Assessment of diversity and conservation status of plants at Mount Kenya University Medicinal Botanical Garden, Thika sub-County, Kiambu County, Kenya.

Abstract

The studies on biodiversity of living organisms as well as the ecosystems which they are part of is essential for the assessment of species composition and setting priorities in conservation matters. The plant diversity assessment at Mount Kenya University Medicinal Botanical Garden was done over a period of three years using both individual observation and line intercept/point centered quadrant methods on five designated zones of the garden.

A total of 248 plant species of 60 families were recorded. Most of the plants that were found in this garden were indigenous (90%) and in use categories the occurring class was the medicinal (44%). Poaceae constituted the highest composition of 31 species (12.5%), followed by Asteraceae with 20 species (8%) and Euphorbiaceae with 15 species (6%). The rocky and exotic vegetation had high plant family diversity and the riverine had the least. It was concluded that the botanical garden was improving in its species composition and continued conservation and sustainable use will be important for the education and research services.