GULF OF GUINEA ISLANDS' BIODIVERSITY
NETWORK
PTERIDÓFITOS DE SÃO TOMÉ E PRÍNCIPE
ESTRELA FIGUEIREDO
Centro da Botanica, IICT, Trav. Conde da Ribeira 9, 1300-142 Lisboa, Portugal. Email: e.p.figueiredo@mail.telepac.pt
Estudos, Ensaios e Documentos 162, Instituto de Investigação Científica Tropical.
REVIEW
This new guidebook to the ferns and other Pteridophyta of São Tomé e Príncipe is a welcome addition to the small but gradually growing number of guides to the islands' natural history. Written by the currently most knowledgeable researcher on the islands' flora, the book describes each fern species found in the country to date and includes a black and white illustration of each species, not just the endemics. Black and white drawings are complemented by the innovative technique of photocopying actual herbarium specimens, which, in the case of ferns is remarkably effective. Locations where each species has been collected are listed as is the conservation status of each species.
There are some aspects that could be improved upon - as with the ECOFAC guidebooks on birds and orchids, this volume doesn't really know whether it is a scientific work or a layperson's guidebook. Thus systematic data and the dates of collections are absent but at the same time the descriptions are technical - fortunately, there is a botanical glossary. The introduction is clearly aimed at the layperson ("What are Pteridophytes?"). The two introductory maps show every cited location but no physical features apart from a handful of rivers. Written only in Portuguese it will also perhaps have a limited audience, but at least, cannot be criticised for not being in the national language of the country concerned as has been the case with the ECOFAC guides.
This work will be of great use to the student botanist interested in the country's flora (including this reviewer) but will hardly appeal to either a layperson or a professional botanist, who will by preference locate Figueiredo's previous works, especially The Pteridophytes of São Tomé e Príncipe (1998 Bulletin of the Natural History Museum, London (Botany) 28(1): 41-66) . Publishers need to be more careful with marketing their products at specific audiences. That said, this work is an extremely useful contribution to the study of the island's natural history and is well-recommended.