Tanzanian flora
PLAN YOUR PLANT SAFARI
Tanzania’s Big Five wildlife thrills may grab the headlines, but the country’s flora is the match of its fauna. From the alien-like giant groundsel that grows on the upper reaches of Kilimanjaro to delicate African violets in the cloud forests of Udzungwa National Park, Tanzania contains amazing plants you won’t find growing wild anywhere else in the world. We hope this guide plants the seed of an idea for your own flora safari.
GIANT GROUNDSEL (Dendrosenecio kilimanjari) Part of the wonder of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro is moving through its five distinct climate zones, which become ever more alien in their landscape the higher you get. As the highest mountain in Africa, Kilimanjaro is an incubator for isolated, mutated, or rare species found almost nowhere else. Among the most striking of these species is the giant groundsel varietal Dendrosenecio kilimanjari. These bizarre looking plants – something between a cactus and
a pineapple – can grow up to seven metres in height. You don’t have to summit the mountain to find them as they grow among the silvery glaciers and rocky ridges of the Shira Plateau at an elevation of around 3,962 metres.
RED HOT POKER (Kniphofia) Any plant safari in Tanzania should include the ‘Serengeti of Flowers’, the Kitulo Plateau. This protected area of grassland nestled between the peaks of the Kipengere, Poroto and Livingstone Mountains in the Southern Highlands erupts into a riotous wildflower display
Kilimanjaro Fast Ferries book online at azammarine.com
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