Subularia monticola is one of the water loving, annuals of the genus Subularia

Subularia

Subularia is a genus in the mustard family, Brassicaceae. Subularia species are annual herbs that grow in moist or even flooded soils. Primary representatives of the genus are Subularia aquatica, which is widespread in North America; and Subularia monticola, from Africa.-Description:Stems and...

in the mustard family Brassicaceae

Brassicaceae

Brassicaceae, a medium sized and economically important family of flowering plants , are informally known as the mustards, mustard flowers, the crucifers or the cabbage family....

. It lives in the cool, moist high elevations of Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

, Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

, Tanzania

Tanzania

The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...

, Uganda

Uganda

Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...

 and Zaire

Zaire

The Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...

.

Description

Subularia monticola forms cushions or mats in moist areas in upland rainforest

Rainforest

Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...

s and moorland

Moorland

Moorland or moor is a type of habitat, in the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome, found in upland areas, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils and heavy fog...

, such as the edges of ponds and bogs, or muddy footpaths, though it may grow underwater in some cases. It can form mats in permanently wet areas. It is a short-lived plant that lacks leaves in its early development, instead having just a stem and taproot. It grows to 5 to 16 centimeters (2 to 6 inches). It produces tiny white flowers.

Distribution

Subularia monticola is an African high-altitude plant, growing at altitudes of around 2,750 to 4,750 meters (9,000 to 15,600 feet) above sea-level. Some examples will serve to demonstrate the range of environments in which it thrives:

On Mount Kilimanjaro, which is mostly arid, Subularia monticola grows in oases

Oasis

In geography, an oasis or cienega is an isolated area of vegetation in a desert, typically surrounding a spring or similar water source...

 made by rain or melted snow collecting in depressions, where it forms continuous carpets of vegetation alongside Eriocaulon volkensii, Cyperaceae

Cyperaceae

Cyperaceae are a family of monocotyledonous graminoid flowering plants known as sedges, which superficially resemble grasses or rushes. The family is large, with some 5,500 species described in about 109 genera. These species are widely distributed, with the centers of diversity for the group...

and Bulliarda elatinoides. On Mount Kenya

Mount Kenya

Mount Kenya is the highest mountain in Kenya and the second-highest in Africa, after Kilimanjaro. The highest peaks of the mountain are Batian , Nelion and Point Lenana . Mount Kenya is located in central Kenya, just south of the equator, around north-northeast of the capital Nairobi...

, cracks formed by daily freezing and thawing of ice provide a refuge for Subularia monticola seedlings. It also forms short, dense mats on the occasionally flooded mudflats around Lake Kimilili, a lake 4150 meters above sea-level on the Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

-Uganda

Uganda

Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...

border.