Umbelliferae for The Flora of the Arabian Peninsula and Socotra

Introduction
The Umbellifereae account for The Flora of the Arabian Peninsula and Socotra will be written at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Initially research is focussed on the Socotran Archipelago and the unusual umbellifers that are found on these remote islands. Currently we are investigating new gatherings (representing new genera and species) from these island, and preparing a revision of the umbellifers in the light of these findings. This data is being used in the preparation of the Ethnoflora of Scotra and in the UNOPS Master Plan for the Deveopment of Socotra.

Language
English.

Authors
Mark Watson (Coordinator), Edinburgh, U.K. 
Emma Barclay, Edinburgh, U.K.

Scheduling
The volume of the Flora including Umbelliferae does not yet have a publication schedule, and it is likely to be several years before the work is complete. In the short term the results of the umbellifer research will be published in journals, the Ethnoflora (due to be published in 1999), and other publications associated with the RBGE Socotran Project.

Publications arising from this work
Barclay, E L. & Watson, M.F. (accepted for publication). A revision of Carum and Trachyspermum (Umbelliferae) in the Socotran Archipelago. Kew Bulletin. 

Abstract: Herbarium collections of annual umbellifers from the Socotran Archipelago have been variously attributed to species in Carum (C. calcicolum Balf. f., C. kuriense Vierh., C. pimpinelloides Balf. f., and C. trichocarpum Vierh.), or the corresponding combinations in Trachyspermum. Recent gatherings have been examined alongside the historic material, using fruit anatomy, scanning electron microscopy and classical morphology. Results show that this endemic species complex should best be treated as one variable species Trachyspermum pimpinelloides (Balf. f.) H. Wolff.