Angiosperms Diversity In East Africa: An Insight From The Tanzania Coast

Tanzania is an East African country with major higher plant diversity. The country has a corresponding diversity of plant associations, within wide geographic distribution, diverse climatic conditions, and soil types. In this chapter, all angiosperm species occurring along the Tanzania coast were assessed based on the completed “Flora of Tropical East Africa (FTEA),” documented in 1995. Species of conservation status for this area were assessed for being within the IUCN Red List or being endemic to the Tanzania coast. In total, there are 154 families, 884 genera, and 2332 angiosperm species, dominated by the dicotyledons with 1818 (78%) species, and 714 genera. The Fabaceae with 80 genera and 244 species is the largest family, followed by the Poaceae (Gramineae) with 75 genera and 216 species, and Euphorbiaceae with 46 genera and 164 species. Twenty one percent (494 species) of angiosperm of the Tanzania coast are of conservation concern, and are widely spread along the coast of Tanzania. Of these, 59% (292 species) were in the IUCN red list whereas 352 (71%) were endemic to Tanzania. Moreover, 32% (160 species) were both threatened and endemic.