Common Flora of Walls, Cracks and Crevices in Benin City, Nigeria

Abstract

Context: The study of Benin City, Nigeria revealed that the flora of the urban environment is composed of taxa that are vigorous, adaptable and well -equipped to seize a quick foothold and thrive in habitats where other plants cannot effectively inhabit.

Aims: The study aims to provide an inventory of plants that grow on walls, crack s and crevices in Benin City, identifying the dominant species, identifying any adaptive features, and determining their frequency .

Methods and Material: Random surveys conducted in 2010 divided the city into 4 major sectors, visually inspecting each secti on to identify and inventory vegetation found on walls, cracks and crevices.

Results: The most important details are that 75 vascular plants, 51 bryophytes and 23 lichens were recorded, with 36 (24%) species occurring on one wall and 21 (14%) species on on ly two walls. 39 plant taxa were recorded from crevices, 21 from cracks and 14 from walls. Mosses were the most common plants on walls, with Tortul a muralis and Bryum argentums being the most common. Peperomia pellucida was the most predominant in cracks and Chromolaena odorata had the least common in crevices. The numbers of plant taxa at the different sit es appear to reflect their respective degree of competitiveness.

Conclusions: Weeds are caused by disturbance of the natural ecosystem by Man's activiti es.This study is important to help industries select materials that are suitable for moist tropical environments and to enable builders to choose building materials more carefully to reduce the frequency of occurrence of weeds on walls.