Ruth Cristóvão Francisco

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Benjamin Darko Williams

University of Ghana

Igho-Osagie Uhunwa Precious

Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria

Peter Kwasi Akomatey

The Forestry Commission of Ghana

Deresa Abetu Gadisa

Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute

Alex Asase

University of Ghana

Collins Wafula Masinde

Kenya Forestry Research Institute

Renata Borosova

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Deborah Moradeke Chukwuma

Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria

Mutegeki Alislam Said Musa

Ana Rita G. Simões

Ghent University

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University of Ghana

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria

Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute

National Museums of Kenya

The Forestry Commission of Ghana

University of Lomé

University of Kansas

University of California, Berkeley

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

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Advancing knowledge of West African morning glories: a taxonomic revision of Ipomoea L. (Convolvulaceae) from Ghana

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (2024)

Benjamin Darko Williams Ruth Cristóvão Francisco Befkadu Mewded Christiana Peprah Oppong Claudia Bosomtwi-Ayensu

Abstract Ghana’s plant diversity is estimated at 2,974 plant species, belonging to 1,077 genera and 173 plant families. However, a Flora of Ghana is yet inexistent: targeted floristic and taxonomic studies are still much needed to document the plant diversity of the country fully at the family, generic and species levels. This is essential for identifying priority conservation areas in the country and support further research in crop wild relatives or medicinal plants, which will help tackle food insecurity and improve livelihoods. In this study, we provide a taxonomic revision of the Ipomoea spp. in Ghana to enhance their identification, conservation and sustainable utilization as food and medicine among other uses. An extensive literature review was carried out, including historical references and online taxonomic databases, to recover information on accepted names, type specimens and synonyms, followed by consultation of herbarium specimens at GC herbaria, to retrieve morphological information and database specimens. Specimen locality information was georeferenced, and records plotted onto distribution maps. As a result, this work provides an identification key to the species of Ipomoea of Ghana, nomenclatural information, comprehensive morphological descriptions, detailed list of examined specimens, distribution maps and notes on conservation status and traditional plant uses. In total, 28 species are fully described, 20 of which are native and eight introduced from the Americas; five are new records to Ghana.

Convolvulaceae

Ipomoea

10.1101/2024.04.02.587553

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