Aloes, dragon trees, palms and other monocot plants of Somalia: 227 species

In short

On 12 November 2026 the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), the international open database of species records, held records of 227 monocot (other than grasses and sedges) species with Somalia as the country, in 23 families (GBIF occurrence search, Somalia).

The largest families by number of species on record are (GBIF Backbone Taxonomy):

• Asparagaceae: 58
• Asphodelaceae: 51
• Commelinaceae: 27
• Araceae: 17
• Amaryllidaceae: 12
• Colchicaceae: 8
• Arecaceae: 7
• Iridaceae: 7
• Orchidaceae: 7
• Juncaceae: 6

Most often recorded

The species with the most GBIF records from Somalia are Commelina albescens (47), rat's ear (40), Gabal Elba Dragon Tree (29), Aloe scobinifolia (28), Somaliland Aloe (28), Aneilema pusillum (28) (GBIF occurrence search, Somalia).

56 of the 227 species have a single record from Somalia (same source).

Named after Somali places

12 species on this list carry Somalia or a Somali place in their scientific name, for example Arisaema somalense, Chlorophytum somaliense, Dracaena hargeisana, Ledebouria somaliensis, Aloe somaliensis, Bulbine migiurtina, Gladiolus somalensis, Aneilema benadirense, Aneilema obbiadense, Aneilema somaliense, Commelina somalensis, Cyanotis somaliensis (GBIF Backbone Taxonomy).

Species under threat

The IUCN Red List places these species in a threatened category (GBIF species API, IUCN Red List category):

• Critically Endangered: Aloe brunneostriata, Aloe jucunda, Aloe moledarana (IUCN via GBIF)
• Endangered: Bankouale Palm, Gabal Elba Dragon Tree, Aloe albovestita, Aloe ambigens, Aloe bella, Daloh Cliff Aloe, Aloe gillettii, soft distant sword-leaved aloe, Aloe grisea, Aloe hildebrandtii, Aloe peckii, Aloe scobinifolia (IUCN via GBIF)
• Vulnerable: Aloe lindenii, Aloe retrospiciens, Somaliland Aloe (IUCN via GBIF)

All plant lists: Plants of Somalia.

How to read this list

A species is on this list when GBIF holds at least one record of it from Somalia. A record can be a museum specimen more than a century old, a sighting shared by an observer, or a specimen cited in a scientific paper. Some records are old and a few may be misidentified, so this is a list of records, not of what lives in Somalia today. Names follow the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy, which can lag behind the newest research.

Red List summary

• Critically Endangered (CR): 3
• Endangered (EN): 12
• Vulnerable (VU): 3
• Near Threatened (NT): 5
• Least Concern (LC): 58
• Data Deficient (DD): 2
• Not Evaluated (NE): 144

Categories are from the IUCN Red List as published through GBIF (GBIF species API, IUCN Red List category).

Largest families

• Asparagaceae: 58 species
• Asphodelaceae: 51 species
• Commelinaceae: 27 species
• Araceae: 17 species
• Amaryllidaceae: 12 species
• Colchicaceae: 8 species
• Arecaceae: 7 species
• Iridaceae: 7 species
• Orchidaceae: 7 species
• Juncaceae: 6 species

Full list (227 species)

Each name links to its Calankii page where one exists, otherwise to its GBIF species page. "Records in Somalia" is the number of GBIF occurrence records with Somalia as the country, counted on 12 November 2026 (GBIF occurrence search, Somalia). The same rows, with Wikidata ids and more columns, are in the open data file species-recorded-in-somalia.csv.

This list is in 2 parts: 1 · 2

This list is in 2 parts: 1 · 2

Sources

• GBIF occurrence search, country Somalia
• GBIF Backbone Taxonomy
• IUCN Red List of Threatened Species