Diversity and above-ground height of vascular epiphytes in a seasonally dry tropical forest on a white sand hill in Ankarafantsika National Park, northwestern Madagascar

This study presents a comprehensive checklist of vascular epiphytes in a forest of Madagascar and documents their forest stand scale distribution for the first time. Fourteen species belonging to 11 genera in four families were recorded from 30.6 ha of seasonally dry tropical forest in the Ankarafantsika National Park in northwestern Madagascar. Most epiphytes were found in the lower to middle strata of the forest. Epiphytes were recorded on 26 host plant species (phorophytes) belonging to 20 families of trees, shrubs, or lianas. Among the epiphytes, Orchidaceae had the highest species richness (79% of the total recorded species), whereas the other three families, Acanthaceae, Basellaceae, and Moraceae, have one species each (7%). Obligate epiphytes, accidental epiphytes, and hemiepiphytes were identified, constituting 57% (Orchi daceae), 28% (Orchidaceae, Acanthaceae, and Basellaceae), and 7% (Moraceae), respectively. Two species, Microcoelia physophora (Rchb.f.) Summerh. (Orchidaceae) and Basella madagascariensis Boivin ex H.Perrier (Basellaceae), are newly recorded in the park and in the Boeny region, respectively