Leptoderris brachyptera LC Taxonomic Authority: (Benth.)Dunn  Global Assessment  Regional Assessment Region: Global  Endemic to region

Upper Level Taxonomy Kingdom: PLANTAE Phylum: TRACHEOPHYTA Class: MAGNOLIOPSIDA Order: FABALES Family: LEGUMINOSAE Lower Level Taxonomy Rank: Infra- rank name:  Plant Hybrid Subpopulation: Authority:

Leptoderris brachyptera varies in habit from a straggling or climbing shrub to a large liana.

General Information Distribution L. brachyptera is distributed across west tropical Africa occurring Benin; Cameroon; Equatorial Guinea; Ghana; Guinea; Guinea Bissau; Liberia; Nigeria; Senegal; Sierra Leone; Togo and Angola.

Range Size Elevation Biogeographic Realm Area of Occupancy: Upper limit: 1000  Afrotropical Extent of Occurrence: Lower limit: 0  Antarctic Map Status: Depth  Australasian Upper limit:  Neotropical Lower limit:  Oceanian Depth Zones  Palearctic  Shallow photic  Bathyl  Hadal  Indomalayan  Photic  Abyssal  Nearctic Population There is no data available relating to population size.

Total Population Size Minimum Population Size: Maximum Population Size: Habitat and Ecology L. brachyptera occurs in Guineo-Congolian forest and the Guinea-Congolia/Sudania regional transition zone. More specifically the taxon is found in gallery forest; areas near mangrove swamps; dense forest; secondary thickets and the margins of primitive forest.

System Movement pattern Crop Wild Relative  Terrestrial  Freshwater  Nomadic  Congregatory/Dispersive  Is the species a wild relative of a crop?   Marine  Migratory  Altitudinally migrant

Growth From Definition Shrub - size unkno Perennial shrub (any size), also termed a Phanerophyte if >1m or a Chamaephyte if <1m Vines Vines, lianas and creepers

Threats There are no specific major threats affecting L. brachyptera, however there are some general threats to the habitats. Much of the lower north-western Congolian forest has been allotted to forestry concessions (Minnemyer 2002). Logging remains a concern even within protected areas in this region. The logging in these areas tends to be selective however and habitat conversion is fairly limited. Other general threats in this area included development and conversion to agricultural land but it is not known what effect these threats will have on the taxon. The Eastern Guinean forests are also subject to negative anthropogenic impacts most significantly slash and burn agriculture is leading to deforestation. Industrial logging, settlement development and the charcoal industry are also leading to a decrease in forest size and fragmentation.

Past Present Future 13 None    Conservation Measures This taxon is known from herbarium specimen data to occur within the protected areas network. Seeds have been collected by the Millennium seed bank project as a method of ex-situ conservation.

In Place Needed 3 Research actions   3.2 Population numbers and range   3.3 Biology and Ecology   3.4 Habitat status   3.5 Threats   3.6 Uses and harvest levels   3.7 Cultural relevance   3.8 Conservation measures   3.9 Trends/Monitoring   4 Habitat and site-based actions   4.4 Protected areas   4.4.3 Management   5 Species-based actions   5.7 Ex situ conservation actions   5.7.2 Genome resource bank  

Countries of Occurrence

PRESENCE ORIGIN Year Breeding Non- Passage Possibly Extinct Presence Native Introduced Re- Vagrant Origin Round Season breeding migrant extinct uncertain Introduced uncertain only season only Angola             Benin             Cameroon             Equatorial Guinea             Ghana             Guinea             Liberia             Nigeria             Senegal             Sierra Leone             Togo            

General Habitats Score Description Major Importance 1 Forest 1 Suitable Unset 1.6 Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland 1 Suitable Unset

Species Utilisation  Species is not utilised at all

Trend in the level of wild offtake/harvest in relation to total wild population numbers over the last five years: Trend in the amount of offtake/harvest produced through domestication/cultivation over the last five years: CITES status: Not listed

IUCN Red Listing Red List Assessment: (using 2001 IUCN system) Least Concern (LC)

Red List Criteria: Date Last Seen (only for EX, EW or Possibly EX species): Is the species Possibly Extinct?  Possibly Extinct Candidate?  Rationale for the Red List Assessment L. brachyptera has a wide geographical distribution. The species does not meet any threatened criteria and is known through specimen data to occur within the protected areas network. Despite general threats in the region L. brachyptera is not thought to be specifically threatened or in decline. A rating of Least Concern is therefore given. Reason(s) for Change in Red List Category from the Previous Assessment:  Genuine Change  Nongenuine Change  No Change  Genuine (recent)  New information  Taxonomy  Same category  Genuine (since first assessment)  Knowledge of Criteria  Criteria Revisio and criteria  Incorrect data used  Other  Same category but previously change in criteria Current Population Trend: Stable Date of Assessment: 15/06/2010 Name(s) of the Assessor(s): Groom, A. Evaluator(s): Notes:

% population decline in the past: Time period over which the past decline has been measured for applying Criterion A or C1 (in years or generations): % population decline in the future: Time period over which the future decline has been measured for applying Criterion A or C1 (in years or generations): Time period over which the future decline has been measured for applying Criterion A or C1 (in years or generations): Number of Locations: Severely Fragmented: Number of Mature Individuals:

Bibliography Addo-fordjour, P.; Anning, A.K.; Amaniampong, E. & Serwaa-Agywei, P., 2008, Diversity and distribution of climbing plants in a semi-deciduous Rain Forest, FNUST Botanic Garden, Ghana, International Journal of Botany2, 186-195, , Blom, A., 2001, Northwestern Congolian lowland forests10/06/2010, , , Dunn, S.T., 1910, Leptoderris, a New Genus of Leguminosae, Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information (Royal Gardens, Kew),, 386- 391, , International Legume Database & Information Service, 2005, Leptoderris brachyptera15/06/2010, , , Kuyema, A., 2003, Ecological Assessment of Riparian Forest in Benin: phytodiversity, phytosociology and spatial distribution distribution of trees, , Wageningen University, Lebbie, A.R., 2001, Eastern Guinean forests15/06/2010, , , Lebrun, J.P. & Stork, A. L., 2008, Tropical African Flowering Plants - Fabaceae (Desmondium-Zornia), Vol 4, , Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques de la ville de Geneve, Geneve, Minnemyer, S., 2002, An analysis of access into Central Africa's rainforests., , World Resources Institute, Washington DC.,