FLORA OF RIVERS STATE UNIVERSITY, RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA: A PRELIMINARY CHECKLIST

The importance of plants in the environment is highly pronounced. They help in soil fertility, conservation, they hold the soil together, thereby preventing erosion. They also provide water, food, construction materials, windbreak, shade and aesthetic uses. An inventory of the plants in the University campus was undertaken to determine their family, genus and species compositions and thereby generate their checklist. Methods followed conventional practice as reported by previous authors of related studies. A total of three hundred and thirty-three (333) plants species belonging to two hundred and twenty- three (223) genera and eighty (80) families were identified and recorded. The most diverse families were the grasses, of the Poaceae family, consisting of 41 species and 26 genera, followed by the Asteraceae (29 species in 23 genera), Fabaceae (23 species in 16 genera), Cyperaceae (23 species in 7 genera), Euphorbiaceae (15 species in 8 genera), Lamiaceae (14 species in 9 genera), Amaranthaceae (11 species in 4 genera), Moraceae (10 species in 3 genera). Other families present had fewer species with fewer genera. Herbs (65.5%) were the dominant plant habit, followed by trees (17.7%), Shrubs (13.8%), Ferns (2.40%) and Liana (0.60%). The most dominant life form was the perennials (67.27%, followed by the annuals (29.73%) and annual/perennial (3.00) plants. This is the first comprehensive inventory/check list of plants present in the Rivers State University of Port Harcourt. With the continuous developmental activities, practical conservation approaches is ideal if the study area is to be saved from total loss of species.