Research protects Malawian plants

Research by an Oxford plant scientist will provide valuable data for conservationists working to protect the plants of Mount Mulanje in Malawi. Mrs Alison Strugnell (pictured left), manager of the Daubeny Herbarium at the Department of Plant Sciences, recently completed a five-week study trip to Mt. Mulanje with four colleagues from the National Herbarium of Malawi, funded by a £4,000 Churchill Trust Travelling Fellowship. Details of what they found—including two species endemic to Mt. Mulanje, Berkheya johnstoniana (Compositae) and Cleome densifolia (Capparidaceae)—will be added to a database of the Oxford herbarium's existing collection of mountain flora and published as a protection check-list. Mrs Strugnell said: `Mount Mulanje is a major resource, but is under great pressure from local people needing land for cultivation and firewood. `The check-list of plants we are compiling will help the Malawian authorities strike a balance between conservation and the needs of their people.'