National Red Data Books

List of rare, threatened and endemic plants in Europe. Madeira. Threatened Plants Unit, IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre. 1983. In List of rare, threatened and endemic plants in Europe (1982 edition), pp. 254–258. Nature and Environment Series No. 27, Council of Europe, Strasbourg, France.

Evaluation of the status of the bryophyte flora of Madeira with reference to endemic and threatened European species. C. Sérgio, R. Schumacker, S. Fontinha & M. Sim-Sim. 1992. Biol. Conserv. 59: 223–231. Lists 20 (out of 165) liverworts and 31 mosses.

Floras

Vegetation

When discovered in 1419, most of the island was covered with forest, now greatly reduced. Sjögren (1972) distinguishes 4 vegetation zones: coastal vegetation of low shrubs, herbs and succulents (e.g. Aeonium), much now replaced by cultivated land; laurel forest, a subtropical evergreen cloud forest mainly of Ilex and Lauraceae, rich in endemics and with a large ground flora, occurring between 1300 and 1850 m; a transitional zone (700-1250 m) between the two previous zones; and above the laurel forest Erica scrub. (Paragraph reproduced with permission from Davis, S.D. et al. (1986). Plants in Danger: What do we know? IUCN, Gland, Switzerland).

Plant Conservation Programmes

The Jardim Botânico de Madeira has initiated a restoration programme for 8 of the most threatened plants (described in Plant Talk 10: 19, 1997).

The c. 15,000 ha of laurel forest (laurissilva) is protected as a Nature Park and Special Area of Conservation (SAC) under the EU’s Habitats Directive. In 1999, the area was inscribed as a natural property on the World Heritage List. See colour feature in Plant Talk 20: 26-29 (2000). The site is described in detail in Costa Neves (1996).

Key Institutions

Parque Natural da Madeira, Quinta do Bom Sucesso, Caminho do Meio, 9050 Funchal.

Jardím Botânico da Madeira, Quinta do Bom Sucesso, Caminho do Meio, 9050 Funchal.

References Sited

Costa Neves, H. et al. (1996). Laurissilva da Madeira: Caracterizaçao Quantitativa e Qualitativa. Governo Regional, Secretariat Regional de Agricultura, Florestas e Pescas, Parque Natural da Madeira.

Sjögren, E. (1972). Vascular plant communities of Madeira. Bol. Museu Municipal Funchal 26(114): 45-125.

Acknowledgement

See also Portugal

c. 800 vascular plant species, of which 145 endemic (from Sunding)

Vascular plants: Not known

The Red List of European Bryophytes lists 13 threatened species of liverworts and 20 of mosses from laurissilva on Madeira.