Habitat
records
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For records of a large number of (historical) habitat locations of Zamioculcas "loddigesii" and Z. "lanceolata" (synonyms of Z. zamiifolia) from Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, see A. PETER (1929), Die Araceae Deutsch-Ostafrikas.  )
Here are some reports of actual occurrences in the wild that I found on the web.
(Annotation: you may find your browser's or pdf viewer's "search in document" function useful to find "Zamioculcas" within the linked files.)
I have noticed that in three of this five publications, Gonatopus boivinii is mentioned as well, although it seems to inhabit higher elevations (or have a wider altitudinal amplitude) than Zz. The passages concerning Zamioculcas and Gonatopus are quoted below.
Tanzania:
MSELEZI Catchment Forest Reserve¹);
KIMBOZA Catchment Forest Reserve²)
in: Catchment Forest Reserves of Morogoro. (Annotation, July 21, 2002: the first link is unavailable at present, I'm afraid.) - By Dr. Jonathan Lovett, 2000:
| ¹) "Dry lowland forest: (...) Zamioculcas zamiifolia is common on rocky, half-shady ground." |
| ²) "Lowland forest: (...) The herb layer is often dominated by Nephrolepis biserrata and rare aroids occur such as Amorphophallus stuhlmannii, Anchomanes difformis, Callopsis volkensii, Gonatopus boivinii. On shady limestone or marble rocks an interesting community occurs containing Zamioculcas zamiifolia and the endemic Impatiens cinnabarina." |
Manga Forest Reserve - A biodiversity survey. By Nike Doggart, Liana Joseph, Julian Bayliss and Eibleis Fanning, Tanga 1999: 
| "Gonatopus boivinii |
f |
L (& S) |
- " |
| "Zamioculcas zamiifolia |
f |
L |
W " |
Abbreviations (extract):
Ecological type: (based on Iversen, 1991b)
f - Forest dwelling but not forest dependent: Species occurring in primary forest (...) as well as other vegetation types. Thus these are not forest-dependent species.
Habitat: (based on Hamilton, 1989) (In the case where species occur in both lowland and submontane habitats, the most common habitat will be listed first)
L - Lowland: Species occurring at altitudes of <850 m;
S - Submontane: Species occurring at altitudes of >850 m.
Endemic status: (based on Iversen, 1991b):
W - Widespread distribution. |
East Usambara plants checklist 10 Sep 2000 (3222 species). By Veli M. Pohjonen, 2000:
| " Latin name |
last recorded |
where " |
| |
(...) |
|
| " Zamioculcas zamiifolia |
2000 |
Sigi " |
(Annotation: A. PETER found Zamioculcas "loddigesii" near Sigi in the 1920s)
Mozambique, Zimbabwe:
Observations on the Vegetation of the Lower Reaches of Mt. Gorongosa. By Tom Muller (reproduced in: Tree Society of Zimbabwe, Newsletter No 252 - February 2001):
" After climbing up to approximately 480m, a small lowland rainforest, consisting mainly of evenly aged, relatively young trees, were encountered. (...) Also noted were Tacca leotopetaloides* and Zamioculcas zamiifolia, both usual herbaceous species found in the Rusituy/Harone Forest."
(...)
"At an altitude of approximately 600m (...), a forest patch which had the physiognomy of rainforest with a close canopy, an understorey of smaller trees and shrub layer, was looked at. (...) The trifoliate Dioscorea dumetorum and the arid** Gonatopus boivinii were, because of their large leaves, noticeable herbaceous species (...)."
*) recte: leontopetaloides.
**) recte: "aroid" ? |
Annotation: Muller compares his observations during an excursion to the Gorongosa mountain range in Mozambique with the Rusituy/Harone Forest in neighboring Zimbabwe, so we learn that Zamioculcas is native to both countries.
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Tanzania, Kenya:
Eastern Arc forests
© www.easternarc.org
Africa:
jpg 266KB
pdf 956KB
Central Africa:
jpg 494KB
pdf 1584KB
© Public Domain,
source: CIA
(tip: the pdf maps
can be zoomed in)
Relief Maps:
Kenya
Tanzania
Malawi
Mozambique
Zimbabwe
South Africa
© africanconservation.org
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