The Afromontane regions are subregions of the

Afrotropical realm The Afrotropical realm is one of the Earth's eight biogeographic realms. It includes Sub-Saharan Africa, the southern Arabian Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, and the islands of the western Indian Ocean. It was formerly known as the Ethiopi ...

, one of the Earth's eight

biogeographic realm A biogeographic realm is the broadest biogeography, biogeographic division of Earth's land surface, based on distributional patterns of terrestrial animal, terrestrial organisms. They are subdivided into bioregions, which are further subdivid ...

s, covering the plant and animal species found in the mountains of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

and the southern

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

. The Afromontane regions of Africa are discontinuous, separated from each other by lower-lying areas, and are sometimes referred to as the Afromontane archipelago, as their distribution is analogous to a series of

sky island Sky islands are isolated mountains surrounded by radically different lowland environments. The term originally referred to those found on the Mexican Plateau and has extended to similarly isolated high-elevation forests. The isolation has s ...

Geography

Afromontane communities occur above elevation near the equator, and as low as elevation in the Knysna-Amatole montane forests of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. Afromontane forests are generally cooler and more humid than the surrounding lowlands. The Afromontane archipelago mostly follows the

East African Rift The East African Rift (EAR) or East African Rift System (EARS) is an active continental rift zone in East Africa. The EAR began developing around the onset of the Miocene, 22–25 million years ago. It was formerly considered to be part of a l ...

from the

Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

, with the largest areas in the

Ethiopian Highlands The Ethiopian Highlands (also called the Abyssinian Highlands) is a rugged mass of mountains in Ethiopia in Northeast Africa. It forms the largest continuous area of its elevation in the continent, with little of its surface falling below , whil ...

, the

Albertine Rift Mountains The Albertine Rift is the western branch of the East African Rift, covering parts of Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania. It extends from the northern end of Lake Albert to the southern end of Lake Tan ...

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

, and

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

, and the

Eastern Arc The Eastern Academic Research Consortium, or "Eastern Arc", is a regional research collaboration between the University of East Anglia, the University of Essex, the University of Kent and the University of Sussex. The four partner institutions ar ...

highlands of

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

and Tanzania. Other Afromontane regions include the

Drakensberg The Drakensberg (Zulu language, Zulu: uKhahlamba, Sotho language, Sotho: Maloti, Afrikaans: Drakensberge) is the eastern portion of the Great Escarpment, Southern Africa, Great Escarpment, which encloses the central South Africa#Geography, Sout ...

range of southern Africa, the

Cameroon Highlands The Western High Plateau, Western Highlands or Bamenda Grassfields is a region of Cameroon characterised by high relief, cool temperatures, heavy rainfall and savanna vegetation. The region lies along the Cameroon line and consists of mounta ...

, and the

Cameroon Line The Cameroon line (, , ) is a long chain of volcanoes that includes islands in the Gulf of Guinea and mountains on the African mainland, from Mount Cameroon on the coast towards Lake Chad on the northeast. They form a natural border between ea ...

volcanoes, including

Mount Cameroon Mount Cameroon is an active volcano in the Southwest Region of Cameroon next to the city of Buea near the Gulf of Guinea. Mount Cameroon is also known as Cameroon Mountain or Fako (the name of the higher of its two peaks) or by its indigenous ...

Bioko Bioko (; ; ; historically known as Fernando Pó, ) is an island of Equatorial Guinea. It is located south of the coast of Cameroon, and northwest of the northernmost part of mainland Equatorial Guinea. Malabo, on the north coast of the is ...

, and

São Tomé São Tomé is the capital and largest city of the Central African island country of São Tomé and Príncipe. Its name is Portuguese for " Saint Thomas". Founded in the 15th century, it is one of Africa's oldest colonial cities. History Álv ...

Flora

Although some Afromontane enclaves are widely separated, they share a similar mix of plant species which are often distinct from the surrounding lowland regions.

Podocarp Podocarpaceae is a large family of mainly southern hemisphere conifers, known in English as podocarps, comprising about 156 species of evergreen trees and shrubs.James E. Eckenwalder. 2009. ''Conifers of the World''. Portland, Oregon: Timber Pres ...

s, of genera ''

Podocarpus ''Podocarpus'' () is a genus of conifers, the most numerous and widely distributed of the podocarp family, the Podocarpaceae. ''Podocarpus'' species are evergreen shrubs or trees, usually from tall, known to reach at times. The cones have ...

