Henk Beentje

A new Vernonia (Compositae: Vernonieae) from the Udzungwa Mountains, Tanzania

The Udzungwa Mountain National Park (UMNP) was gazetted in 1992; it covers 1990 km2, and lies within the angle formed between the Ruaha River and the Kilombero plains. It rises from approximately 300 m on the SE edge to the peaks of Mwanihana and Karenga/Gologolos at 2,080 m and 2,279 m respectively. Rolling hills of a dissected plateau then separate the eastern highlands from Luhomero Peak to the west, the highest point at 2,576 m. From this western block the land falls away to the Ruaha valley around 500 m. The UMNP protects approximately a fifth of the whole Udzungwa Mountains which form the southern end of the Eastern Arc mountains. The high levels of endemism and diversity (Luke, in prep.; Luke & Beentje, in prep.) are thought to be the product of the great age of these mountains, their former connection to West African forests and their subsequent isolation, coupled with the wide altitudinal range and good rainfall originating from the Indian Ocean.

A new species of Psiadia (Compositae) from Mayotte

Summary. A new species, Psiadia pascalii (Compositae), endemic to Mayotte, is described and illustrated. Its habitat and conservation status are described.

Science comes from collaboration and communication: the Flora of Tropical East Africa as an example

Herbaria are often seen as old-fashioned, but they are a vital tool for biodiversity research. One aspect of such research is the writing of Floras: identification manuals and taxonomic treatments and regional monographs rolled into one. The Flora of Tropical East Africa is the example highlighted here. It was started in 1948 and completed in 2012, it deals with just over 12,000 species for a large and diverse tropical area. In all, 135 authors from 22 countries collaborated with illustrators to produce this Flora, and it was based on more than a million plant specimens collected by 2500 collectors and preserved in many herbaria. The process of producing such a Flora is discussed, as well as the goals and results.

A Synopsis and New Species of Emilia (Compositae-Senecioneae) in Northeast Tropical Africa

The NE tropical African species of Emilia are revised and 14 species are recognised. Of these, five species are newly described and illustrated: E. herbacea, E. adamagibaensis, E. negellensis, E. serpentina and E. arvensis. One taxon is kept as Emilia sp. until more material is available. Brief diagnostic descriptions, synonyms, habitat and distributional data are provided for the existing taxa.

Sabkha Regions of Tropical East Africa

Sabkhat in the region of tropical East Africa (treated here as Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania) are comparatively small in area and limited mostly to lake basins in the Eastern Rift and a few coastal areas. A relatively large inland sabkha lies in North Kenya, west of Lake Turkana, associated with the Chalbi Desert (a former lake). The chief plants of saline flats that surround the saline lakes in Kenya and Uganda include Cyperus laevigatus, Sporobolus spicatus and Dactyloctenium spp. The coastal sabkhat, flooded only at spring tides, are occupied by monospecific stands of stunted Avicennia marina. At the more open parts of the Avicennia fringe Arthrocnemum indicum, Paspalum vaginatum, Sesuvium portulacastrum, Sporobolus virginicus, S. spicatus, S. kentrophyllus, Pedalium murex and Suaeda monoica form the main associates. In the inland sabkhat low rainfall and high potential evaporation have resulted in an arid and saline landscape dominated by grasses Aristida adscensionis, A. mutabilis, Drake-Brockmania somalensis, Sporobolus consimilis, S. virginicus and Psilolemma jaegeri, and the subshrubs Duosperma eremophilum and Indigofera spinosa. Lagenantha nogalensis occurs on gypsophilous soils and Dasysphaera prostrata on saline soils at the edges of Lake Turkana and the Chalbi Desert. Stunted woody vegetation is dominated by Acacia reficiens and in drainage channels by Salvadora persica. Floristically the coastal sabkhat of tropical East Africa fall in the Zanzibar-Inhambane regional mosaic and the inland sabkhat in the Somalia-Masai regional centre of endemism. There are no endemic genera in the coastal sabkhat, but all of the nine East African mangrove species occur in Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique. In the inland sabkhat, the Somalia-Masai regional centre of endemism includes the endemic genera Drake-Brockmania and Dasysphaera. There is no arid-zone agriculture in the inland sabkhat region and nomadic pastoralists, depending on their livestock for subsistence, are the main occupants; Duosperma and Indigofera are amongst some of the important food plants of livestock (camels). Salt deposits are harvested from the extensive flats surrounding the saline and soda lakes, and the mangrove is an important economic resource as a nursery for fish and crustaceans, as well as a source of poles, timber and firewood. Over-harvesting of wood and conversion to saltpans and aquaculture, housing and industry is a threat to many parts of the mangrove area. There are no strict nature reserves in the inland sabkhat of tropical East Africa designated for the protection of arid landscapes and its flora; however the Mount Kulal Biosphere Reserve in northern Kenya covers the salt desert and lake ecosystems; Lake Manyara and Amboseli Biosphere Reserves also partly cover the saline and alkaline ecosystems. Mangrove areas are included in Watamu Marine National Park, Kiunga National Marine Reserve and Ras Tenewi Marine National Park in Kenya, and in Mafia Island Marine Park, Jozani National Park and Sadaani Game Reserve in Tanzania. Other areas of East African mangrove are included in forest reserves, with varying degrees of protection.

