This volume is an account of the flowering plant flora of West Africa south of the Sahara (Gambia-Nigeria inclusive) with the emphasis upon species of ecological or economic importance. The vegetative and reproductive morphological characters, pollination and dispersal mechanisms of representatives of 38 families are described, and these families appear in the same order as in the Flora of West Tropical Africa. The first chapter deals with interspecific relationships (between flowering plant species, and between these and bacteria, fungi and animals), while the second chapter describes the vegetation formed by the flowering plant species of West Africa. Then follow the family chapters, each one ending with a section on the field recognition of its most important species, and a bibliography of the literature, so that further studies may be pursued. This flora should prove to be of value to teachers and students of tropical biology, agriculture, forestry and economic botany.
