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Southern Acacia–Commiphora Bushlands And Thickets
The Southern ''Acacia''–''Commiphora'' bushlands and thickets is a tropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands ecoregion in Tanzania and Kenya. It includes portions of Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Conservation Area, which are designated World Heritage Sites and biosphere reserves for their outstanding wildlife and landscapes. It is one of three Acacia–Commiphora bushlands and thickets ecoregions in eastern Africa. Geography The Southern ''Acacia''–''Commiphora'' bushlands and thickets consist of two continuous blocks. The southern block lies west of the Eastern Arc Mountains in Tanzania, in the drier rain shadow of the mountains. It extends northeast-southwest, from the southern slope of Mount Kilimanjaro to the Usangu Plain at the edge of the Southern Highlands. Tarangire and Ruaha national parks are in the southern block. A belt of miombo woodland, Serengeti volcanic grasslands, and East African montane forests separate the northern and southern blocks. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruaha National Park
Ruaha National Park is a national park in Tanzania. The addition of the Usangu Game Reserve and other important wetlands to the park in 2008 increased its size to about . The park is about west of Iringa. The park is a part of the Rungwa-Kizigo-Muhesi ecosystem, which includes the Rungwa Game Reserve, the Kizigo and Muhesi Game Reserves, and the Mbomipa Wildlife Management Area. The name of the park is derived from the Great Ruaha River, which flows along its southeastern margin and is the focus for game-viewing. The park can be reached by car on a dirt road from Iringa and there are two airstrips – Msembe airstrip at Msembe (park headquarters), and Jongomeru Airstrip, near the Jongomeru Ranger Post. History and wildlife left, Msembe airstrip in Ruaha National Park Germany gazetted the Saba Game Reserve in 1910. British colonial authorities changed the name to the Rungwa Game Reserve in 1946. In 1964, the southern portion of the reserve was excised and elevated to full park ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biosphere Reserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for purposes of conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research. They may be designated by government institutions in some countries, or by private landowners, such as charities and research institutions. Nature reserves fall into different IUCN categories depending on the level of protection afforded by local laws. Normally it is more strictly protected than a nature park. Various jurisdictions may use other terminology, such as ecological protection area or private protected area in legislation and in official titles of the reserves. History Cultural practices that roughly equate to the establishment and maintenance of reserved areas for animals date back to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panicum Coloratum
''Panicum coloratum'' is a species of grass known by the common names kleingrass, blue panicgrass''Panicum coloratum''. Tropical Forages. (USA),Bambatsi Panic. Government of Western Australia Department of Agriculture and Food.''Panicum coloratum''. USDA NRCS Plant Fact Sheet. white buffalograss (southern Africa); Bambatsi panic, makarikari grass, and coolah grass (Australia). It is native to Africa, and it has b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Setaria Incrassata
''Setaria'' is a widespread genus of plants in the grass family. The name is derived from the Latin word ''seta'', meaning "bristle" or "hair", which refers to the bristly spikelets. The genus includes over 100 species distributed in many tropical and temperate regions around the world,Aliscioni, S., et alAn overview of the genus ''Setaria'' (Poaceae: Panicoideae: Paniceae) in the Old World: Systematic revision and phylogenetic approach.Abstract. Botany 2004. Salt Lake City. August 3, 2004. and members are commonly known as foxtail or bristle grasses. Description The grass is topped by a cylindrical long-haired head, which tend to droop when ripe. The seeds are less than in length. Species ; Currently accepted ; Formerly included Numerous species were once considered members of ''Setaria'' but have since been reassigned to the following genera: ''Brachiaria'', '' Dissochondrus'', '' Echinochloa'', ''Holcolemma'', ''Ixophorus'', ''Oplismenus'', '' Panicum'', ''Paspalidium ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Themeda Triandra
} ''Themeda triandra'' is a species of perennial tussock-forming grass widespread in Africa, Australia, Asia and the Pacific. In Australia it is commonly known as kangaroo grass and in East Africa and South Africa it is known as red grass and red oat grass or as ''rooigras'' in Afrikaans. Kangaroo grass was formerly thought to be one of two species, and was named ''Themeda australis''. The plant has traditional uses as food and medicine in Africa and Australia. Indigenous Australians harvested it to make bread and string for fishing nets around 30,000 years ago. It was used as livestock feed in early colonial Australia, but this use was largely replaced by introduced plants. there is a large government-funded project under way to investigate the possibility of growing kangaroo grass commercially in Australia for use as a regular food source for humans. Description ''Themeda triandra'' is a grass which grows in dense tufts up to tall and wide. It flowers in summer, producin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crotalaria
''Crotalaria'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae (subfamily Faboideae) commonly known as rattlepods. The genus includes over 700 species of herbaceous plants and shrubs. Africa is the continent with the majority of ''Crotalaria'' species (approximately 400 species), which are mainly found in damp grassland, especially in floodplains, depressions and along edges of swamps and rivers, but also in deciduous bush land, roadsides and fields. Some species of ''Crotalaria'' are grown as ornamentals. The common name rattlepod or rattlebox is derived from the fact that the seeds become loose in the pod as they mature, and rattle when the pod is shaken. The name derives from the Ancient Greek , meaning " castanet", and is the same root as the name for the rattlesnakes ('' Crotalus''). ''Crotalaria'' species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including ''Endoclita sericeus'', '' Etiella zinckenella'' and '' Utetheisa ornatrix''. The toxic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Commiphora
