**13. Conclusion**

More than 600 species divided into 20 Pteridophyta, 17 Gymnosperms, and 575 Angiosperms are the constituent elements of Togo ornamental flora taxonomically predominated by dicotyledonous with *Rubiaceae* and *Annonaceae* as preferential families. Among the monocotyledonous, the strongly represented families are *Araceae* and *Liliaceae*. These species are diverse across continents and over 82% are exotic to Africa. They are classified on the one hand, according to the ornamental organs, in particular the leaves, the flowers, the pace or the port, and the fruits and, on the other hand, depending on the place of use as an interior garden (apartment and balconies), outdoor garden (lawns, massifs, siding, and hedges), and alignment plants along streets and avenues. Depending on the presence or not of these plants and their diversity in a dwelling, a social stratification can be envisaged. Of the species listed, 77 clustered in 39 botanical families are used as medicinal plants. The most representative families in terms of specific richness are *Apocynaceae*, *Fabaceae*, *Euphorbiaceae*, *Liliaceae*, *Arecaceae,* and *Verbenaceae*. This study revealed that 49% of the listed species are used against diseases of the digestive system and 17% for dermatoses.

**1.** Apart from decorative and medicinal use, horticultural species are used for other purposes especially in traditional therapeutics. Despite advances in therapeutics, there is room for new medications for poorly tolerated or accustomed active substances, for new or emerging microbial strains or for disarming against a number of mainly tropical diseases. The exploration of the resources of the vegetable and horticultural world remains current. The wild destruction of forests deprives humankind of a source of material essential for the discovery of new molecules necessary for the development of future medicines. Is crop production in ornamental horticulture not a panacea to this destruction and to the *in situ* or *ex situ* conservation of overexploited species and put in a situation of threats or even disappearance?

Ornamental horticulture in Togo is characterized by the weakness of the areas exploited and the inorganization of the sector. It makes it possible to satisfy in part the ornamental plants needs of the capital, to participate in the generation of direct and indirect income, to partially reduce unemployment and to improve the environmental landscape of cities. The mode of acquisition and exploitation of the spaces is precarious as soon as the cities of the country and especially Lomé (the capital) are under construction especially in the construction of road infrastructures. This work, as is currently the case for operators located on the Boulevard du Mono (Lomé—Benin Border) axis, force operators installed on public roads to forcible removal, plunging the sector into precarious situations. The maintenance of a balance between urbanization and ornamental horticulture may exist provided that the authorities concerned are aware of its importance in improving the quality of urban life, in supplying cities with ornamental species and diversity, the elimination of unemployment and participation in the national economy. It is therefore important that all the actors on the ground have an integrated and concerted approach not only to improve the performance of production systems but also to take horticultural holdings into account in urban planning schemes.

As part of the policy of embellishing cities, flowers can play a very important role. It is therefore necessary to take action to enable the nascent horticultural sector to play its full part in this policy and in the economy of the country. The training of a skilled workforce would be an asset for its development.