'' and ''

Afrocarpus ''Afrocarpus'' is a genus of conifer of the family Podocarpaceae. Five species are recognized. They are evergreen trees native to Africa. ''Afrocarpus'' was designated a genus in 1989, when several species formerly classified in ''Podocarpus'' an ...

'', are a characteristic tree, along with ''

Prunus africana ''Prunus africana'', the African cherry, has a wide distribution in Africa, occurring in montane regions of central and southern Africa and on the islands of Bioko, São-Tomé, Grande Comore, and Madagascar. It can be found at above sea level. I ...

'', ''

Hagenia abyssinica ''Hagenia'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plant with the sole species ''Hagenia abyssinica'', native to the high-elevation Afromontane regions of central and eastern Africa. It also has a disjunct distribution in the high mountains of East A ...

'', ''

Juniperus procera ''Juniperus procera'' (known by the common English names African juniper, African pencil-cedar, East African juniper, East African-cedar, and Kenya-cedar) is a coniferous tree native to mountainous areas in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. It i ...

'', and ''

Olea ''Olea'' ( ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae. It includes 12 species native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the Middle East, southern Europe, Africa, southern Asia, and Australasia. They are evergreen trees and s ...

spp.''. In the higher mountains, the Afromontane forest or woodland zone transitions to a higher Afroalpine zone of grasslands, shrublands, or moorlands. The plant families

Curtisiaceae ''Curtisia dentata'' (commonly known as the Assegai tree or Cape lancewood, , , ) is a flowering plant, flowering tree from South Africa, Southern Africa. It is the sole species in genus ''Curtisia'', which was originally classed as a type of Cor ...

and Oliniaceae are Afromontane endemics and family

Barbeyaceae ''Barbeya'' is the only genus in the family Barbeyaceae, and has only one species, ''Barbeya oleoides''. It is a small tree native to the mountains of Somalia, Ethiopia, and the Arabian Peninsula. It can be found locally abundant in the transitio ...

is a near-endemic. The tree genera '' Afrocrania,

Balthasaria ''Balthasaria'' is a genus of plant in the family Pentaphylacaceae. They are found in Africa, within Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zaïre. Originally the species was called ''Melchiora'' by Clarence Emmeren Kobuski in 1956 in honour of ...

Curtisia ''Curtisia dentata'' (commonly known as the Assegai tree or Cape lancewood, , , ) is a flowering tree from Southern Africa. It is the sole species in genus ''Curtisia'', which was originally classed as a type of "dogwood" (''Cornaceae''), but i ...

, Ficalhoa,

Hagenia ''Hagenia'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plant with the sole species ''Hagenia abyssinica'', native to the high-elevation Afromontane regions of central and eastern Africa. It also has a disjunct distribution in the high mountains of East ...

Kiggelaria ''Kiggelaria africana'' (also known as the wild peach or umKokoko) is a large, robust, low-branching African tree, and is currently the only accepted species in the genus ''Kiggelaria''. Despite its common name, ''Kiggelaria africana'' is not re ...

, Kuloa,

Leucosidea ''Leucosidea sericea'', commonly known as oldwood, is an evergreen tree or large shrub that grows in the highland regions of southern Africa. It is the sole species in the monotypic genus ''Leucosidea''. The name oldwood may reflect the fact that ...

, Platypterocarpus,

Trichocladus ''Trichocladus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Hamamelidaceae, consisting of shrubs or small trees. The distinguishing features of the genus ''Trichocladus'' are as follows: *Branches and leaves are often covered in dense, velvet-l ...

,'' ''

Widdringtonia ''Widdringtonia'' is a genus of coniferous trees in the Cupressaceae (Cupressaceae, cypress family). The name was Austrian botanist Stephan Endlicher's way of honouring an early expert on the coniferous forests of Spain, Capt. Samuel Edward Widdr ...

'', and ''

Xymalos ''Xymalos monospora'' (plant family Monimiaceae), commonly known as lemonwood, is a species of evergreen tree native to Africa, the only species in the genus ''Xymalos''. It is an Afromontane endemic, and can be found from 900 to 2700 meters elev ...

'' are Afromontane endemics or near-endemics, as are the plant genera '' Ardisiandra, Cincinnobotrys,'' and '' Stapfiella''.

