<!DOCTYPE article
  PUBLIC "-//NLM//DTD Journal Publishing DTD v2.0 20040830//EN" "http://dtd.nlm.nih.gov/publishing/2.0/journalpublishing.dtd">
<article xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" article-type="research-article" dtd-version="2.0" xml:lang="EN">
  <front>    <journal-meta>
      <journal-title>International Journal of Biodiversity and Conservation</journal-title>
      <issn pub-type="epub">2141-243X</issn>      <publisher>
        <publisher-name>Academic Journals</publisher-name>
      </publisher>
    </journal-meta>
    <article-meta>
      <article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.5897/IJBC12.115</article-id>
      <title-group>
        <article-title><![CDATA[The folk biology of South American-native shrub, Mimosa pigra L. [Leguminosae] and its invasive success in Rwanda]]></article-title>
      </title-group>
      <contrib-group>
        <contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple">
        	          <name name-style="western">
            <surname>Seburanga</surname>
            <given-names></given-names>
          </name>
                    <name name-style="western">
            <surname>J.</surname>
            <given-names>L.</given-names>
          </name>
                    <name name-style="western">
            <surname>Kaplin</surname>
            <given-names></given-names>
          </name>
                    <name name-style="western">
            <surname>B.</surname>
            <given-names>A.</given-names>
          </name>
                    <name name-style="western">
            <surname>Bizuru</surname>
            <given-names></given-names>
          </name>
                    <name name-style="western">
            <surname>E.</surname>
            <given-names></given-names>
          </name>
                    <name name-style="western">
            <surname>Mwavu</surname>
            <given-names></given-names>
          </name>
                    <name name-style="western">
            <surname>E.</surname>
            <given-names>N.</given-names>
          </name>
                  </contrib>
      </contrib-group>
      <author-notes>
		<corresp id="cor1">* E-mail: <email xlink:type="simple">seburanga@yahoo.fr</email></corresp>
      </author-notes>
      <pub-date pub-type="collection">
        <year>2013</year>
      </pub-date>
      <pub-date pub-type="epub">
      	<day>31</day>
        <month>08</month>
        <year>2013</year>
      </pub-date>
      <history>
      					<date date-type="accepted">
			<day>17</day>
			<month>06</month>
			<year>2013</year>
		</date>
			  </history>
      <volume>5</volume>
      <issue>8</issue>
	  	  <fpage>486</fpage>
	  <lpage>497</lpage>
      <permissions>
		<license xlink:type="simple">
			<license-p>
			This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
			</license-p>
		</license>
	  </permissions>
	  <self-uri xlink:href="http://politicalwaffle.uk/journal/IJBC/article-abstract/39024D111464">
		This article is available from http://politicalwaffle.uk/journal/IJBC/article-abstract/39024D111464	  </self-uri>
	  <self-uri xlink:href="http://politicalwaffle.uk/journal/IJBC/article-full-text-pdf/39024D111464">
		The full text article is available as a PDF file from http://politicalwaffle.uk/journal/IJBC/article-full-text-pdf/39024D111464	  </self-uri>
	  
      <abstract><![CDATA[Although, the probability of an alien plant species to become invasive in natural or semi-natural habitats is relatively low, the introduction of new taxa should always be regarded as a sensitive issue because the effects of an insertion of an invasive species are likely to be prohibitive as well as external. Ideally, plant species with an invasive potential should not be allowed to enter a country and, if they do, the next best scenario is early detection and eradication. Unfortunately, in Rwanda, despite its location in the Albertine Rift, a biodiversity hotspot with many endemic and endangered species, little is known about the status of introduced taxa. In this article, we combine the insight from library resources, herbarium records and vegetation surveys to document the status of an introduced species, Mimosa pigra L. The results comprise evidence that this species has reached the invasive status in Rwanda and support the plea that it be officially listed as such. We suggest that Egypt through Uganda may have been the primary source of M. pigra L. propagules that first infested Rwanda through the Akagera-Nyabarongo river system, earlier than Mid-19th century. We presume that under the shadow of its non-specific Kinyarwanda name lsquo;u-mu-gey-orsquo;, it was able to spread undisturbed and invade Rwandarsquo;s central and eastern floodplains before scientists could take notice of its true identity.

	 

	Key words: Mimosa, invasive, Nyabarongo, floodplain, Umugeyo, infestation, range.]]></abstract>
    </article-meta>
  </front>
  </article>