The soils are characterized by low bulk density (0.73 g/cm³) and a loamy texture. The low bulk density indicates the andosolic nature of these soils [5] . It might be attributed to more ground biomass input in the form of leaf [6] . High fine particles (silt + clay) content might be due to the absence of translocation of finer particles from the surface horizons. The soils are stable with a high structural stability index [7] .

The Climate of Mount Bamboutos is more or less the same as that of the western highlands of Cameroon and West Africa [8] . The rainy season stretches from March to October and the drying season from November to February. The combination of altitude, temperature inversion, slope orientation, hamattan, mist and cloud leads to the development of different local climatic zones. Mean maximum: 20˚C - 22˚C; mean minimum 13˚C - 14˚C. November has the lowest mean minimum temperature and December has the highest mean maximum. Temperature inversions at night in narrow valleys which suffer from poor air drainage lead to some ground frost, mainly in January or February. Rainfall varies from 1780 - 2290 mm per year. The most rain falls between July and September. Generally, January and February have the lowest relative humidity (average 45% - 52%). The monthly average humidity exceeds 80% in July and August. Mist and low clouds frequently occur during the rainy season.

The Mount Bamboutos area is part of the Western Highlands of Cameroon, with an altitudinal range of slightly below 1000 m to 2740 m at the summit of Mt Bamboutos. According to the Cameroon vegetation map [9] , the vegetation of Mount Bamboutos is classified into the submontane forest, which ranges from 800 m to 1900 - 2000 m of altitude and the montane forest 1900 - 2000 m and above. However, Mount Bamboutos also carries vast derived grasslands and woodlands as described by [8] .

Both literature review and field data collection were used to establish the baseline situation of plants found in Mount Bamboutos. A literature review was used to collect and process secondary data from publications on the plants of the Mt Bamboutos area. The principal source of plant lists of the area was collected through herbaria specimens of plants that had been collected by the National herbarium and the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew from the Mt Bamboutos area.

For field data collection, forest patches found along the proposed two line transects of 12 km each were explored for the collection and identification of plant specimens as shown on the map below (Figure 1). Collections were carried out in the southern part of Mount Bamboutos including; Bangang sacred forest of about 50 hectares and the Mesan area towards Tuala. In the northern part notably through the Pinyin-Menka area, collections were carried out in the Menka forest and all small patches of forest in the area were also visited towards the Bamumbu (Figure 2).

Filed identification of specimens was carried out for the majority of species that were easy to identify on the field. Collected voucher specimens were tagged, dried and labeled following conventional plant specimen processing techniques with no spirit collections or carpological. Confirmation of identification was carried out at the Cameroon National Herbarium. Occurrences of the main tree species within the different altitudinal ranges were observed and recorded to establish the dominant species of trees given that most of the study site is above 2000 m above sea level.

A total of 332 specimens of plants (herbs, shrubs, trees, small trees, lianas, climbers and epiphytes) were identified and documented from Mount Bamboutos. The identified species belong to 89 families. The collected species were composed of 25.3% herbs, 24.1% trees, 241% shrubs, 19.3% small trees, 4.2% climbers, 2.4% epiphytes and 0.6% liana (Figure 3).

The results of this study agree with those of [10] who reported that trees are usually the most frequent life forms in tropical mountain rainforests. The Rubiaceae and the Asteraceae had the highest number of species respectively; 41 and 32 (Table 1). Up to 22 families in the study area had at least 5 species. This shows the high level of diversity of the study site.

The Rubiaceae had the highest number of species and equally had the highest number of endangered species (4 species) (Table 2). The Meliaceae and Asteraceae

VU = Vulnerable, CR = Critically Endangered.

each had 2 endangered species. The main threat to the species is associated with habitat loss through clearance and transformation of the forest to agricultural land. Some species like Prunus africana, Xylopia africana are targeted because of their medical uses that have resulted in unsustainable harvesting of the species in the wild putting the survival of the species at risk. Prunus Africana is used for the treatment of venereal infections, kidney and prostrate disorders [11] . In fact, a good number of species found in the studied area are of conservation value and importance. Out of the 332 species recorded, 18 species were threatened. Among the 18 species, 4 species were critically endangered. These species included Alchemilla fisheri, Chasselia liakomensis, Dombeya ledermanii and Ternstroemia cameroonensis. 16 other species were considered vulnerable according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature [12] . The most commonly used plant families for the treatment of typhoid fever in Bamboutos Division were Asteraceae and Fabaceae [13] which could account for the vulnerable nature of these herbs in these families.

The threatened species found during this study were different from those obtained by [14] . This is because of the difference in the sampling sites. In this study, sampling was concentrated in the forest areas while [14] collected samples from the savanna area. Ternstroemia cameroonensis is used for the treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, as a blood tonic and to address female sterility [15] .

As stated by [16] , restoration of biodiverse ecosystems, such as tropical mountain ecosystems, has the potential to simultaneously recover lost biodiversity and ecosystem functioning and improve local livelihoods and has recently come to the fore of global conservation efforts [17] . The Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) defined restoration as “the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged or destroyed” [18] and, as such, encompasses a broad suite of approaches ranging from passive restoration, to assisted recovery and active restoration. The urgency for global restorative actions culminated in global restoration pledges like the 2011 Bonn Challenge and the proclamation of the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration. Several reasons exist for the restoration of damaged ecosystems and include; conserving biodiversity (specific habitats or species), enhancing ecosystem processes (such as nutrient cycling), combatting climate change (through carbon storage or adaptation), and providing ecosystem services (such as water regulation or food provision) for cultural and spiritual reasons [19] . While restoration is by no means a replacement for the protection of intact ecosystems, it is a useful complementary conservation strategy to recover degraded land, such as in this case of reforestation. Enrichment planting has been found to contribute to the conservation of forest cover in degraded areas. Enrichment planting may influence overstory, understory (seedling/sapling density), and herbaceous species richness [20] . The following species (Table 3) were proposed for the regeneration of Mount Bamboutos using the analog-forestry approach where the climax community for montane and sub-montane forest is targeted as the final ideal forests.

A total of 57 different species were proposed belonging to 25 different families. The Euphorbiaceae had the highest number of species (9) followed by the Guttiferae with 5 species. The Apocynaceae and the Bignoniaceae each had 4 species. The rest of the families had 3 or fewer species.