A GUIDE TO THE FIG TREES OF WESTERN TANZANIA WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON GOMBE AND MAHALE NATIONAL PARKS

ABSTRACT An overview is given of the vegetation of the Gombe and Mahale National Parks in western Tanzania. The paper then focuses on the 24 fig trees of this area and after a brief overview of the natural history, keys are provided to identify the species. Each species is briefly treated with a short description, local names, habitat and specimen citations, as well as conservation assessments.

A New Species of Emilia (Compositae: Senecioneae) from Western Tanzania

During work on generic accounts for the Flora of Tropical East Africa, Compositae part 3, a new species came to light, which is described below. It belongs to the group of Emilia species with discoid capitula and semi-amplexicaul leaves, hairy achenes, and white, yellow or red corollas. It is closest to Emilia coccinea in the style arms, which terminate in a subulate appendage of fused papillae, but differs from that species in the almost sessile leaves, the lower number of phyllaries (5 6 as opposed to 821), and the white (not red or orange) corolla. A curious feature is that a few, but not all, of the outer florets are slightly zygomorphic, with two of the corolla lobes slightly larger than the other three. This is unique among East African Emilia species, as far as we know, but E. pseudactis, E. lejolyana, E. malaisseana and E. robynsiana, all from Congo (Kinshasa), show the same character. Of these taxa our new species most resembles E. pseudactis, but differs in having a basal rosette of leaves (not spaced as in E. pseudactis), in the shorter petiole, in the larger leaves (10 27 x 10 18 as opposed to 712 x 210 mm); in the capitula with fewer florets (811 rather than 1663) with larger lobes in the zygomorphic florets (outer lobes 1.72.1 mm rather than 1.2 mm); and in the shorter pappus (1 1.5 mm and subplumose as opposed to 2 3 mm and barbellate). E. mbagoi grows in woodland at altitudes of 850 950 m rather than in woodland, on moist riverbanks or on rocky outcrops at 1400 2790 m like E. pseudactis. The name is in honour of one of the collectors, Mr Frank Mbago of Dar es Salaam herbarium, who has participated in many plant-hunting expeditions. Emilia mbagoi Beentje & Mesfin, sp. nov. E. pseudactis C. Jeffrey floribus zygomorphis habituque affinis sed foliis majoribus plerumque in rosulas basales confertis, petiolis brevioribus, flosculis per capitulum paucioribus, in flosculis zygomorphis lobis corollae majoribus, pappo breviore sed subplumoso differt. Typus: Tanzania, Nkansi Distr., 45 km on Namanyere Karonga road, Bidgood, Mbago & Vollesen 2656 (K!, holotypus, DSM, isotypus).

New taxa and new combinations in Helichrysum (Compositae: Inuleae)

Summary. In a precursor to the treatment of Helichrysum for the Flora of Tropical East Africa, two new taxa are described: H. cataractarum from southern Tanzania, and H. korongoni from upland Uganda and Tanzania. Five species are reduced in rank to varieties of H. nudifolium, H. mechowianum and H. kirkii, and six more species are brought into synonymy of these taxa; the necessary new combinations are made and the types and full synonymies are given.

Encephalartos tegulaneus Subsp. Powysii (Zamiaceae): A New Cycad in Central Kenya

ABSTRACT A new cycad taxon, Encephalartos tegulaneus subsp. powysii, is described from Central Kenya. Taxonomic characteristics unique to this taxon in relation to the other subspecies are discussed. Its habitat preference, population and conservation status are also discussed.

A new subspecies of Conyza montigena (Compositae: Astereae) from Tanzania

SummaryA new taxon of Conyza has been found on Mt Kilimanjaro: C. montigena S. Moore subsp. kilimanjarica. Its close relatives are from the Ruwenzori and Virunga Mountains on the border of Uganda, Congo and Rwanda. As these relatives are varieties of C. montigena, the geographical separation has led us to describe the new taxon as a subspecies of C. montigena, subsp. kilimanjarica Beentje & Hemp.