The Aberdare Range is a 160 km (99 mi) long mountain range of upland, north of Kenya's capital Nairobi with an average elevation of 3,500 metres (11,480 ft). It straddles across the counties of Nyandarua, Nyeri, Muranga, Kiambu and Laikipia. The mountain range is located in west central Kenya, northeast of Naivasha and Gilgil and lies just south of the Equator. The mountain range is called Nyandarua among the Agikuyu people in whose territory this forest and mountain range is located. The name Nyandarua comes from the Kikuyu word rwandarua meaning a drying hide, due to the distinctive fold of its silhouette.
Mount Elgon National Park is a national park 140 kilometres (87 mi) northeast of Lake Victoria. The park covers an area of 1,279 square kilometres (494 sq mi) and is bisected by the border of Kenya and Uganda. The Ugandan part of the park covers 1,110 km2 (430 sq mi) while the Kenyan part covers 169 km2 (65 sq mi). The Kenyan part of the park was gazetted in 1968, the Ugandan part in 1992.
Dendrosenecio keniodendron or giant groundsel is a species of the genus Dendrosenecio of the large family Asteraceae and is one of the several species of giant groundsels endemic to the high altitudes of the Afrotropics, including Dendrosenecio johnstonii (Senecio battiscombei) occurring on Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Kenya, and the Aberdare Mountains, Dendrosenecio keniensis occurring the lower alpine zone of Mount Kenya and D. keniodendron occurring in higher and drier sites on Mount Kenya. The giant rosette plants, sometimes 6 metres (20 ft) tall, often grow in even-sized stands, with different understory communities under different-aged stands.
Dendrosenecio keniensis is one of the giant groundsels endemic the higher altitudes of Mount Kenya. It is in the family Asteraceae and the genus Dendrosenecio. Dendrosenecio keniodendron occurs the upper alpine zone of Mount Kenya and D. keniensis in the wetter areas of the lower alpine or the moorlands.
Dendrosenecio battiscombei is one of the giant groundsels that lives on the slopes of Mount Kenya and the Aberdare Range. Like Dendrosenecio adnivalis on the Ruwenzori Mountains and the Virunga Mountains, Dendrosenecio battiscombei grows in the lower wetter areas of the Afro-Alpine zone.
Lobelia deckenii is a species of flowering plant in the family Campanulaceae. It is a giant lobelia endemic to the mountains of Tanzania. It is listed as a threatened plant of the forests of Cherangani hills, Kenya. It grows in moist areas, such as valley bottoms and moorland, in contrast to Lobelia telekii which grows in a similar but drier habitat. These two species produce occasional hybrids. Lobelia deckenii plants usually produce multiple rosettes. Each rosette grows for several decades, produces a single large inflorescence and hundreds of thousands of seeds, then dies. Because individual plants have multiple rosettes, they survive to reproduce repeatedly, and plants with more rosettes flower more frequently. It is iteroparous.
Lobelia telekii is a species of flowering plant in the family Campanulaceae, that is found only in the alpine zones of Mount Kenya, Mount Elgon, and the Aberdare Mountains of East Africa. It occurs at higher altitudes on well-drained sloped hillsides. It is a semelparous species, putting all its reproductive effort into producing single large inflorescence up to 3 metres (10 ft) tall, and then dying. Inflorescences of L. telekii also possesses a large pith-volume for internal water storage and marcescent foliage which could provide insulation. It secretes a polysaccharide into this reservoir, which may be useful for its survival in the cold climate. The plant is named after the Austro-Hungarian explorer, Count Sámuel Teleki.
Afrosciadium kerstenii, synonym Peucedanum kerstenii, is a member of the carrot family, Apiaceae. It is native to east tropical Africa and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaïre). It grows among the giant groundsels (Dendrosenecio) atop of the mountains of east Africa: Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Kenya, Rwenzori Mountains and the Virunga Volcanoes.
Dendrosenecio meruensis is one of the East African giant groundsel, this one is endemic to the slopes of Mount Meru. Once they were considered to be of the genus Senecio but since then have been reclassified into their own genus Dendrosenecio.
Dendrosenecio cheranganiensis is one of the East African giant groundsel, this one endemic to the Cherangani Hills. Once it was a genus of Senecio but has recently been reclassified as a Dendrosenecio.
Dendrosenecio elgonensis is one of the giant groundsel of East Africa; this one is endemic to Mount Elgon. They used to be considered part of the genus Senecio but recently have been reclassified to their own genus, Dendrosenecio.
Dendrosenecio erici-rosenii one of the East African giant groundsel and this one can be found on the Rwenzori Mountains, Virunga Mountains and the Mitumba Mountains. It is a species of the genus Dendrosenecio and is also a collection of reclassified Senecio species.
Dendrosenecio kilimanjari is a giant groundsel found on Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, below 4,000 metres (13,000 ft).
Dendrosenecio johnstonii, formerly Senecio johnstonii, is a species of giant groundsel found in the middle altitudes of Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa. A recent botanical reclassification split off some species formerly in Senecio, putting the giant groundsels in the new genus Dendrosenecio. It also redefined the former species Senecio cottonii, as a subspecies of Dendrosenecio johnstonii. Both genera are in the family Asteraceae. The giant grounsels of the genus Dendrosenecio evolved, about a million years ago, from a Senecio that established itself on Mount Kilimanjaro, with those that survived adapting into Dendrosenecio kilimanjari. As it moved down the mountain, the adaptations necessary for the new environment created the new species, Dendrosenecio johnstonii. Various subspecies are found on other mountains.
Dendrosenecio adnivalis is one of the giant groundsels of the mountains of Eastern Africa. D. adnivalis grows on the Rwenzori Mountains and on the Virunga Mountains in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Dendrosenecio brassiciformis is one of the East African giant groundsel, this one is endemic to the slopes of Aberdare Range and bearing fruit but once, and dying after. Once considered to be of the genus Senecio but since have been reclassified into their own genus Dendrosenecio.
The flora and fauna of Mount Kenya are diverse, due to the variation in altitude, rainfall, aspect and temperature. The mountain slopes can be divided into vegetation zones, with each zone having different dominant plant species. Although many plants on Mount Kenya have local names, here they are reported only with their English and scientific names.
The East African montane moorlands is a montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion which occupies several high mountain peaks in Kenya, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.
The Ruwenzori-Virunga montane moorlands is a montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion of the Rwenzori Mountains and Virunga Mountains in central Africa.
Carex monostachya is a species of sedge native to the mountains of East Africa.