Plant communities

Afromontane areas have a wide range of plant communities, including intermediate types. These include: * Afromontane rain forest. Afromontane rain forest is found on wetter slopes from southern Ethiopia to Malawi, mostly between 1200 and 2500 meters elevation. It occurs on wetter slopes where average annual rainfall is from 1250 to 2500 mm, or higher. Elevation and location varies somewhat based on distance from the equator or from the sea, and the size and configuration of the highland where it occurs. Mature rain forests generally have an upper stratum of trees 25 to 45 meters high, a middle stratum 14 to 30 meters high, a lower stratum 6 to 15 meters high, a shrub layer of 3 to 6 meters high, and a sparse herbaceous ground layer. The tree crowns of the upper strata are typically open, and the middle strata may be continuous but rarely forms a dense canopy, while the lower tree stratum is typically dense. Most trees are evergreen. Afromontane rain forests can be similar in structure to lowland Guineo-Congolian rain forests, but the species mostly differ from lowland forests. Typical trees include '' Aningeria adolfi-friederici, Cola greenwayi, Cylicomorpha parviflora, Diospyros abyssinica,

Drypetes gerrardii ''Drypetes gerrardii'' is a species of small tree or large shrub in the family Putranjivaceae. Common names include forest ironplum, bastard white ironwood, and forest ironwood. It is native to tropical and subtropical central and eastern Africa. ...

, Entandrophragma excelsum, Ficalhoa laurifolia,

Gambeya gorungosana ''Gambeya gorungosana'' is species of evergreen tree native to the highlands of eastern and central Africa. Range and habitat ''Gambeya gorungosana'' ranges across eastern and central Africa, from Mozambique and Zimbabwe through Zambia, Malawi, ...

, Kuloa usambarensis,

Mitragyna rubrostipulata ''Mitragyna rubrostipulata'' is a tree indigenous to East Africa. It is native from Ethiopia through east-central tropical Africa (Burundi, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zaire) to Mozambique. It grows in wet forests up to 2,000 ...

Myrianthus holstii ''Myrianthus holstii'' is a plant species within the family Urticaceae''.'' It grows either as a shrub or tree. It is considered a dioecious species but a monoecious tree has been observed. Description Species grows as a shrub or a tree, as a ...

, Ochna holstii,

Olea capensis ''Olea capensis'', the black ironwood, is an African tree species in the olive family Oleaceae. It is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa: from the east in Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan, south to the tip of South Africa, and west to Cameroon, Sierra ...

Parinari excelsa ''Parinari excelsa'', the Guinea plum, is a species of large, evergreen tree in the family Chrysobalanaceae. It has a very wide distribution in tropical Africa and the Americas. This species grows to tall while the trunk is up to in diameter. ...

Podocarpus milanjianus ''Podocarpus milanjianus'' is a species of conifer in the family Podocarpaceae. It is native to the highlands and mountains of tropical Africa. Description ''Podocarpus milanjianus'' is an evergreen tree which can grow slowly up to 35 meters in ...

Strombosia scheffleri ''Strombosia scheffleri'' is a medium-sized tree that is native to Afrotropical realm, Tropical Africa, the species is sometimes planted as a shade tree in coffee and cocoa plantations. It belongs to the family ''Olacaceae''. Description ''St ...

'', ''Syzygium guineense'' subsp. ''afromontanum'', '' Tabernaemontana johnstonii'', and ''

Xymalos monospora ''Xymalos monospora'' (plant family Monimiaceae), commonly known as lemonwood, is a species of evergreen tree native to Africa, the only species in the genus ''Xymalos''. It is an Afromontane endemic, and can be found from 900 to 2700 meters elev ...

''. Tree ferns (''

Cyathea ''Cyathea'' is a genus of tree ferns, the type genus of the fern order Cyatheales. The genus name ''Cyathea'' is derived from the Greek ''kyatheion'', meaning "little cup", and refers to the cup-shaped sori on the underside of the fronds. ...

'' spp.),

liana A liana is a long-Plant stem, stemmed Woody plant, woody vine that is rooted in the soil at ground level and uses trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the Canopy (biology), canopy in search of direct sunlight. T ...

s, and

epiphyte An epiphyte is a plant or plant-like organism that grows on the surface of another plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphyt ...

s, including ferns, mosses, and species of ''

Begonia ''Begonia'' is a genus of perennial flowering plants in the family Begoniaceae. The genus contains more than 2,000 different plant species. The Begonias are native to moist subtropical and tropical climates. Some species are commonly grown ...

