Floristic research in Morocco: achievements and future trends

Fennane,


Introduction
The data and reflections, shared in this work, are concerning the fields that are mainly related to taxonomy (i.e., description and delimitation of taxa) and to floristics, in particular the inventory aspects (i.e., catalogs), identification keys (i.e., Floras) and geographical distribution of species.
In this context, we could say that the second decade of the twenty-first century was marked by the completion of three major syntheses on the vascular flora of Morocco, viz the "Flore pratique du Maroc" (Fennane & al. 1999(Fennane & al. -2014)), the "Index Synonymique de la Flore d'Afrique du Nord" (Dobignard & Chatelain 2010-2013) and the "Livre Rouge de la flore vasculaire du Maroc" (Fennane & al. 2021).
In our opinion, these three references present the end of a stage and should open the way to another one that is certainly part of the continuity, and that must imperatively be different and innovative in order to: on the one hand capitalize, develop and further clarify the scientific knowledge acquired, and on the other hand, exploit better, protect and conserve the national phytodiversity.
We discuss the future of research on the vascular flora of Morocco with great caution viewing the bad position in which it currently finds itself and viewing the little hope for a change of trend in the short term, or even in the medium term.We have discussed this subject fifteen years ago (Fennane 2008), and unfortunately today, we believe that the situation is more than gloomy.
From now on, in the digital era, there is no doubt that the study, management / valorization and protection /conservation of flora cannot be developed without the precious support of databases and electronic flora.The challenge is great for the country, especially since on the scientific level, research activities continue to decline.Worse still, the training of young specialists is almost absent.
Since the dawn of time, thanks to the efforts of many generations of researchers and practitioners (professional or amateur managers), we have been able to: 1) know the national plant heritage better and better; 2) take advantage of its goods for our physical and moral comfort; 3) protect / conserve the flora for our daily needs, but also as a sustainable resource towards future generations.Today, we believe that a page has been turned in the study of our vascular flora and another is on the way to be opened.For the first page, what are the major achievements?For the second one, what are the possible expectations?These are the main questions presented and discussed in this article.

Historical overview and current context
Under no circumstances, we cannot pretend here to give a complete list of the authors and/or previous works on Moroccan flora.This is simply an impossible mission for some obvious reasons: many historical documents have disappeared over time and those that have come down to us are not always easily accessible.Only few researchers have taken the time and trouble to search the archives to shed light on the past.Therefore, today we have a good knowledge of authors and works that present the most important benchmarks, especially during the second millennium.Below is a selection of these benchmarks.For further details, the interested reader may consult the following references: Renaud (1935), Sauvage (1954), Sauvage (1975), Ibn Tattou & Fennane (1989), Bellakhdar (1991), García & Carabaza (2009), Valdés (2021).-Al-Wazir Al-Ghassani (Fez, 1548-1610), physician of the King Ahmed Al-Mansour:

The vascular flora of Morocco: quantitative and qualitative analysis
The statistics published in the literature on the number of plant species that exist in Morocco are sometimes remarkably different depending on the sources (Tab.1).Nothing surprising, in so far as the appreciations and the scientific approaches are not necessarily the same, in particular on the taxonomic and chorological levels.Thus, for example, according to the authors, the same taxon: 1) can be accepted at different ranks (species, subspecies, variety); 2) can be counted present, doubtful or absent; 3) can be considered native, of questionable nativeness or exotic.
Table1.Number of species in Morocco according to recent bibliography.
As far as we are concerned here, the numbers put forward come from the exploitation of an unpublished database (Vascular flora of Morocco, Scientific Institute, Mohammed V University in Rabat), regularly updated.They complement each other (and compare each other) with others from more or less recent work, in particular: Fennane & Ibn Tattou (2012), Fennane & Rejdali (2018); Fennane & al. (2021, 2022).In this context, we are now able to draw up a fairly precise table of all the flora and its remarkable fractions such as the endemic and the rare or threatened ones.

Native flora
The vascular flora, native in Morocco, counts approximately 3800 species, to which one can add nearly 80 hybrids.The number of subspecies is around 1400, of which nearly 40 % are type subspecies (e.g., Ephedra fragilis Desf.subsp.fragilis), the others are additionals (e.g., Ephedra fragilis subsp.cossonii (Stapf) Maire).
In terms of biological types (or forms), herbaceous plants (hemicryptophytes, geophytes, therophytes) constitute nearly three-quarters of the national spectrum; half (c. 1400 species) are annuals.Woody plants (phanerophytes, nanophanerophytes, chamaephytes) are around 900 species, among which almost a third are trees or shrubs.
The native vascular flora of Morocco shows great richness, within which two fractions are very important to us and deserve special attention: the endemic flora and the threatened one.

