Flora of Madagascar

The flora of Madagascar is part of the island's unique wildlife. Madagascar has more than 10,000 plant species, of which more than 90 percent are only found here. The endemics include five unique plant families and such emblematic species as baobab trees or the traveler's palm.

The island has very contrasting vegetation types, with a notable distinction between the west, centre, and east. While the centre is dominated by dry forests and grasslands, the east, receiving most rain from the Indian Ocean, harbours mainly tropical rainforest, and the driest part of the country in the southwest features unique spiny forests.

Human use has changed Madagascar's natural flora dramatically. Rice paddies are a common feature, and other tropical crops such as bananas, yams, cassava, and vanilla are cultivated. Deforestation is a serious problem and has led to the decline of many native vegetation types.

Its high diversity coupled with dramatic decrease of its natural vegetation makes Madagascar one of the world's biodiversity hotspots. A number of areas are protected as nature reserves.

Madagascar has been described as "one of the most floristically unique places in the world". As of 2016^[update], 243 vascular plant families with roughly 11,000 species were known according to the Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Madagascar, of which 83 per cent are only found on the island. This includes five endemic families: Asteropeiaceae, Barbeuiaceae, Physenaceae, Sarcolaenaceae and Sphaerosepalaceae. As many as 96 per cent of Madagascan trees and shrubs were estimated to be endemic.

...
Wikipedia