Flowering plants of Somalia: families Cordiaceae to Malpighiaceae (573 species)

In short

On 12 November 2026 the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), the international open database of species records, held records of 573 flowering plant (families Cordiaceae to Malpighiaceae) species with Somalia as the country, in 36 families (GBIF occurrence search, Somalia).

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

• Euphorbiaceae: 203
• Lamiaceae: 127
• Cucurbitaceae: 48
• Loranthaceae: 25
• Crassulaceae: 25
• Heliotropiaceae: 22
• Geraniaceae: 21
• Cordiaceae: 12
• Lythraceae: 10
• Malpighiaceae: 8

Most often recorded

The species with the most GBIF records from Somalia are Leucas abyssinica (85), Cucumis (83), Mopaneveld keepsafe (60), Heliotropium aegyptiacum (59), Hairy Heliotrope (59), Jatropha rivae (55) (GBIF occurrence search, Somalia).

113 of the 573 species have a single record from Somalia (same source).

Named after Somali places

28 species on this list carry Somalia or a Somali place in their scientific name, for example Cordia somaliensis, Heliotropium benadirense, Calyptrotheca somalensis, Gisekia haudica, Coccinia ogadensis, Eureiandra somalensis, Zehneria somalensis, Pelargonium somalense, Coleus scebeli, Endostemon obbiadensis, Isoleucas somala, Lavandula somaliensis, Leucas somalensis, Otostegia migiurtiana, Salvia somalensis, Scutellaria somalensis, Teucrium somalense, Tinnea somalensis, Croton somalensis, Euphorbia erigavensis (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: Euphorbia carinulata, Euphorbia thulinii, Dirachma somalensis (IUCN via GBIF)
• Endangered: Heliotropium benadirense, Momordica littorea, Endostemon glandulosus, Ocimum ellenbeckii, Orthosiphon hanningtonii, Euphorbia appendiculata, Euphorbia cameronii, Euphorbia giumboensis, Euphorbia noxia, Englerina ramulosa, Plicosepalus ogadenensis, Devil's Backbone (IUCN via GBIF)
• Vulnerable: Cordia somaliensis, Bourreria orbicularis, Corallocarpus ellipticus, Pelargonium boranense, Croton megalocarpoides, Croton talaeporos, Erythrococca pubescens, Euphorbia monacantha, Ammannia petrensis, Erianthemum occultum (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): 10
• Near Threatened (NT): 7
• Least Concern (LC): 90
• Data Deficient (DD): 1
• Not Evaluated (NE): 450

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

Largest families

• Euphorbiaceae: 203 species
• Lamiaceae: 127 species
• Cucurbitaceae: 48 species
• Loranthaceae: 25 species
• Crassulaceae: 25 species
• Heliotropiaceae: 22 species
• Geraniaceae: 21 species
• Cordiaceae: 12 species
• Lythraceae: 10 species
• Malpighiaceae: 8 species

Full list (573 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 4 parts: 1 · 2 · 3 · 4

This list is in 4 parts: 1 · 2 · 3 · 4

Sources

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