A checklist of Lesotho Grasses

36 Pages·2003·2.5 MB·English

by  K. Kobisi & L. E. Kose

A Checklist of Lesotho Grasses
by
Khotso Kobisi and Lerato E.Kose
)
Guidelines for Using the Checklist
The generaand speciesare arranged in alphabetical order.
Accepted genusand species names are in bold print, forexample, Agrostis barbuligera.
Synonymsare iri italics, forexample, Agrostisnatalensis. Notall synonyms fora species are listed.
Naturalised taxa are preceded by an asterisk, for example, Pennisetum clandestinum These are species that were intro-
duced from outside Lesotho but nowoccurin the wild as partofthe natural flora.
Single letters afterthe species names, on the right-hand side ofthe column, indicate the distribution ofspecies within Lesotho
as reflected bythe ROMLand MASEcollections.This indicatesthata species has definitely been recorded in Lesotho.
—
L Lowlands
—
F Foothills
—
M Mountains
—
S Senqu Valley
Double letters after species names, on the right-hand side ofthe column, indicate the distribution ofspecies along the border
with South Africa as reflected in the literature. This indicates that a species could occur in Lesotho, but has not yet been
recorded.
—
KN KwaZulu-Natal
—
FS Free State
—
EC Eastern Cape
Literature references are abbreviated as follows:
—
G Gibbs Russell etal. (1990)
J—JacotCuillarmod (1971
SCH—Schmitz (1984)
—
V Van Oudtshoorn (1999)
Forexample, C:103 refers to page 103 in the Gibbs Russell etal. (1990) publication, GrassesofsouthernAfrica.
The seven-digit numberto the right ofthe genus names is the numbering system followed at Kew Herbarium (K) and used in
Arnold & DeWet (1993)and Leistner(2000).
EasternCape
ZonesofLesothobasedonagriculturalpractices.(AfterthePrimaryAtlasforLesotho)

