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

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. Zehneriatuberifera 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).

Zehneria grandibracteata (Cucurbitaceae), an overlooked new species from western Kenyan forests.

Zehneria grandibracteata, a new species of Cucurbitaceae from western Kenya, is described here, based on morphological and molecular data. It has long been misidentified as the widely-distributed species Z. scabra. However, it differs by its ovate leafy probract at the base of the inflorescences, subglabrous condition of the entire plant, shorter receptacle-tube and filaments, as well as denser and sessile inflorescences. Furthermore, the molecular phylogenetic analysis of Zehneria, based on nrITS sequences, further supports the argument that Z. grandibracteata should be segregated from Z. scabra.

An annotated checklist of the coastal forests of Kenya, East Africa.

The inadequacy of information impedes society's competence to find out the cause or degree of a problem or even to avoid further losses in an ecosystem. It becomes even harder to identify all the biological resources at risk because there is no exhaustive inventory of either fauna or flora of a particular region. Coastal forests of Kenya are located in the southeast part of Kenya and are distributed mainly in four counties: Kwale, Kilifi, Lamu, and Tana River County. They are a stretch of fragmented forests ca. 30-120 km away from the Indian Ocean, and they have existed for millions of years. Diversity of both fauna and flora is very high in these relicts and the coastal forests of Eastern Africa, extending along the coast from Somalia through Kenya and Tanzania to Mozambique, are ranked among the priority biodiversity hotspot in the world. In spite of the high plant species richness and their importance towards supporting the livelihoods of the communities that live around them, floristic studies in these forests have remained poorly investigated. Hence, based on numerous field investigations, plant lists from published monograph/literature, and data from BRAHMS (Botanical Records and Herbarium Management System) database at East African herbarium (EA), we present a detailed checklist of vascular plants recorded in this region. Our results show that Kenyan coastal forests play an essential role in the flora of Kenya and the plant diversity of the coastal forests of East Africa. The checklist represents 176 families, 981 genera, 2489 species, 100 infraspecific taxa, 90 endemic plants species, 72 exotic species, and 120 species that are included in the current IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as species of major concern. We also discovered three new species to the world from these relicts. Thus, Kenyan coastal forests present a remarkable and significant center of plant diversity.