Fig trees (Ficus, Moraceae) of Kenya

Volume: 7

A monograph on Strophanthus DC. (Apocynaceae)

1. This monograph is written on the genus Strophanthus, and is mainly based on the study of herbarium material.2. The genus occurs in Africa including Madagascar, and in South Asia.3. From the 141 taxonomic names existing, 38 species are recognized, one of which has 2 varieties. Forty-five names are reduced to synonyms for the first time.4. The general part of the monograph consists of short paragraphs on various subjects.5. The systematic part consists of a genus description, a discussion of the relationships within the genus, separate keys for flowering and fruiting specimens, and species diagnoses with lists of synonyms, uses and local names, phenology, notes on systematics, and illustrations. Lists of doubtful species. intermediates, nomina nuda, exluded species, old commercial names, and a index of exsiccatae are provided

Woody plant communities of isolated Afromontane cloud forests in Taita Hills, Kenya

In the Taita Hills in southern Kenya, remnants of the original Afromontane forest vegetation are restricted to isolated mountain peaks. To assess the level of degradation and the need for forest restoration, we examined how forest plant communities and their indicator species vary between and within remnant patches of cloud forest. We used ordinal abundance data to compare plant communities in eight forest fragments. We also analyzed data on the diversity and abundance of trees in 57 0.1 ha plots to compare tree communities within and between the largest two of these fragments, Ngangao (120 ha) and Mbololo (220 ha). The extant vegetation of the Taita Hills at landscape scale consists of secondary moist montane to intermediate montane forest. There was a high species dissimilarity between fragments (69%). Variation in species composition coincided with an abiotic gradient related to elevation. At plot level, secondary successional species and species of forest edges were most abundant and most frequent. Inferred clusters of plots almost entirely coincided with the two forest fragments. Indicator species associated with forest margins and gaps were more frequent in the smaller of the two forest fragments, while indicators for the larger fragment were more typical for less disturbed moist forest. Abiotic site variability but also different levels of disturbance determine site-specific variants of the montane forest. Conservation efforts should not only focus on maintaining forest quantity (size), but also on forest quality (species composition). Late-successional rainforest species are underrepresented in the woody plant communities of the Taita Hills and assisting restoration of viable populations of cloud forest climax tree species is urgently needed

Ethnobotany of the Samburu of Mt. Nyiru, South Turkana, Kenya

Traditional plant use is of extremely high importance in many societies, and prevalent in African communities. This knowledge is however dwindling rapidly due to changes towards a more Western lifestyle. The influence of modern tourism cannot be neglected in this context. This paper examines the plant use of the Samburu of the Mt. Nyiru area in Northern Kenya. The Samburu pastoralists of Kenya are still amongst the most traditional communities of the country and have retained most of their knowledge about the use of a large part of the plants in their environment for a wide variety of purposes. The results indicate that the local population has a very high knowledge of the plants in their surroundings, and attributes a purpose to a large percentage of the plants found. 448 plant species were collected, identified and their Samburu names and traditional uses recorded. 199 species were reported as of "no use". The high proportion of 249 plant species however had some traditional use: The highest number (180 species) was used as fodder, followed by 80 species that had medicinal use. Firewood (59 species), construction (42 species), tools (31 species), food (29 species) and ceremonial use (19 species) ranked far behind. Traditionally the Samburu attribute most illnesses to the effect of pollutants that block or inhibit digestion. This can include "polluted" food, contagion through sick people as well as witchcraft. In most cases the treatment of illness involves herbal purgatives to cleanse the patient. There are however frequent indications of plant use for common problems like wounds, parasites, body aches and burns. The change from a nomadic to a more sedentary lifestyle, often observed in other areas of the country, has affected the Samburu of remote Mt. Nyiru to a much lesser extent and did so far not lead to a major loss of traditional plant knowledge. However, overgrazing and over-exploitation of plant resources have already led to a decline of the plant material available

Plant use of the Maasai of Sekenani Valley, Maasai Mara, Kenya

Traditional plant use is of tremendous importance in many societies, including most rural African communities. This knowledge is however, rapidly dwindling due to changes towards a more Western lifestyle, and the influence of modern tourism. In case of the Sekenani Maasai, the recent change from a nomadic to a more sedentary lifestyle has not, thus far lead to a dramatic loss of traditional plant knowledge, when compared to other Maasai communities. However, in Sekenani, plants are used much less frequently for manufacturing tools, and for veterinary purposes, than in more remote areas. While the knowledge is still present, overgrazing and over-exploitation of plant resources have already led to a decline of the plant material available. This paper examines the plant use of the Maasai in the Sekenani Valley, North of the Masaai Mara National Reserve. The Maasai pastoralists of Kenya and Tanzania use a large part of the plants in their environment for many uses in daily life. The plant use and knowledge of the Sekenani Maasai is of particular interest, as their clan, the "Il-Purko", was moved from Central Kenya to this region by the British Colonial Administration in 1904. The results of this study indicate that despite their relocation 100 years ago, the local population has an extensive knowledge of the plants in their surroundings, and they ascribe uses to a large percentage of the plants found. One-hundred-fifty-five plant species were collected, identified and their Maa names and traditional uses recorded. Although fifty-one species were reported as of "no use", only eighteen of these had no Maasai name. Thirty-three were recognized by a distinctive Maa name. Thirty-nine species had a medicinal use, and 30 species served as fodder for livestock. Six species could not be identified. Of these plants five were addressed by the Maasai with distinct names. This exemplifies the Sekenani Maasai's in-depth knowledge of the plant resources. Traditionally, the Maasai attribute most illnesses to the effect of pollutants that block or inhibit digestion. These pollutants can include "polluted" food, contact with sick people and witchcraft. In most cases the treatment of illness involves herbal purgatives to cleanse the patient. There are alsofrequent indications of plant use for common problems like wounds, parasites, body aches and burns