Impatiens ''Impatiens'' is a genus of more than 1,000 species of flowering plants, widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere and the tropics. Together with the genus ''Hydrocera'' (one species), ''Impatiens'' make up the family (biology), f ...

Streptocarpus ''Streptocarpus'' ("twisted fruit" from Greek στρεπτός (''streptos'') "twisted" and καρπός (''karpos'') "fruit") is an Afrotropics, Afrotropical genus of flowering plants in the family Gesneriaceae. The genus is native to Afromont ...

'', and ''

Peperomia ''Peperomia'' is one of the two large genera of the family Piperaceae. It is estimated that there are at least over 1,000 species, occurring in all tropical and subtropical regions of the world. They are concentrated in South and Central America, ...

'', are abundant.

Distribution

, Afromontane forests cover only 0.5% of the country's land area. The Afromontane forests occur along the mountainous arc of the

Range, from

Limpopo Province Limpopo () is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a group of Tsonga settlers ...

in the northeast to the

Western Cape Province The Western Cape ( ; , ) is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabi ...

in the southwest. The Afromontane forests generally occur in well-watered areas, including ravines and south-facing slopes. The Afromontane forests are intolerant of fire, and the frequent fires of the surrounding

fynbos Fynbos (; , ) is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. The area is predominantly coastal and mountainous, with a Mediterranean climate. The fynbos ...

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

, and

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

limit the expansion of the forests. Despite their small area, the Afromontane forests of South Africa produce valuable timber, particularly the

real yellowwood ''Podocarpus latifolius'' (real yellowwood, broad-leaved yellowwood, or South African yellowwood, , , , ) is a large evergreen tree up to 35 m high and 3 m trunk diameter, in the conifer family Podocarpaceae; it is the type species of t ...

''(Podocarpus latifolius)'', Outeniqua yellowwood ''(Afrocarpus falcatus)'', and

stinkwood Stinkwood, German ''Stinkholz'', French ''Bois Puant'', is the common name for a number of trees or shrubs which have wood or plant parts with an unpleasant odour, including: *'' Anagyris foetida''; Southern Europe *'' Bignonia callistegioides'' (c ...

''(Ocotea bullata)''.

Afromontane ecoregions

;

Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Description TSMF is generally found in la ...

Albertine Rift montane forests The Albertine Rift montane forests ( French: ''Forêts montagnardes du Rift Albertin'') is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in east-central Africa. The ecoregion covers the mountains of the northern Albertine Rift, and is home to dis ...

(Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda) *

Cameroonian Highlands forests The Cameroonian Highlands forests, also known as the Cameroon Highlands forests, is a montane tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion located on the range of mountains that runs inland from the Gulf of Guinea and forms the border between Camer ...

(Cameroon, Nigeria) *

East African montane forests The East African montane forests is a montane tropical moist forest ecoregion of eastern Africa. The ecoregion comprises several separate areas above 2000 meters in the mountains of South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. Geography The East Af ...

(Kenya, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda) *

Eastern Arc forests The Eastern Arc forests is a montane tropical moist forest ecoregion of eastern Africa. The ecoregion comprises several separate highland areas above 800 meters in Kenya, and (mostly) Tanzania. Setting The Eastern Arc forests extend across a t ...

(Tanzania, Kenya) *

Ethiopian montane forests The Ethiopian montane forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in Ethiopia. It covers the southwestern and southeastern portions of the Ethiopian Highlands. The ecoregion includes distinctive Afromontane evergreen forests. The ecoreg ...

(Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan) *

Guinean montane forests The Guinean montane forests are a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of West Africa. The ecoregion occupies the portions of the Guinea Highlands lying above 600 meters elevation, extending ...

(Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone) * Knysna-Amatole montane forests (South Africa) *

Southern Afrotemperate Forest Southern Afrotemperate Forest (the Southern Cape Forests) is a kind of tall, shady, multilayered indigenous South African forest. This is the main forest-type in the south-western part of South Africa, naturally extending from the Cape Peninsula ...

(Western Cape Province of South Africa) *

Mount Cameroon and Bioko montane forests The Mount Cameroon and Bioko montane forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in central Africa. It occupies the upper slopes of coastal Mount Cameroon in Cameroon, and the mountains of nearby Bioko island in Equatorial Guinea. Ge ...

(Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea) ; Montane grasslands, shrublands, and woodlands *

Angolan montane forest-grassland mosaic Angolan may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Angola *Angolan people; see Demographics of Angola *Angolan culture *Angolar Creole *Something of, from, or related to the historical Bantu Kingdom of Ndongo *A resident of: **Angola, New Y ...

(Angola) *

Angolan scarp savanna and woodlands The Angolan Scarp savanna and woodlands is an ecoregion located on the coast of Angola, an area with a variety of habitats and rich in wildlife including many endemic birds and animals. Geography This ecoregion consists of the strip of land that ...

(Angola) *

Drakensberg alti-montane grasslands and woodlands The Drakensberg ( Zulu: uKhahlamba, Sotho: Maloti, Afrikaans: Drakensberge) is the eastern portion of the Great Escarpment, which encloses the central Southern African plateau. The Great Escarpment reaches its greatest elevation – within t ...

(Lesotho, South Africa) *

Drakensberg montane grasslands, woodlands and forests The Drakensberg ( Zulu: uKhahlamba, Sotho: Maloti, Afrikaans: Drakensberge) is the eastern portion of the Great Escarpment, which encloses the central Southern African plateau. The Great Escarpment reaches its greatest elevation – within t ...

(Lesotho, South Africa, Eswatini) *

East African montane moorlands The East African montane moorlands is a montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion which occupies several high mountain peaks in Kenya, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. Geography The ecoregion occupies an area of , covering several small moun ...

(Kenya, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda) *

Eastern Zimbabwe montane forest-grassland mosaic :''"Eastern Highlands" also refers to Eastern Highlands Province in Papua New Guinea, and part of the Great Dividing Range, Australia.'' The Eastern Highlands, also known as the Manica Highlands, is a mountain range on the border of Zimbabwe ...

(Mozambique, Zimbabwe) *

Ethiopian montane grasslands and woodlands The Ethiopian montane grasslands and woodlands is a montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion in Ethiopia. It occupies the middle elevations of the Ethiopian Highlands, between the high-elevation Ethiopian montane moorlands and lowland woodlan ...

(Eritrea, Ethiopia) *

Ethiopian montane moorlands The Ethiopian montane moorlands is a montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion in Ethiopia. It lies above 3,000 meters elevation in the Ethiopian Highlands, the largest Afroalpine region in Africa. The montane moorlands lie above the tree line, ...

(Ethiopia) *

Highveld grasslands The Highveld (Afrikaans: ''Hoëveld,'' , ) is the portion of the South African inland plateau which has an altitude above roughly , but below , thus excluding the Lesotho mountain regions to the south-east of the Highveld. It is home to some of t ...

(Lesotho, South Africa) * Jos Plateau forest-grassland mosaic (Nigeria) * Maputaland-Pondoland bushland and thickets (Mozambique, South Africa, Eswatini) *

(Western Cape Province of South Africa) * Rwenzori-Virunga montane moorlands (Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Uganda) *

South Malawi montane forest-grassland mosaic South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...

(Malawi, Mozambique) *

Southern Rift montane forest-grassland mosaic Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

(Malawi, Tanzania) ;

Deserts and xeric shrublands Deserts and xeric shrublands are a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Deserts and xeric (Ancient Greek 'dry') shrublands form the largest terrestrial biome, covering 19% of Earth's land surface area. Ecoregions in this habitat ...

Southwestern Arabian montane woodlands The Southwestern Arabian montane woodlands is a xeric woodland ecoregion in the southwestern Arabian Peninsula. Setting The ecoregion covers an area of , lying above 2000 meters elevations in the Sarawat Mountains, which include the Asir Mount ...

(Saudi Arabia, Yemen)

External links

Eastern Afromontane Biodiversity Hotspot (Conservation International)

References

{{Reflist * Galley, C. & Linder, H. P. (2006) Geographical affinities of the Cape flora, South Africa. ''Journal of Biogeography'' 33 (2), 236–250. Afrotropical ecoregions Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Montane grasslands and shrublands Deserts and xeric shrublands Ecoregions of Africa Ecoregions of Saudi Arabia Ecoregions of Yemen * *