Background: Cochlospermum tinctorium and C. planchonii are two wide edible plants of sub-Saharan countries, e.g., Benin, widely used as food, medicine, dye, handicraft, etc. Unfortunately, the uncontrolled harvest of their rootstocks exposes them to local extension risk. To enhance knowledge on the determinants of their uses in Benin, this study aimed to (i) assess the use forms, use values, abundance and perceived spatiotemporal dynamics, (ii) determine how does local abundance or cultural patterns affect the use of Cochlospermum species, and (iii) assess local harvesting modes and conservation management practices. Methods: In total, 756 Dialog Partners through 27 ethnic groups were questioned countrywide using semi-structured interviews. Questions refer to local taxonomy, specific uses, organs sought, harvesting modes and local conservation strategies; afterward, local abundance of each species was assessed. Ethnobotanical indicators were analyzed through citation frequencies to obtain quantitative data. Comparison tests and statistical analyses were performed using R program. Results: C. tinctorium and C. planchonii are locally well known and involved into 83 specific uses, grouped into ten categories of which medicinal use was the main. The use values of C. planchonii (0.10 ± 0.19) and C. tinctorium (0.23 ± 0.20) varied significantly between the ethnic groups, and only C. tinctorium showed index of commercially value above 75% for some ethnic groups. The current abundance, about 84 and 97 tufts.ha⁻¹, respectively, for C. planchonii and C. tinctorium was perceived with a decline of 81.09% (C. tinctorium) and 73.7% (C. planchonii) of informants. Moreover, the Spearman’s correlation and Kruskal–Wallis tests performed revealed that the use values of C. tinctorium and C. planchonii were significantly correlated on the one hand with their local abundance and on the other hand with the investigated ethnic groups. About 42.3% of women produced the powder as principal activity, while more than 57% produced it mainly at the end of farm work. However, the conservation management was practiced by very few informants and consisted of partial harvesting of rootstocks (41.8%, only in southern Benin), and fallowing of harvesting areas (3.97%, only in northern Benin). Conclusion: Facing the declining abundance and increasing market demand for rootstock powder of Cochlospermum species, existing local conservation strategies should be promoted and the domestication process should be initiated for sustainable management of these important wild edible plants before these important resources disappear completely in the wild.

Background and aims – Climate change induces increasing temperatures and drought, with possible profound shifts in species’ presence and distribution. Ecological niche models are widely used to assess plant species responses to climate change. However, such data are scarce for West Africa, particularly for vulnerable multipurpose species. This study focuses on modelling the ecological niche and the conservation status of the multipurpose tree Detarium senegalense to improve insights into its habitat suitability in West Africa under past, present, and future climatic conditions. This will provide an essential basis for setting up global management plans through efficient conservation and ecological restoration policies. Material and methods – The potential distribution of D. senegalense under past, current, and future climate scenarios were assessed using four algorithms including generalized additive models (GAM), generalized linear models (GLM), random forest (RF), and Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt). We also assessed the shift direction of suitable habitats and the conservation status of the species based on IUCN criteria. Overall, 220 occurrences were combined with a set of five bioclimatic variables to run the models. Key results – Models performed well with good values of AUC (0.92) and TSS (0.73). Isothermality (41.10%) and Precipitation of Wettest Month (21.50%) contributed most to the distribution of the species. The distribution of D. senegalense was relatively constant from the past to the present but could decrease in the next decades. In the future, only 17.70% and 13.98% of the areas were predicted to be suitable under respectively ssp245 and ssp585. In protected areas, the suitable areas under ssp245 were estimated at 21.01% with a decrease of 2.50% and 14.60% with a decrease of 8.61% under ssp585 by 2050. The direction of the distribution shifted to the south-east under future climate scenarios. The conservation status assessment of the species is Least Concern (LC). Conclusion – This study improves our understanding of the past, present-day, and future distribution of the species and provides support to better manage the conservation of D. senegalense in West Africa.

Bryophytes are non-vascular plants comprising mosses, liverworts and hornworts. In West Africa, they are one of the least investigated components of biodiversity, receiving far less attention than vascular plants. This systematic review synthesizes the current knowledge on bryophytes in West Africa and identifies gaps and future prospects for advancing bryophytes research. Since the earliest explorations in the 18th century, bryophyte research in West Africa has remained poorly developed, with a noticeable bias toward certain countries over other countries. Over the past four decades, bryophyte research and the number of recorded species have increased. To date, 1175 bryophyte species and infraspecific taxa, representing 320 genera and 120 families, were recorded in the region, of which 6.47% are endemic. This documented diversity surely does not represent the full flora of the region: many species are evidently still undescribed. Another major constraint on advancing knowledge is the scarcity of specialists in the region and the lack of sustained scientific interest and academic focus in the taxonomic group. A priority for advancing knowledge on bryophytes in West Africa is to strengthen taxonomic research to document biodiversity, alongside comprehensive studies on bryophyte diversity and distribution across regions.

Diospyros barteri was recorded for the first time from Dodja, a sacred forest in the Commune of Abomey-Calavi, Benin. We provide a detailed description, illustration, habitat, ecology, flowering period, and population size of this species. These occurrences fill a gap in the distribution of the species in the Dahomey-Gap territory. Our new records show the importance of botanical surveys in sacred forests which are hotspots of biodiversity in the country. However, sacred forests are unfortunately poorly maintained and managed and are difficult to access because they serve as central sites for ceremonies of local divinities in vodun celebrations.

Background: Cochlospermum tinctorium and C. planchonii are two wide edible plants of sub-Saharan countries, e.g. of Benin, widely used as food, medicine, dye, handicraft, etc. Unfortunately, the uncontrolled harvest of their rootstocks exposes them to local extension risk. To enhance knowledge on the determinants of their uses in Benin, this study aimed to (i) assess the use forms, use values, abundance and perceived spatiotemporal dynamics, ii) determine how does local abundance or cultural patterns affect the use of Cochlospermum species, and iii) assess local harvesting modes and conservation management practices. Methods: 756 Dialog Partners through 27 ethnic groups were questioned countrywide using semi-structured interviews. Questions refer to local taxonomy, specific uses, organs sought, harvesting modes and local conservation strategies, afterward local abundance of each species was assessed. Ethnobotanical indicators were analyzed through citation frequencies to obtain quantitative data. Comparison tests and statistical analyses were performed using in R program.Results: C. tinctorium and C. planchonii are locally well-known, and involved into eighty-three specific uses, grouped into ten categories of which medicinal use was the main. The use values of C. planchonii (0.10 ±0.19) and C. tinctorium (0.23 ±0.20) varied significantly between the ethnic groups, and only C. tinctorium showed index of commercially value above 75% for some ethnic groups. The current abundance, about 84 and 97 tufts.ha^-1 respectively for C. planchonii and C. tinctorium was perceived in decline by 81.09% (C. tinctorium) and 73.7% (C. planchonii) of informants. Moreover, the Spearman’s correlation and Kruskall-Wallis tests performed revealed that the use values of C. tinctorium and C. planchonii were significantly correlated on the one hand with their local abundance, and on the other hand with the investigated ethnic groups. About 42.3% of women produced the powder as principal activity, while more than 57% produced it mainly at the end of farm work. However, the conservation management were practiced by very few informants and consisted on partial harvesting of rootstocks (41.8%, only in southern Benin), and fallowing of harvesting areas (3.97%, only in northern Benin). Conclusion: Facing the declining abundance and increasing market demand for rootstock powder of Cochlospermum species, existing local conservation strategies should be promoted and the domestication process should be initiated for sustainable management of these important wild edible plants before these important resources disappear completely in the wild.