Traditional management of ear, nose and throat (ENT) diseases in Central Kenya

Diseases of ear, nose and throat (ENT) often have serious consequences including hearing impairment, and emotional strain that lower the quality of life of patients. In Kenya, upper respiratory infections are among the most common infections encountered in outpatient facilities. Some of these infections are becoming difficult to control because some of the causing microorganisms have acquired antibiotic resistance and hence the need to develop new drugs with higher efficacy. Ethnobotanical studies have now been found to be instrumental in improving chances of discovering plants with antimicrobial activity in new drug development. In Kenya the majority of local people are turning to herbal remedies for primary health care needs. In most cases the sources of these remedies are undocumented and the knowledge about them passed orally form generation to generation, hence under threat of disappearing with current rates of modernisation. This study explored the traditional remedies used in managing various ENT diseases in seven districts of the Central Province of Kenya. The most common ENT conditions managed using traditional therapies include: common cold, cough, tonsillitis, otitis-media, chest pains and asthma. The results indicate that 67 species belonging to 36 plant families were utilized in this region. These plants were of varying habits; herbs (37.3%), shrubs (34.4%), trees (25.4%) as well as some grasses and sedges (3%). The traditional preparations were found to be made mainly from leaves (49%), roots (20.5%) and barks (12.5%). For each of the ENT conditions multiple species are utilized mainly as individual preparations but occasionally as polyherbal concoctions. In the case of common cold for example, 30 different species are used. Plants reported in this survey are important candidates for antimicrobial tests against ENT disease causing micro-organisms, especially those with antibiotic resistance

Grass Functional Traits Differentiate Forest and Savanna in the Madagascar Central Highlands

<p>Grassland, woodland, and forest are three key vegetation types that co-occur across the central highlands of Madagascar, where the woodland has historically been considered as degraded forest. Here, we use grass functional traits to inform our understanding of the biogeography of Malagasy vegetation and the differentiation of vegetation types in the region. We sampled grass community composition at 56 sites across the central highlands of Madagascar spanning grassland, woodland, and forest. We selected seven functional traits known to correlate with different aspects of life history collated via GrassBase (habit, culm type, physiology, leaf consistency, plant height, leaf width, and leaf length) for the 71 constituent species. Via analyses of the beta diversity, rank abundance, functional dispersion, functional group richness, and community phylogenetic structure of grassland communities, we differentiate these vegetation types using plant functional traits. Grassland and woodland are highly similar in grass species composition and dominated by the same species (Loudetia simplex, Trachypogon spicatus, and Schizachyrium sanguineum). In contrast, forest grass species composition significantly differs from both grassland and woodland. Consistent with these species composition patterns, the vegetation types can be distinguished based on physiology, culm type, and leaf consistency. Forests harbor primarily C₃ grasses, which are almost invariably laterally spreading with herbaceous leaves. In contrast, both grassland and woodland species are predominantly tall, caespitose C₄ grasses with coriaceous leaves. Forest grasses are phylogenetically clustered and less diverse than the grassland and woodland communities. Further, we sampled bark thickness of the common woody species occurring in the woodland and forest of the region and found that the relative bark thickness of the woodland tree species was significantly greater than that of forest species from the same genus. We found that the functional traits and architecture of grasses diverge strongly between forest and the grassland-woodland mosaic. We conclude that the woodlands, primarily dominated by Uapaca bojeri Baill., are a form of savanna and not forest as has been previously suggested.</p

Ancestral State Reconstruction Reveals Rampant Homoplasy of Diagnostic Morphological Characters in Urticaceae, Conflicting with Current Classification Schemes

Urticaceae is a family with more than 2000 species, which contains remarkable morphological diversity. It has undergone many taxonomic reorganizations, and is currently the subject of further systematic studies. To gain more resolution in systematic studies and to better understand the general patterns of character evolution in Urticaceae, based on our previous phylogeny including 169 accessions comprising 122 species across 47 Urticaceae genera, we examined 19 diagnostic characters, and analysed these employing both maximum-parsimony and maximum-likelihood approaches. Our results revealed that 16 characters exhibited multiple state changes within the family, with ten exhibiting >eight changes and three exhibiting between 28 and 40. Morphological synapomorphies were identified for many clades, but the diagnostic value of these was often limited due to reversals within the clade and/or homoplasies elsewhere. Recognition of the four clades comprising the family at subfamily level can be supported by a small number carefully chosen defining traits for each. Several non-monophyletic genera appear to be defined only by characters that are plesiomorphic within their clades, and more detailed work would be valuable to find defining traits for monophyletic clades within these. Some character evolution may be attributed to adaptive evolution in Urticaceae due to shifts in habitat or vegetation type. This study demonstrated the value of using phylogeny to trace character evolution, and determine the relative importance of morphological traits for classification