Cabo Verde’s Poaceae Flora: A Reservoir of Crop Wild Relatives Diversity for Crop Improvement

Africa is home to important centers of origin and diversity of crop wild relatives (CWR), including many species adapted to adverse agroecological conditions, namely drought and poor soils. Plant genetic resources from Cabo Verde Islands have been poorly explored for their potential to supplement the genetic pool of cultivated species. This paper identifies Cabo Verde’s CWR from the Poaceae family and provide a checklist of priority CWR taxa, highlighting those of particular conservation concern and the areas which should be the focus of the most intensive conservation efforts in these islands.