MORPHOLOGICAL, ANATOMICAL, AND ADAPTIVE DIVERSITY OF CLIMBING PLANT SPECIES IN AZAGNY NATIONAL PARK, SOUTHERN CÔTE D’IVOIRE

Climbing plants include woody lianas and herbaceous vines, as well as scrambling plants. They are important components of tropical forests. However, information on these plants, particularly their diversity, remains fragmented and insufficiently detailed. This study aimed to improve our understanding of the ecological diversity and biological characteristics of climbing plant communities in Côte d’Ivoire. A botanical inventory was conducted and stem samples were collected in Azagny National Park (ANP). The collected stems were sectioned, and their cross-sections were described according to established categories of tissue arrangement. Three main stem shapes were observed: cylindrical, flattened, and lobed. Species with cylindrical stems predominated, accounting for 86% of the species. Based on their anatomical structure, woody climbers in ANP could be divided into two main groups: those with a single woody cylinder and those with compound woody structures. A single circular woody cylinder was the most common structure and resembled the anatomy of self-supporting plants. Six climbing mechanisms were recorded. Climbers with touch-sensitive organs and stem twiners were the most species-rich groups, accounting for 31% and 30% of the species, respectively. Some climbing mechanisms were associated with particular botanical families. All recorded Convolvulaceae and Menispermaceae species were stem twiners, whereas the Cucurbitaceae, Vitaceae, and Passifloraceae species were tendril climbers.