Title: A Synopsis of the African Species of Pandanus
Abstract: The taxonomy of the African species of Pandanus is presently in a very unsatisfactory state.Since Warburg's monograph in 1900, a number of species have been described which have never been critically compared.The treatment by Warburg was itself very sketchy, as several species were founded on the poorest of specimens and unfortunately some have also been incorrectly, or inexactly, described.The earliest known African species was published by Palisot de Beauvois in 1804 (Pandanus candelabrum).Next described was lleterostignm heudehtianus Gaudich., 1843, now called Pandanus heudelotianus (Gaud.)Balf.f.In 1887, Henriques described P. thomensis from Sao-Thome Island in the Gulf of Guinea; this was furnished with a particularly good description and figure.Rendle in 1894 in a paper entitled "Tropical African Screw Pines" attempted a complete review of the African species; he recognized eight species, five from West Africa and three from East Africa; of these, five were newly proposed species (P.barterianus, P. welwitschii, P. rabaiensis, P. kirkii, and P. livingstonianus).Up to this time, not much had been effected toward a subgeneric classification of the genus.