Monochoria africana N.E.Br. [Family Pontederiaceae]: Probable Reasons for Limited Distribution of This Rare Species in Kenya

Monochoria africana N.E.Br. is an extremely rare plant with limited distribution in Kenya. Rare plant species are often specialists for a rare microhabitat and there is all likelihood that Monochoria africana is a habitat specialist. Our research on distribution of this species in Kenya has so far located it in a very small isolated microhabitat in the Tana River delta, coastal region of Kenya. So far, this plant has only been located in one community farm in a small village called Ozi, near Kipini, Latitude 2°30’33’’S and Longitude 40°27’20’’E. The methodology used in this study entailed direct observations, line transects, meander and patterned searches in its narrow area of endemism. In this short communication, the authors hypothesize various reasons for the limited distribution of this rare species. Viz: diverse edaphic factors, inbreeding depression, low levels of seed set, genetic bottlenecks, specialized pollination systems etc. At the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) department of Botany greenhouses, we have embarked on some studies to try and unravel probable reasons for rarity of Monochoria africana. Short Communication Njenga and Muchuku; APRJ, 6(1): 1-5, 2020; Article no.APRJ.58957 2

• Publication year

  2020

• Venue

  Unknown venue

• Publication date

  2020-08-05

• Fields of study

  Biology, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.9734/aprj/2020/v6i130116
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Population Viability Analysis

  2019cited by this paper
• Low genetic diversity and potential inbreeding in an isolated population of alder buckthorn (Frangula alnus) following a founder effect

  2017cited by this paper
• Snowball Sampling: A Purposeful Method of Sampling in Qualitative Research

  2017cited by this paper
• Pollinator rarity as a threat to a plant with a specialized pollination system

  2015cited by this paper
• Soil-Plant Relationships in the Arid Saline Desert of Cholistan

  2013cited by this paper
• Land and water grabbing in an east african coastal wetland : the case of the Tana delta

  2012cited by this paper
• A Review of Aquatic Plant Monitoring and Assessment Methods

  2012cited by this paper
• Mutation and Conservation

  1995cited by this paper
• THE EDAPHIC FACTOR IN NARROW ENDEMISM. I. THE NATURE OF ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES

  1946cited by this paper

• No citing papers are available for this paper.