The Faboideae Flora of Montserrat

Author

Giulia de Gennaro

Date of Award

2020

First Advisor

Donald McClelland

Second Advisor

Sarah Snyder

Abstract

The British overseas territory of Montserrat is a small island in the Lesser Antilles. Because of its size and active volcanism, among other factors, floristic research on the island has been limited. This project intends to contribute to this research by providing a comprehensive floristic treatment of the subfamily Faboideae (Fabaceae) of Montserrat, West Indies as well as a checklist for the Fabaceae of Montserrat. Fabaceae, the bean family, is the third largest plant family and has many ethnobotanically and ecologically important species, making its study especially meaningful. The Lesser Antilles are a biodiversity hotspot, therefore studying the biodiversity on Montserrat would provide valuable information, due to its especially large range of habitats and thus increased potential for high biodiversity. The volcanic eruptions on portions of the island also allowed for collections of early successional species of legumes. My thesis is part of Dr. Donald McClelland’s project to treat the entire flora of Montserrat. In May and June, 2019, I spent four weeks conducting field work on Montserrat with Dr. Donald McClelland. In total, we collected over one hundred specimens of Fabaceae, comprising forty-eight species, many of which had not been recorded on the island before. The majority of habitats on the island were sampled, ranging from low elevation, dry, successional communities to mid-elevation, wet forests. I used these specimens and the collections at the New York Botanical Garden (NY), Missouri Botanical (MO), and online records from the United States National Herbarium (US) to generate descriptions and keys of the thirty-one genera and sixty-one species of Montserratian Faboideae as well as a checklist of the sixty genera and 115 species of Montserratian Fabaceae

Recommended Citation

de Gennaro, Giulia, "The Faboideae Flora of Montserrat" (2020). Senior Theses. 1420.
https://digitalcommons.bard.edu/sr-theses/1420