Flora
Floral diversity of vegetation in Botswana, which receives only an average annual rainfall of about 450 millimetres (18 in) only, is generally defined under three broad heads namely, hardweld, sandveld and Okavango deltaved which show seasonal difference in its nutrition value, with woody plants recording higher values compared to the grasses; Panicum has recorded more nutritional content during the rainy season.
Hardweld vegetation consists of woody plants and grasses. The woody plants are; Acacia karroo, Albizzia anthelmintica, Balanites aegyptiaca, Mopane (Colophospermum mopane), Combretum apiculatum, Grewia bicolor, Grewia flavecens, Grewia monticola, Lonchocarpus capassa and Terminalia.
Sanveld of the Kalhari desert’s vegetation expanse consists of grasses namely, Kragrostis pallens, Striagostis uniplumis, Anthephora pubescens, Schmidtia pappophoreides and Megaloprotachne albescens. Woody plants recorded are the Grewia avellana, Grewia retinervis, Lonchocarpus nelsii and Terminalia sericia.
Okavango deltavedhas has both grasses and woody plants. The woody plants are the Fecus verruculosa and the Hyphaene crinata. The grasses reported are the Phragmites communis, Dichanthium papillusum, Panicum repens, Andropogon encomus, Echinochloa pyramidelis and Imperata cylindrica.
Although about 90% of Botswana is covered by some kind of savanna, even the Kalahari Desert contains adequate vegetation to support tens of thousands of wild animals. Small areas of forest exist, but only in the far north along the Chobe River. Gruff shrubland tends to grow in the dryer desert areas, whilst trees tend to grow in the swamps, particularly in the Okavango delta which have access to more water to thrive. Botswana is home to over 2500 species of plants and over 650 species of trees.
Read more about this topic: Wildlife Of Botswana
Famous quotes containing the word flora:
“A man’s interest in a single bluebird is worth more than a complete but dry list of the fauna and flora of a town.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)