Verdcourt,B.

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Octobe~,1953.
MUDWORTS IN KENYA
By BERNARD VERDCOURT, B.SC., F.L.S.
65
ThegenusLimosellaL. (Scrophulariaceae)or 'Mudwort'asit is calledin
Britain is verylittle knownin EastAfrica althoughseveralspeciesoccur.
This shortnoteis intendedto draw attentionto theseinterestingplants
sincein all probabilityundiscoveredspeciesremainto be foundandeven
thecommoneronesareverypoorlyrepresentedin herbaria.All aresmall
aquaticor semi-aquaticherbswith leavesand flowersradical in basal
tufts a few inchesin diameter.Threespeciesare mentionedin Flora of
TropicalAfrica IV (ii) p. 352-3 (1906),butnoneis recordedfromKenya.
KEY TO THE SPECIES
A Leavesovateor elliptic,bladesfloatingabruptlynarrowedinto fine petioles;
rest of plant/submerged;flowerssessile:
Leaves narrowly elliptic 3. L. africana Gluck
Leavesoval .•........................................... 2. L. capensis Thunb.
AA Leaves oblanceolateor elliptic, blade mergedgradually into a long coarse
petiole;plant growingon muddybank~;flowersstalked
.................. 1. L. major Diels
AAA Leaveslinear or subulate
NOTES ON THE SPECIES
4. L. macrantha Fries
1. LimoseHa major Diels. This has been recordedfrom Eritrea and South
Africa. It was recentlydiscove;redby P. J. Greenwayand C. F. Hemming
at the foot of the escarpmenton the Naivasha road in a seasonalgwamp
togetherwith sedges,Crassula,etc. in openAcacia woodland. The flowers
are pale blue and the plant producesrunners. The whole plant is rather
fleshy. Greenway& Hemming8768(E.A. Herb., and Kew).
2. LimoseHa capensis Thunb. This speciesis known from South and South
West Africa. It seemsto be frequentin very seasonalponds and swamps
e.g.at Mugugaon murram. Verdcourt641(E.A. Herb and Kew) and Elmen-
teita, Soy SambuEstateBogdan1054(E.A. Herb. and Kew).
3. Limosella africana Gluck. This has beenconfusedunder L. aquatica Linn.
the commonEuropean speciesand is recorded from Abyssinia and the
CameroonsMountains. Mr. Bogdanhas collectedthis speciesat Elmenteita,
in plains round the lake, pools in saline pan with ro<;kbed. Bogdan3034
(E.A. Herb. and Kew).
4. LimoseHa macrantha Fries. This specieshas not beenseenbut was describ-
ed and figured by its author from plants found in the Aberdares at over
10,000ft. R.E. & Th. Fries 2691(Uppsala).. The figuresmay be found in
Acta Hort. Bergiani 8, 49 (1925).
Further materialfrom otherlocalitiesin East Africa is mustdesired. I have
not seenFries's material from Mt. Kenya which he calls L. aquatica Linn.
Mudworts in Kenya. VOL. XXIi
.
:1 <:. f
Fig. 1. "Mudworts":-
(a) Entire plant of L. major Diels, x !.
(b) flower of ditto, x 4.
(c) leaf of L. macranthaR.E., Fr., 'x !.
(d) Leaf of L. capensis,x 1.
(e) ditto, showingposition in water.
.(f) Leaf 'of L. africana Gluck, x !.
A RARE HAWK
A juvenile plumagedOvampoSparrow Hawk (Accipiter ovampensis
Gurney),hasbeenaddedrecentlyto theornithologicalstudycollectionat
the Coryn.donMuseum. In this plumagethe OvampoSparrowHawk is
very similar to an adult Rufous Sparrow Hawk (Accipiter rufiventris
Smith)butdiffersin havingbuffmarginsto thefeathersof theupperparts
andwing covertsanda palercrown.
The donorsof thisvaluablespecimenareMr. & Mrs. C. F. Cockburnof
Nairobi. Thehawkwassecuredbyanativewith a stoneasit wasstanding
overa youngchickenit had just killed.
The Editor.


Mudworts in Kenya

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Mudworts in Kenya

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