Endemic flora
The vascular flora of Morocco does not contain any endemic family.On the other hand, at the level of genera and species, the originalities are significant.Seventeen genera (including one hybrid, Trachycnemum) and 620 species are restricted to the national territory.
For species, we count 620 strict endemics (plus 8 others, probably shared with neighboring countries), 16.3% of the national inventory.We can also add to this number 25 hybrid species, including probably 3 shared with neighboring countries.
On a larger geographical scale, endemism confirms the affinities and floristic originalities common to Morocco and its neighboring countries.5 genera (4 Brassicaceae (Cordylocarpus, Foleyola, Kremeriella, Rapistrella, Zahora) and one Lamiaceae (Saccocalyx)) are shared with Algeria and one (Celtica) with the Iberian Peninsula.For the species level, ca.200 are shared with Algeria and about the same with the Iberian Peninsula; ca.135 species exist at the same time in Morocco, Algeria and the Iberian Peninsula.
In Morocco, endemic species can be found in all regions, but not with the same abundance.Unsurprisingly, the mountain ranges host the most of them: High-Atlas (330), Middle-Atlas ( 220), Anti-Atlas (170) and Rif (150).
Floristic endemism in Morocco is characterized not only by its richness (i.e., total number of species), but also by its taxonomic diversity: 52 families and 253 genera contain several endemic species.The families at the top of the list are: Asteraceae, Fabaceae, Lamiaceae, Brassicaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Apiaceae, Poaceae (Tab.2).This order changes, sometimes significantly, if we look at the percentage of endemics per family.For example, the Lamiaceae take the 1 st place (35 % of its species are endemic), while this family is in the 3 rd place according to its total number of endemics and in the 6 th place according to its total number of species (Tab.2).In contrast, the Poaceae comes in the 15 th place (9 % of endemic species), while the family is the 7 th according to the total number of endemics and the 3 rd according to the total number of species.For the level of the genera, the first ten names on the list are almost the same which recur in the literature following more or less different orders.According to our numbers (Tab.2), the ten most notable genera, in terms of endemic richness and/or the rate of endemism, are: Teucrium, Silene, Centaurea, Ononis, Astragalus, Linaria, Erodium, Euphorbia, Vicia and Lotus.

Threatened flora
We consider here the threatened flora as defined by the IUCN (IUCN 2012a and 2012b).Thus, all the species classified in the Categories "CR" (critically endangered), "EN" (danger of extinction) and "VU" (vulnerable) of the IUCN Red List.
All regions of Morocco are home to threatened endemic species; the High-Atlas, the Middle-Atlas and the Anti-Atlas are in the lead with 150, 105 and 78 species respectively.

Flora of doubtful presence
Examination of the bibliography relating to the inventory of the flora of Morocco shows that there are approximately 560 vascular species of doubtful presence on a national scale.Among them, 15 are hybrids, 20 are of questionable taxonomic rank, 40 are national endemics, 100 are woody species (phanerophytes, nano-phanerophytes or chamaephytes).

Exotic flora
The exotic flora in Morocco is quite present, especially that voluntarily imported by human, since the dawn of time, for his needs of food, health, recreation.Thus, it is difficult to pronounce about the number of introduced species.In addition, for undesirable species (brought by humans involuntarily or by other means: rivers, winds, birds, etc.), there are nearly 200; most are herbaceous, generally qualified as weeds.It should be noted that over time, some of these exotics succeed to adapt to their new environments and end up settling there permanently and becoming part of the local flora.

Little-known flora
The book "Livre rouge de la flore vasculaire du Maroc" (Fennane & al. 2021) shows that there are about 1500 species for which there is a lack of information on the systematic levels (doubtful taxonomic rank, hybrid?) and/or chorological (uncertain presence, native or exotic state?, poorly known geographical distribution).Two thirds of these species are classified in Category "NA" (IUCN criteria: not applicable) of the IUCN Red List and one third are classified in Category "DD" (insufficient data).

Review and perspectives
The data presented in this article gives a mixed review about the current state of knowledge on the vascular flora of Morocco.On the one hand, we note with satisfaction the existence of important basic references: Catalogs, Flores (determination tools).However, on the other hand, we regret very much the persistence of many gray areas: about 1500 species are little-known (i.e., doubtful taxonomic rank, presence in Morocco to be confirmed, presence status unknown).In addition, we must add that even for a number of species whose presence is confirmed, the geographical distribution within the country is only vaguely known.Research in the field, and in herbaria, again and again reveals interesting surprises in terms of taxa that are new for science ( The management (exploitation, development, protection, etc.) and the conservation (insitu and ex-situ) of phytodiversity cannot be properly carried out without sufficiently precise knowledge of the species from all points of view: taxonomic, biological, ecological, chorological.This is to say and to recall the essential role of scientific research, which is stagnant today, if not in regression, with no concrete signs of recovery in the short or even the medium terms.

Conclusion
At present, the vascular flora of Morocco is relatively accessible through important synthesis works (catalogs, Floras, monographs, etc.) that give a general view of the overall Flora Mediterranea 33 -2023 13 inventory, but they remain insufficient for managers to properly make efficient decisions for the conservation of biodiversity.The role of researchers today is therefore to bring to light more information on our flora, but also to capitalize on it and present it in an accessible way to the public, as wide as possible, on different media, including digital tools.The constitution of databases and electronic Floras must retain all our attention.Their advantages are undeniable: continuous updating / corrections in real time; very wide dissemination of information; work in group for large number of collaborators; relatively low cost.
Certainly, Moroccan botany is not living its best days, but the flame of hope must remain alive with the digital era and all the possibilities they offer to maintain contacts and support the efforts of all those interested in knowing, exploiting, protecting and conserving the flora.

Table 2 .
Families and genera that are notable by rate and/or number of endemics.