NEW RECORDS TO THE BRYOFLORA OF THE E SLOPE OF MT. KENYA

Abstract

The first author studied the bryophyte communities on the East slope of Mt. Kenya through the forest belt between 1600 and 3000 m elevations. Seven sampling plots were selected at each 200 m altitudinal interval. At each sampling plot microclimate data measurements were carried out for six months between July and December 2020 using dataloggers and the composition of epiphyllous communities was studied in details with special reference to the host plants. Tamás Pócs and his team (Bence Együd, Judit Havasi and Mária Szegedi) joined to this research during the August of 2021, to help in further collection and identification work. The collected specimens are deposited in the herbaria of EA and EGR. Majority of the collections have already been identified. The discovery of the only mainland African occurrences of the Lemurian Microlejeunea inflata and Leptodon fuciformis are outstanding results. Other species are new for Kenya: Cololejeunea platyneura, Cyclodyction subbrevifolium, Diplasiolejeunea deslooveri, Fissidens intramarginatus and Telaranea coactilis. The last author visited the same sites 2004 with his late wife, Sarolta Czímer, guided by Min S.Chuah-Petiot from Nairobi University and from their collection Gemmabryum subapiculatum, Orthotrichum denticulatum, Lophocolea fragrans and Lophocolea muricata proved to be new to Kenya.