The Galoka mountain chain, comprising principally the Galoka and Kalabenono massifs, situated at the northern edge of the Sambirano Region in NW Madagascar is an area that was virtually unknown botanically. It was visited three times between 2005 and 2007 as part of a floristic inventory. Both massifs contain the last remaining primary forests in the Galoka chain, which extends parallel to the coastline from South of Ambilobe to North of Ambanja. Several new species have been discovered amongst the collections, eight of which are described here.

A recent review of Bignoniaceae for the "Catalogue of the vascular plants of Madagascar" has revealed new species in most of the genera present on the island. We provide descriptions of four new species in the genus Ophiocolea H. Perrier, a genus that is endemic to the Malagasy region: Ophiocolea ambrensis Callm. & Phillipson, Ophiocolea darainensis Callm., Phillipson & Nusb., Ophiocolea pauciflora Callm., Phillipson & Razan. and Ophiocolea ratovosonii Callm. & Phillipson. Field photographs and line drawings are provided for each of these four new species. Two species described previously, Ophiocolea decaryi H. Perrier and Ophiocolea velutina H. Perrier, are lectotypified. For all six treated species, we provide a short discussion on morphological affinities and eco-geography, and perform a conservation threat analysis based on the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria.