Flora

Vegetation

The Mudumu Landscape is rich in plants that are valuable to both people and wildlife. Common and valuable species include the red syringa, Angolan teak, Zambezi teak, false mopane, silverleaf terminalia, bird plum, camel thorn, leadwood, devil’s claw and Kalahari melon. With around 125 species of trees, the Mudumu landscape supports a large diversity of tree and other plant species, largely due to its high rainfall and the diversity of habitats including riverine forest, floodplains and islands as well as dry, deciduous woodlands on deep sand. Many species in this area are at the edge of their distributions and are not found in the rest of Namibia.

Vegetation is influenced by the geology and drainage of the Kalahari Basin. Thus, while much of the area is covered in well-drained sands, areas along river courses have a higher clay content, are more fertile and hold more moisture, thus supporting different natural vegetation and also allowing different crops to be grown. Most trees cannot grow in water-logged soils which is why floodplains along the major rivers are generally dominated by grasslands.

There are four community forests, which aim to manage woody resources sustainably and to improve livelihoods. In addition to trees, a number of highly valuable non-timber forest products such as Devil’s Claw are abundant. Vast grasslands provide grazing and browsing areas for livestock and game.

» Species list of trees

» Species list of grasses