A
checklist
of
Lesotho grasses
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2016 with funding from
South African National Biodiversity Institute Libraries
https://archive.org/details/checklistoflesotOOkkob
A
checklist
of
Lesotho grasses
by
Khotso Kobisi and Lerato E. Kose
NationalUniversityofLesotho
2003
Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 17
/
Recommendedcitationformat
KOBISI,K. &KOSE,L.E.2003.AchecklistofLesothograsses.
SouthernAfricanBotanicalDiversityNetworkReportNo. 17.Pretoria.
Producedby
Curator:Herbarium(ROML)
DepartmentofBiology
NationalUniversityofLesotho
Roma180
LESOTHO
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [email protected]@yahoo.co.uk
Publishedby
SouthernAfricanBotanicalDiversityNetwork(SABONET),
c/oNational BotanicalInstitute,PrivateBagX101,0001 Pretoria
andtheNationalUniversityofLesotho.
Printed in2003intheRepublicofSouthAfricabyCapturePress,Pretoria,[phone].
ISBN1-919795-68-5
©2003SABONET.Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproducedortransmittedinanyformor
byanymeanswithoutthepermissionofthecopyrightholder.TheNationalUniversityofLesotho(addressabove)
wouldappreciatereceivingacopyofanypublicationthatusesthisreportasasource.
Coverpictures
Frontcover:QiloanemountainatThabaBosiu(Photo:KhotsoKobisi); Merxmuelleramacowaniiaroundthewetland
inSemonkong(Photo: MoretloaPolaki);oneoftherichestwetlandssurroundedbyMerxmuelleraand othergrass
species (Photo: Moretloa Polaki); Merxmuelleramacowaniialong streams and sheltered valleys (Photo: Moretloa
Polaki);BasothohathouseinMaseru (Photo: KhotsoKobisi).
Backcover:InterestinggroundcoverduringtransectsmonitoringatMohale(Photo:MoretloaPolaki);Merxmuellera
macowaniiinthealpinezone(Photo:MoretloaPolaki);ThamnocalamustessellatusfoundinMatsiengHaTaele (Photo:
KhotsoKobisi).
Coverdesign: AntoinetteBurkhardt,Pretoria,SouthAfrica+2782909-0109.
Textdesignandlayout:AntoinetteBurkhardt
SABONETwebsite:http://www.sabonet.org
ThisreportisajointproductoftheNational UniversityofLesothoandtheSouthernAfricanBotanical Diversity
Network(SABONET)andwasmadepossiblethroughsupportprovidedbytheGlobalEnvironmentFacility(GEF)
United NationsDevelopmentProgramme(UNDP)andtheUnitedStatesAgencyforInternationalDevelopment
(USAID)/WorldConservationUnion-RegionalOfficeforsouthernAfrica(IUCNROSA) (Plotno.14818Lebatlane
Road,GaboroneWest, Extension6Gaborone, Botswana), underthetermsofGrantNo. 690-0283-A-00-5950. The
opinionsexpressed hereinare thoseoftheauthors and donotnecessarily reflecttheviews ofUSAID, theGEF/
UNDP,theSABONETSteeringCommitteeorSABONETNationalWorkingGroups.
USAID
IUCN
TheWorld Conservation Union U|l* GEF
In loving memory of Paseka Petros Mafa,
whose soul was called to God before he could begin this checklist.
His strength, intelligence, curiosity, and warm loving heart
will remain with us for ever.
May his soul rest in peace.
(Photos:SABONET;collagebySandraTurck,NBI)
The National University of Lesotho
Herbarium and Botanical Garden
NationalUniversityofLesothoHerba—rium(ROML)was sclmntziaeafterherin1983.Ofallthecollectionshoused
established for two main purposes teaching and re- intheRomaHerbarium, Marthe'sisthelargest.
search.Theherbariumnowactsmainlyasasourceand
facilitatorbydisseminatingbotanical servicestouni- In 1975, the Roma campus separated from the three-
versitystudents,governmentdepartments,NGOs,re- countryUniversityofBotswana,LesothoandSwaziland,
searchers,schools, andthepublic. Itservesasafocal andbecamethepresentNationalUniversityofLesotho.
pointfortheinternationalnetworkofherbariatoen- The herbarium, unfortunately, underwent a period of
hance research on the flora of Lesotho and the sub- inactivity,astherewasnostaffspecificallychargedwith
region. The Botanical Garden is a flourishing plant routineherbariumwork.
sanctuary, as well as an educational centre for stu-
dents,scientists,andthepublic. Itstrivestopromote After support from SABONETin 1996, however,both
abetterknowledgeand understandingofthefloraof theRomaHerbariumandBotanicalGardenhavegrown
Lesotho,especiallytheadaptablealpineflora,through from strength to strength. The provision ofthe project
propagation, cultivation, and conservation of indig- vehicle,projectstaff,andfundingoffieldexcursionshas
enousplants. facilitated more plantcollections. The herbarium now
— boasts 20 000 specimens, compared to about 15 000 at
The National University of Lesotho Herbarium also the start of the project. The Lesotho Highlands Water
—
known as Roma Herbarium (ROML) is a unit of re- Project has contributed significantly to the herbarium
searchandarepositoryofinformationontheindigenous holdings through baseline studies carried out by vari-
floraofLesotho. Theherbariumwas started as partof ousbotanicalconsultantsintheprojectareas.
Pius XII University College, and owes its inception to
AmyJacotGuillarmod,whowasappointedaslecturer TheBotanicalGardenhasalsobenefitedfromtheseroutine
intheBotanyDepartmentin1956. Atitsfounding, the collectionsand,inparticular,fromtherecentplantrescue
RomaHerbariumacquiredanumberofduplicatesfrom missions undertaken in the Mohale Dam inundation
herown collections. Inaddition, in 1958, theconstruc- area.TheBotanicalGardennowgrowsover300shrubs,
—
tionoftheDepartment'sfirstglasshouseunderthesu- herbs,andgrassesofLesotho largelyofalpineorigin.
pervisionofJacotGuillarmodformedthenucleusofthe
futurebotanicalgarden.DrA.V.Robertsformallyestab- AfterthecompletionofanewScienceBlockfortheNa-
lishedtheBotanicalGardenin1962.Theemphasiswas tionalUniversityofLesothoin2000,theherbariumnow
onLesothoplants;inaddition,representativesoffami- hassufficientspaceandpotentialtomountexhibits,and
lies not readily available from Lesotho were obtained to provide a major reference collection. This checklist
fromSouthAfrica.DrRZeijlemaker(whocollectedthe was compiled in conjunction with two smaller sister
firstknownspecimenofPsilotwnnuduminLesothofrom herbaria. Agricultural Research Station Herbarium
the Roma Valley) succeeded AmyJacotGuillarmod in (MASE) and Sehlabathebe National Park Herbarium
1957. (SNPH).
MartheSchmitzjoinedtheDepartmentin1958.Shewas The Biology Departmentin theFaculty ofScienceand
averyactiveplantcollectorandcontributedmanyref- Technology of the National University of Lesotho ad-
erencespecimens totheherbariumfromboththe low- ministerstheNationalUniversityofLesothoHerbarium
lands and mountains of Lesotho. To these she added andBotanicalGarden.
herEuropeancollectionsandsomespecimenscollected
insouthernAfricaoutsidetheLesothoborders.Marthe The National University of Lesotho Herbarium and
Schmitzgaveupfull-timeteachingin1966,butherquest BotanicalGardenaresituatedabout35kmsoutheastof
for botanising did not end there. She was appointed Maseru, the capital city of Lesotho, within the Roma
honorarycuratoroftheherbariumin1972.Inthe1970s, Valley.ItiseasilyaccessedfromMainSouth1Perimeter
MartheworkedonahandbookofLesotholowlandsand Road thatbranchesfrom MasianokengJunctionalong
foothillsgrassesthatwaspublished locallyin1976. Dr theMountainRoadtoMohaleDam.
Bruce Hargreaves, lecturerinthe Biology Department
atthetime, laterproducedamorecomprehensivever- NationalUniversityofLesothoHerbarium
sionthatwaspublished in1984; thisversion is still an BiologyDepartment
invaluable guide to the grasses of Lesotho. Tragically, NationalUniversityofLesotho
Marthe did notliveto see the onlyillustratedbookon PORoma180
the Lesothoflora. WildFlowersofLesotho(1982), which Lesotho
waspublished aftershedied in acaraccidentinApril Tel: [phone]
1982. Intribute,Hilliardand BurttnamedZaluzianskya Fax: [phone]