Fernandoa

Abstract: Kigelianthe of Madagascar is not separable from Fernandoa of continental Africa. The two genera seem to have been maintained separate as the result of a combination of historical accident and botanical provincialism. In fact the affinity of Kigelianthe with Fernandoa has never even been mentioned in the literature. A brief history of the situation may help in its clarification. Fernandoa (sphalm Ferdinandia) was described by Seemann in 1865 as a new genus of Tecomeae with the single species F. superba based on a collection of Welwitsch from Angola. In 1870 Seemann described a second species from East Africa as F. magnifica (sphalm Ferdinandoa) and in 1911 Gilg and Mildbraed described a third species from the Belgian Congo (Zaire) as Ferdinandia adolfifriderici. A fourth species, Ferdinandia mortehani De Wild, is probably not distinct from F. adolfi-friderici. The plethora of mispellings of Fernandoa (Ferdinandia, Ferdinandoa, Ferdinandia, Ferdlinanda, Ferdinandio, Ferdinandi), including that of the original description, is discussed by Milne-Redhead (1949) who also pointed out that the corrected spelling of the genus means the combination Fernandoa ferdinandi, based on Welwitsch's Bignonia ferdinandi, is not a tautonym and should be adopted for the type species. Sillans (1951, 1953) later described Tisserantodendron as a new genus of Central African Bignoniaceae with two species, one from Gabon and one from Oubangui-Chari (Central African Republic). Heine (1964) discovered that Sillans' genus was synonymous with Fernandoa and its two species synonymous with the two Equatorial African Fernandoa species. Meanwhile Baker (1881) had discovered a new species of Bignoniaceae from Madagascar in a collection of plants made by L. Kitching. He described it, in the absence of fruit, in the indehiscent-fruited tribe Crescentieae as Kigelia

Abstract: Zanzibar-Inhambane Deciduous Forest Dry deciduous forests occur scattered along the entire length of Mozambique north of Massinga. They are characterized by trees such as Adansonia digitata, Afzelia quanzensis, Balanites maughamii, Chlorophora excelsa, Cordyla africana, Khaya nyasica, Millettia stuhlmannii, Pteleopsis myrtifolia, Sterculia appendiculata and the endemic Dialium mossambicense (Fabaceae), Fernandoa magnifica (Bignoniaceae) and Inhambanella henriquesii (Sapotaceae). Other endemic trees include Acacia robusta subsp. usambarensis, (Fabaceae), Cassipourea mossambicensis (Rhizophoraceae), Dolichandrona alba (Bignoniaceae), Grewia conocarpa (Tiliaceae) and Pleioceras orientala (Apocynaceae). The sub-canopy is usually well developed and often forms a thick almost impenetrable layer of deciduous and semi-deciduous shrubs including the endemic Salacia orientalis (Celastraceae). There is a form of semi-deciduous forest mainly confined to the sublittoral belt of ancient dunes, but its floristic composition varies considerable. Some of the more characteristic species include Celtis africana, Dialium schlechteri, Morus mesozygia, Trachylobium verrucosum and the endemic or near endemic Cola mossambicensis (Sterculiaceae) and Pseudobersama mossambicensis (Meliaceae).