The vegetation of Lake Nakuru National Park, Kenya: a synopsis of the vegetation types with annoted species list

Abstract

Nakuru National Park is lacking an overall account of its vegetation. A floristic survey, using satellite images and ground diversity exploration, resulted in a detailed map of 24 vegetation types, which are briefly described in ten major edaphic and geomorphological habitats. Comments are made about the diversity of the stands in terms of species numbers and life forms, and upon the relationship between diversity and environment in this area. The survey has also produced a comprehensive Plant Check List with over 575 vascular plant species for many of which a range of distribution within the Park has been given, referring to the described vegetation types. The most diverse flowering plant families are the Compositae (Asteraceae) with 40, the Gramineae (Poaceae) with 50 and Leguminosae with 57 (Caesalpinaceae 5, Mimosaceae 10, and Papilionaceae 42) species respectively. The most characteristic families of the Park are the Solanaceae and Malvaceae whose flora represents about 19% of that in East Africa. The Euphorbiaceae and Rubiaceae are under¬represented in the Park.

Journal of East African Natural History Vol. 83 (1) 1994: pp. 71-96