group leader
Thomas L.P. Couvreur (HDR, Directeur de Recherche 2)
Besides activities described on the homepage, I am active in taxonomical research in two wonderful plant families characteristic of tropical rain forests: Palms and Annonaceae. I undertake monographs and revisions of several little known genera in both families. I also write floras for both families for different countries. I work in herbaria and undertake field work for collecting plants in South America, Africa and South East Asia (see here). This last part is the basis of my research. Without taxonomy the above research projects would be hampered. Finally, I use the internet and special tools available to disseminate and make this information available to everyone (open access journals, scratchpad websites like World Annonaceae and Palms of Africa.
I am also Chair of the Species Survival Commission - Palm Specialist Group of the IUCN.

post doctoral researchers

phd students

Suzanne Kamga Mogue (co supervised by Prof. Bonaventure Sonké)
Université de Yaoundé I
2015-2018
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Suzanne is doing her PhD on the socio-economic importance and taxonomy of the palm genus Raphia within the RAPHIA project.

Mogue Kamga, S., Brokamp, G., Cosiaux, A., Awono, A., Fürniss, S., Barfod, A.S., Muafor, F.J., Le Gall, P., Sonké, B., Couvreur, T.L.P., 2020. Use and Cultural Significance of Raphia Palms. Econ Bot. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12231-020-09487-z

​Mogue Kamga, S., Sonké, B., Couvreur, T.L.P., 2019. Raphia vinifera (Arecaceae; Calamoideae): Misidentified for far too long. Biodiversity Data Journal 7, e37757. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.7.e37757q [open access]
Amoussou Biowa Eldys Narcisse (co supervised by Romain Glèlè)
​Universite de Abomey Calvi & Universite de Montpellier.
​2017-2020

Eldys works on the impact of climate change on several important non timber forest products (NFTP) across Africa. He uses species distribution modeling and future climate change scenarios infer to impact for global change on species distributions and the economical impact these changes will have.
  • Sebastían Pablo Escobar Vasquez (Co supervised by Henrik Balslev, Rommel Montufar)
Aarhus University
​2017-2020

Sebastian studies the evolutionary dynamics, population genetics and dispersal ecology of Phytelephas aequatorialis, also known as tagua. This is a dioicious palm endemic to western Ecuador and exploited for its "vegetable ivory".  Sebastian is based in Aarhus, but will spend significant time in Ecuador for field work and Montpellier for lab work.
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  • Escobar, S., Pintaud, J.-C., Balslev, H., Bernal, R., Ramírez, M.M., Millán, B., & Montúfar, R. Genetic structuring in a Neotropical palm analyzed through an Andean orogenesis-scenario. Ecology and Evolution, https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.4216
Leo-Paul Dagallier
Universté de Montpellier
2018-2021
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Leo Paul's PhD focuses on exploring the phylogenetic patterns of tropical African biodiversity, based on the RAINBIO database, and using a large phylogeny of African plants. He will in particular try to identify areas of paleo- and neo- endemics at the continental level.

​Dagallier, L.-P.M.J., Janssens, S.B., Dauby, G., Blach‐Overgaard, A., Mackinder, B.A., Droissart, V., Svenning, J.-C., Sosef, M.S.M., Stévart, T., Harris, D.J., Sonké, B., Wieringa, J.J., Hardy, O.J., Couvreur, T.L.P., 2020. Cradles and museums of generic plant diversity across tropical Africa. New Phytologist 225, 2196–2213. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.16293 [open access]

past members

- Dr. Andrew Helmstetter post doc ont eh AFRODYN project
- Jean Paul Ghogue, Université de Yaoundé I, 2012-2018 (co supervised with Prof. Sonké)
  • Ghogue J.P., Sonké, B., Couvreur, T.L.P. 2017. Revision of the African genera Brieya and Piptostigma. Plant Ecology and Evolution. 217: 173-216
- Marie Claire Veranso: PhD student (2014-2017).
University of Buea, Cameroon
Institute für Spezielle Botanik, University of Mainz, Germany
(I was one of the co supervisors together with Dr. Gudrun Kadereit, Douglas Stone and Dr. Fongod).
  • Veranso–Libalah, M.-C., Douglas, R.S., Fongod, A.G.N., Couvreur, T.L.P., Kadereit, G. 2017. Phylogeny and systematics of African Melastomateae (Melastomataceae). Taxon 6: 584-614
- Alix Pugeaut: Master II student (2017).  (Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris)
- Amira Azizan: Master I student (2016) (Université de Montpellier 2, Agro Paris Tech)
- Gilles Dauby: Post doctoral fellow of RAINBIO project (2014-2016)
- Adama Faye: Master II and then PhD student (2011-2015)
​Université de Montpellier, IRD grant.
  • Faye, A., Pintaud, J.–C., Baker, W.J., Vigouroux, Y., Sonké, B. & Couvreur, T.L.P. 2016. Phylogenetics and diversification history of African rattans (Calamoideae, Ancistrophyllinae). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 182, 256–271
  • Faye, A., Pintaud, J.–C., Baker, W.J., Sonké, B. & Couvreur, T.L.P. 2014. A plastid phylogeny of the African rattans (Ancistrophyllinae, Arecaceae). Systematic Botany 39: 1099–1107.
  • Faye, A., Deblauwe, V., Mariac, C., Richard, D., Sonké, B., Vigouroux, Y. & Couvreur, T.L.P. 2016. Phylogeography of the genus Podococcus (Palmae/Arecaceae) in Central African rain forests: climate stability predicts unique genetic diversity. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 105, 126–138
  • Scarcelli, N., Mariac, C., Couvreur, T.L.P., Faye, A., Richard, D., Sabot, F., Berthouly‐Salazar, C. & Vigouroux, Y. 2016. Intra‐individual polymorphism in chloroplasts from NGS data: where does it come from and how to handle it? Molecular Ecology Resources 16: 434-445.
- Vincent Deblauwe Post doctoral fellow (2014-2015)
IRD, Université de Yaoundé I
  • Deblauwe, V., Droissart, V., Bose, R., Sonké, B., Blach-Overgaard, A., Svenning, J.C., Wieringa, J.J., Ramesh, B.R., Stévart, T. & Couvreur, T.L.P. 2016. Remotely sensed temperature and precipitation data improve species distribution modelling in the tropics. Global Ecology and Biogeography 25: 443-454.
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