering plants (Whistler, pers. research). These species fall into 95 plant families and about 300 genera. Although Samoa has the second largest native flora in tropical Polynesia (behind Hawaiâ��i), its flora is only about one third as large as that of Fiji located about 1100 km (685 mi) to the west. The largest family of flowering plants in Samoa is the orchid family Orchidaceae, with approximately 100 species. Approximately 30% of the flowering plants of Samoa are endemic to the archipelago. Only two genera, Sarcopygme (Rubiaceae) and Solfia (Arecaceae), are endemic to the archipelago. The state of knowledge of the flora of Samoa has lagged behind that of much of the rest of Polynesia. Samoa is the largest archipelago in Polynesia that does not have a published flora. Hawaiâ��i has a recent flora (Wagner et al. 1990), and Fiji has a recent and large, comprehensive one (Smith 1979â��1996). Tonga had a flora published by Yuncker in 1959, and Niue has had two (Sykes 1979; Yuncker 1943). A flora of Samoa is long overdue but hopefully this problem will be rectified in the near future.

Research Checklists

The

symbol opens the species list as an interactive key.

Click to Open Map

Log In New Account Sitemap Home Search Collections Map Search Image Search Browse Images Inventories Flora of Palau Flora of the Hawaiian Islands Hawaii Seed Bank Plant Extinction Prevention Program Species Traditional Plants Uses in Micronesia Interactive Tools Dynamic Checklist Dynamic Key
Home >> Flora of Samoa Flora of Samoa Project Managers: Art Whistler and Tom A. Ranker The flora of Samoa (the archipelago) comprises about 550 native species of flowering plants (Whistler, pers. research). These species fall into 95 plant families and about 300 genera. Although Samoa has the second largest native flora in tropical Polynesia (behind Hawaiâ��i), its flora is only about one third as large as that of Fiji located about 1100 km (685 mi) to the west. The largest family of flowering plants in Samoa is the orchid family Orchidaceae, with approximately 100 species. Approximately 30% of the flowering plants of Samoa are endemic to the archipelago. Only two genera, Sarcopygme (Rubiaceae) and Solfia (Arecaceae), are endemic to the archipelago. The state of knowledge of the flora of Samoa has lagged behind that of much of the rest of Polynesia. Samoa is the largest archipelago in Polynesia that does not have a published flora. Hawaiâ��i has a recent flora (Wagner et al. 1990), and Fiji has a recent and large, comprehensive one (Smith 1979â��1996). Tonga had a flora published by Yuncker in 1959, and Niue has had two (Sykes 1979; Yuncker 1943). A flora of Samoa is long overdue but hopefully this problem will be rectified in the near future. Research Checklists Research checklists are pre-compiled by biologists. This is a very controlled method for building a species list, which allows for specific specimens to be linked to the species names within the checklist and thus serve as vouchers. Specimen vouchers are proof that the species actually occurs in the given area. If there is any doubt, one can inspect these specimens for verification or annotate the identification when necessary. The symbol opens the species list as an interactive key. Click to Open Map IUCN Red List Recommendation - Samoa (private) Plants of Samoa Checklist Rare Plants of Samoa (private)
Development of the Consortium of Pacific Herbaria and several of the specimen databases have been supported by National Science Foundation Grants (BRC 1057303, ADBC 1304924 and ADBC1115116). Data Usage Policy. Continued support provided by the Symbiota Support Hub, a domain of iDigBio (NSF Award #2027654). Copyright 2015 University of Hawai‘i.