On the botanical trails of
Madagascar
18 days

Madagascar is very relevant for the diversity of its flora and the high rate of its medicinal virtue. The biggest inventories of the flora of Madagascar were initiated by Alfred Grandidier in 1865 who had been writing 30 volumes on Madagascar. Madagascar has been divided into 5 bio-climatic regions :

– The Wetland region – in the Eastern side
– The bus-humid and mountainous region – in the highlands
– The dry region in the north and north-west
– The sub-arid region, in the south
– And the high mountain

There are 490 indigenous woody genera and 940 endemic species and 4220 species of trees in Madagascar – 96 per cent of which are endemic. The island has got seven endemic families, spread within 103 species.
– The Asteropeiaceae: 8 species
– The Didymealeaceae: 2 species
– The Kaliphoraceae: 1
– The Melonephyllaceae: 7
– The Physenaceae: 2
– The Sarcolaenaceae: 8 genera and 65 species
– The Sphaerosepalaceae: 2 genera and 18 species

The Didiearaceae and the Dichapetalaceae are no longer endemic as they have been recently found also in Africa mainland. According the scientific communities, more than 12 000 of plant specimens have been inventoried in Madagascar. Plants are not only used for food and shelters for human but also and mostly for medicine. One of the most famous plants of Madagascar is the Madagascar Periwinkle scientifically called Apocynaceae Catharantus Roseus for its healing virtue against cancer. This is used by the world’s biggest pharmaceutical labs to produce medicines. Each and every villages of Madagascar still have their own local herbalists practitioners with their inherited geniune knowledge from generation to generations.

You will be able to discover some these natural wealth through our Botany trails.