Botswana
Plants

Nearly all of the country is covered by some kind of savanna. In the southwest there is shrub savanna, while tree savanna (a mixture of trees and grass) is found in the rest of the country. There are small areas of forest, mainly in the far north along the Chobe River.

There are about 3,000 different kinds of plant in Botswana, many of them able to be eaten. The most useful of these are the tsamma melon and the wild cucumber, which are harvested for the water they contain. These plants help keep wildlife alive.

The Marula tree is a member of the mango family. It is tall (15-20 metres) with a wide spreading crown. It has a greyish bark that flakes off leaving a mottled colouring. It is deciduous, meaning it loses its leaves and remains bare for several months of the year.The grey green leaves turn pale yellow before they fall off the tree. There are male and female flowers on different trees from July to January. The fruit appears during the summer, green at first then yellow. The fruit has a thick peel covering white slippery pulp and a big woody pip.

The Marula tree does not grow well in deep sand and prefers firm soil. It is found all over the Okavango Delta, but here and there rather than as a whole forest.

One famous African tree found in Botswana is the baobab tree. The Setswana name is mowana. They are one of the long living trees, some of them being more than 2000 years old. The measurement around the trunk of a baobab tree is between 5 and 8 metres! It is also called 'the upside down tree' because it looks like the branches are roots stuck up in the air.

The bark is slightly shiny and pinkish-grey in colour. It is mainly smooth, but there are lumps and bulges The leaves are 'palmated', with five (sometimes seven) leaflets spreading out. However, on young baobab trees the leaves are simple, so it is hard to spot a young tree. The large white flowers are about 12 cm across and appear October-December.

The large fruits are about 24 cm long, with a hard greyish brown covering, and appear April-May.

Acknowledge this source in your bibliography like this:
Botswana (2004). [Online], Available: www.kidcyber.com.au

Updated January 2004