Africa's plant life
![Picture](/uploads/2/5/6/7/25672085/3895996.jpg)
African Boab- The baobab is found in the savannas of African and India, mostly around the equator. It can grow up to 25 meters tall and can live for several thousand years. The baobab is leafless for nine months of the year. The baobab looks like this for a reason. In the wet months water is stored in its thick, corky, fire-resistant trunk for the nine dry months ahead.
![Picture](/uploads/2/5/6/7/25672085/9215834.jpg)
Bermuda Grass- Originally came from the savannahs of Africa and is the common name for all the East African species of Cynodon. It grows in open areas where there are frequent disturbances such as grazing, flooding, and fire. Bermuda grass can grow in poor soil. During droughts the upper parts die off, but the grass will keep growing from its rhizomes. It prefers moist and warm climates, and where there is more than 16 inches of rainfall a year.
![Picture](/uploads/2/5/6/7/25672085/7593780.jpg)
Elephant Grass- Elephant grass is a tall grass. It grows in dense clumps of up to 10 feet tall. Yellowish or purple in color,the stems are coarse and hairy, and about 1 inch thick near the base. The leaves are 2 to 3 feet long, pointed at the ends, and about 1 inch wide. The edges of the leaves are razor-sharp.
![Picture](/uploads/2/5/6/7/25672085/7820031.jpg)
Candelabra trees- are found near the equator and in the East Indies and Africa. They live in the savanna biome. The candelabra tree can grow up to 30 to 40 feet tall. The branches all grow from one trunk, and look like little cactuses that grow near the top, giving it the shape of a candelabra. It has little yellow flowers in mid-winter. -BEWARE-
The candelabra tree is beautiful, but poisonous. If a drop of the white sap from the inner tree comes in contact with the skin a blister will form.
It will blind you if it touches the eyes and even breathing the fumes burns. This sticky poisonous latex along with its sharp spines makes it so animals don't feed on it.
![Picture](/uploads/2/5/6/7/25672085/4087179.jpg)
The Jackalberry tree- found throughout Africa, from Senegal and the Sudan to Mamibia and the northern Transvaal. It is most commonly found on savannas or savanna woodlands where it can be found growing on termite mounds.
The tree prefers moist soil, rocky soils. It grows well in red loams,
volcanic and loamy sands. Jackalberry trees are also commonly found along river beds and swampy areas. The Jackalberry tree can grow very tall, up to 80 feet, with a trunk circumference of 16 feet.
![Picture](/uploads/2/5/6/7/25672085/148190.jpg)
Manketti Tree- The African savanna is a lush area filed with life. There are many trees in this area, one of them, unknown by many, is the manketti tree. The Schinziophyton rautanenii (formally known as the Ricinodendron) is found in the African savanna. Its habitat is dotted with trees and does not receive enough rain to be considered a prairie.The manketti tree prefers hot and dry climates with low amounts of rain.
![Picture](/uploads/2/5/6/7/25672085/4338783.jpg)
River Bushwillow- The river bushwillow prefers full sun and grows along riverbanks. The river bushwillow likes a warm and dry climate. It is 30-35 ft tall with a dense spreading crown. The branches grow rapidly and at crazy angles with an upright manner of growth. The shape of the leaf is a kind of elliptic form, growing on opposite sides of the stem. The leaves are three inches long and one inch wide. The young leaves are pale green, later becoming dark green above and lighter beneath.
![Picture](/uploads/2/5/6/7/25672085/1494526.jpg)
Umbrella Thorn Acacia-The umbrella tree tolerates extensive summertime heat and drought as well as dry, saline and alkaline soils. In extremely arid conditions, umbrella thorn remains a scrubby bush. Typically it develops multiple trunks that spread to support a wide, umbrella-shaped canopy of thorny branches and compound leaves.
![Picture](/uploads/2/5/6/7/25672085/125177.jpg)
Whistling Thorn-This acacia can grow about 18 feet tall, but is often stunted in its growth. The whistling thorn acacia protects itself with pairs of long thorns up to 3 inches long. Interspersed with these are modified thorns, called stipular spines, which are joined at the base by hollow bulbous swellings about 1 inch in diameter.Their leaves have evolved into many tiny leaflets (pinnae) which can turn to absorb sunlight, or avoid it and reduce transpiration. The many leaflets are also beneficial when animals graze on them. Some will be left behind to continue the vital task of photosynthesis.