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Yemen
exhibits a wide ecological diversity in temperature
and rainfall regimes, which reflect sharp differences
in altitude and topography. Yemen's position on the
borderline between the Palaeotropic and the Holarctic
Kingdoms also adds to its diversity of plant life. Phyto-geographically,
Yemen is considered to be on the periphery of the Somali-Masai
region of endemism, with Afro-Montane elements in the
region above 1800 m and a considerable Saharo-Sindian
influence in the interior desert
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present more than 2000 flowering plant species are known
to occur in Yemen (Gabali 1995) belonging to c. 700 genera
from c. 125 families, prominent among which are the following:
the Graminae, Leguminosae, Compositae, Asclepiadaceae,
Euphorbiaceae, Acanthaceae, Labiatae, Boraginaceae, Scrophulariaceae,
Convolvulaceae, Malvaceae, Liliaceae and Caryophyllaceae.
These families account for about 50 percent of the plant
species in Yemen. Endemic species comprise about 12 percent.
Succulent species are fairly well represented, comprising
about 6 percent. |
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