Abstract
Background: The southern part of Namibia’s terrain is highly inaccessible making it difficult to explore. Expeditions into difficult terrain can result in new biological discoveries for Namibia. Monsonia herrei has been recorded for South Africa, but has not previously been recorded for Namibia.Objectives: As part of updating the biodiversity records of Namibia, we report the occurrence of a species not previously recorded for the Namibian flora.Method: A botanical field trip was undertaken in September 2014 to the far south of Namibia in the Aussenkehr region along the Orange River. Plant identification was carried out based on herbarium vouchers, observation and photographic records. One collection constituted a new record of the species for Namibia. A voucher specimen of this new record was collected and deposited at the National Botanical Research Institute Herbarium (WIND). Plant identification was confirmed by experts on plants from the region.Results: One species not previously recorded for Namibia, namely Monsonia herrei (L. Bolus) F. Albers, was found during the exploration of the Aussenkehr area.Conclusions: This new record for Namibia confirms the need to update the inventory of the flora of Namibia.
Highlights
The National Botanical Research Institute of Namibia (NBRI), which houses the National Herbarium (WIND), is mandated to document the indigenous plants of the country
Thirty-seven plant species from 22 families and 45 genera were recorded during the trip
The survey resulted in one species being found that, according to literature and herbaria consulted, has not been previously recorded from Namibia
Summary
The National Herbarium organises about three trips annually for plant collections, mainly in under-collected areas. The southern part of Namibia is one of the country’s biodiversity hotspots and includes the cross-border Gariep Centre of Endemism, shared with the Northern Cape of South Africa (Swanepoel 2011; van Wyk & Smith 2001). Because of the inaccessibility of many places and mountainous areas, there is a wide gap in the herbarium collecting intensity of this region. Because of large climatic and topographical variability, together with the combination of both summer and winter rainfall, many annual or short-lived plant species have been missed during past botanical surveys. The southern part of Namibia’s terrain is highly inaccessible making it difficult to explore. Monsonia herrei has been recorded for South Africa, but has not previously been recorded for Namibia
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