An annotated checklist of the vascular plants of Taita Hills, Eastern Arc Mountain

By

Muema, Benjamin Watuma
Kipkoech, Solomon
Melly, David Kimutai
Ngumbau, Veronicah Mutele
Rono, Peninah Cheptoo
Mutie, Fredrick Munyao
Mkala, Elijah Mbadi
Nzei, John Mulinge
Mwachala, Geoffrey
Gituru, Robert Wahiti
Hu, Guangwan
Wang, Qingfeng.

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2022-3-1

Original Publication

PhytoKeys

Volume

191

Pages

1--158

Subjects

Biodiversity , Checklist , Conservation , Eastern arc mountains

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers [2010]-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.191.73714

 

Abstract

Taita Hills forests are an ecological island within the Tsavo plains and are the northern-most part of the Eastern Arc Mountains in southeast Kenya. They are highly fragmented forests embedded in a mosaic of human settlements and farms on the slopes and hilltops. Despite their intensive degradation, they exhibit a high degree of plant diversity and endemism, and therefore are regarded as a biodiversity hotspot. In spite of their distinct importance to the biodiversity of the region as well as supporting the livelihoods of the surrounding communities, floristic studies in these hills have been finite. Through repetitive floral expeditions, herbarium records from the East African Herbarium (EA), Global Biodiversity Information (GBIF), and the Integrated Digitized Biocollections (iDigbio) databases, as well as plant lists from literature and monographs, we provide a comprehensive checklist of 1594 taxa representing 159 families, 709 genera, 1530 species, 39 subspecies, 27 varieties, and 2 hybrids. Out of these, 75 are endemic or near-endemic, 59 are exotic, and 83 are listed as either endangered or near endangered as evaluated in the IUCN Redlist. Zehneria tuberifera G.W.Hu & Q.F.Wang, a new species to science, which has previously been described, was also discovered from the Ngangao forest fragment. Information on the habit(s), habitat(s), and altitudinal range of each taxon is provided in this study. This checklist is an updated inventory of the vascular plants of the Taita Hills. It confirms the high plant diversity of the hills and provides a clear baseline for strategic conservation and sustainable management of plant resources and diversity under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).