The genus of the myrrhs, ''Commiphora'', is the most species-rich genus of flowering plants in the frankincense and myrrh family, Burseraceae. The genus contains approximately 190 species of shrubs and trees, which are distributed throughout the (sub-) tropical regions of Africa, the western Indian Ocean islands, the Arabian Peninsula, India, and South America.Weeks, A. and Simpson, B.B. 2007. Molecular phylogenetic analysis of Commiphora (Burseraceae) yields insight on the evolution and historical biogeography of an “impossible” genus. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 42:62–79. The genus is drought-tolerant and common throughout the xerophytic scrub, seasonally dry tropical forests, and woodlands of these regions. The common name myrrh refers to several species of the genus, from which aromatic resins are derived for various fragrance and medicinal uses by humans. Description Leaves in ''Commiphora'' are pinnately compound (or very rarely unifoliolate). Many spe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acacia
''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus name is New Latin, borrowed from the Greek (), a term used by Dioscorides for a preparation extracted from the leaves and fruit pods of '' Vachellia nilotica'', the original type of the genus. In his ''Pinax'' (1623), Gaspard Bauhin mentioned the Greek from Dioscorides as the origin of the Latin name. In the early 2000s it had become evident that the genus as it stood was not monophyletic and that several divergent lineages needed to be placed in separate genera. It turned out that one lineage comprising over 900 species mainly native to Australia, New Guinea, and Indonesia was not closely related to the much smaller group of African lineage that contained ''A. nilotica''—the type species. This meant that the Australasian lineag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. With a surface area of approximately , Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, the world's largest tropical lake, and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface area after Lake Superior in North America. In terms of volume, Lake Victoria is the world's ninth-largest continental lake, containing about of water. Lake Victoria occupies a shallow depression in Africa. The lake has an average depth of and a maximum depth of .United Nations, ''Development and Harmonisation of Environmental Laws Volume 1: Report on the Legal and Institutional Issues in the Lake Victoria Basin'', United Nations, 1999, page 17 Its catchment area covers . The lake has a shoreline of when digitized at the 1:25,000 level, with islands constituting 3.7% of this length. The lake's area is divided among three countries: Kenya occupies 6% (), Uganda 45% (), and Tanzania 49% (). Though having multiple local language names ( luo, Na ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tarangire National Park
Tarangire National Park is a national park in Tanzania's Manyara Region. The name of the park originates from the Tarangire River that crosses the park. The Tarangire River is the primary source of fresh water for wild animals in the Tarangire Ecosystem during the annual dry season. The Tarangire Ecosystem is defined by the long-distance migration of wildebeest and zebras. During the dry season thousands of animals concentrate in Tarangire National Park from the surrounding wet-season dispersal and calving areas. It covers an area of approximately 2,850 square kilometers (1,100 square miles.) The landscape is composed of granitic ridges, river valley, and swamps. Vegetation is a mix of ''Acacia'' woodland, ''Combretum'' woodland, seasonally flooded grassland, and baobab trees. Flora and fauna The park is famous for its high density of elephants and baobab trees. Visitors to the park in the June to November dry season can expect to see large herds of thousands of zebra, wildebe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southern Highlands, Tanzania
The Southern Highlands is a highland region in southwestern Tanzania, at the northern end of Lake Malawi. The highlands include portions of Mbeya, Njombe, Rukwa, Ruvuma, and Songwe regions, bordering Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia. Mbeya is the largest city in the highlands. Geography The highlands comprise a group of plateaus and volcanic mountains, including the Mbeya Mountains, Poroto Mountains, Kipengere Range, Mount Rungwe, Kitulo Plateau, Umalila Mountains, and Matengo Highlands. The Ufipa Plateau extends northwest, between Lake Tanganyika and Lake Rukwa. The eastern and western branches of the East African Rift converge in the highlands, and the Western Rift continues south as the valley of Lake Malawi. To the northeast, the Makambako Gap separates the Southern Highlands from the Eastern Arc Mountains. Mt. Rungwe (2,960 metres), and Mtorwe (2961 m) in the Kipengere Range, are the highest peaks in the highlands. Other peaks include Chaluhangi (2933 m) and Ishinga (2688 m) i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Usangu Plain
The Usangu Plain is a lowland in south-central Tanzania. It is named for the Sangu people. Geography The Usangu Plain covers an area of 15,500 km2. It extends northeast-southwest, bounded on the south by the Udzungwa Mountains, and the Kipengere Range on the southwest. Between the two ranges the Makambako Gap opens to the south. On the north, The Mbeya Mountains rise steeply to the northwest, and the lower Lupa upland further to the east. Further east the Usangu escarpment becomes less distinct, and the plain transitions into the plateau of central Tanzania.Mbede, E. I. (2002). "Interpretation of Reflection Seismic Data from the Usangu Basin, East African Rift System. ''Tanzanian Journal of Science'', Vol. 28(1) 2002. Accessed 8 September 2019/ref> The plain is drained by the Great Ruaha River and its tributaries. Geology The Usangu Plain is the eastern branch of the East African Rift. The Usangu Fault scarp runs along the northern edge of the plain, where the Mbeya Mountains a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_Pilg._-_Poaceae_-_Grass_-_Herbarium_sheet.jpg "Click for more on -> Setaria Incrassata")
