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10 plants worth knowing

Madagascar

Madagascar, separated from Africa for more than 80 million years, has one of the most extraordinary floras in the world – about 90% of its plant species grow nowhere else. The eastern slopes are clothed in humid rainforest, the central highlands are taken up by grassy plateaus and rice terraces, the west has dry forests with baobabs, and the south a spiny forest of succulents that look like plants from another planet.

Hover over a plant to see on the map where it grows.

where it grows

  1. Grandidier’s baobab 1

    tree

    Grandidier’s baobab

    Adansonia grandidieri

    The Avenue of the Baobabs near Morondava, its towering columns silhouetted against the setting sun, is Madagascar’s most famous sight.
  2. Traveller’s tree 2

    tree · Unofficial symbol of Madagascar

    Traveller’s tree

    Ravenala madagascariensis

    The “traveller’s tree” spreads its leaves in a gigantic fan – Madagascar’s most recognisable plant and its unofficial symbol.
  3. Vanilla 3

    orchid

    Vanilla

    Vanilla planifolia

    Most of the world’s vanilla comes from Madagascar – every single flower is pollinated by hand by farmers in the SAVA region.
  4. Octopus tree 4

    succulent

    Octopus tree

    Didierea madagascariensis

    The spiny “octopuses” of southern Madagascar form an otherworldly forest through which dancing sifakas leap.
  5. Madagascar periwinkle 5

    flower

    Madagascar periwinkle

    Catharanthus roseus

    This unassuming pink plant from Madagascar yielded drugs that transformed the treatment of childhood leukaemia.
  6. Royal poinciana 6

    tree

    Royal poinciana

    Delonix regia

    The tropics’ most famous ornamental tree comes from Madagascar – its wild populations were only discovered in 1932, in the dry forests of the west.
  7. Rice 7

    crop

    Rice

    Oryza sativa

    For the Malagasy, rice is more than food – it is eaten up to three times a day, and terraced paddies adorn the entire central plateau.
  8. Darwin’s orchid 8

    orchid

    Darwin’s orchid

    Angraecum sesquipedale

    Darwin’s orchid has a spur about 30 cm long – from it Darwin predicted the existence of a moth with an equally long tongue.
  9. Clove 9

    crop

    Clove

    Syzygium aromaticum

    Madagascar is one of the world’s largest clove producers – dried flower buds from the east coast are among the country’s main exports.
  10. Crown of thorns 10

    succulent

    Crown of thorns

    Euphorbia milii

    A spiny shrub with brilliant bracts – Madagascar’s crown of thorns is one of the world’s most popular houseplants.