Mount Chiperone is a mountain in northern

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

. It lies in

Milange District Milange District is a district of Zambezia Province in Mozambique. The town of Milange is the district center. History Milange District was one of the areas where the Revolutionary Party of Mozambique (PRM) operated during the Mozambican Civil ...

Zambézia Province Zambezia ( ) is the second most-populous province of Mozambique, located in the central coastal region south-west of Nampula Province and north-east of Sofala Province. It has a population of 5.11 million, according to the 2017 census. The provin ...

, 40 km SSW of the town of

Milange Milange is a town in Zambezia Province of Mozambique. It is the district center of Milange District. Timberlake, Jonathan; Julian Bayliss, Tereza Alves, Susana Baena, Jorge Francisco, Tim Harris, Camila da Sousa (2007). "The Biodiversity and Conserv ...

. Mount Chiperone rises from the surrounding plains, 50 km south of the

Mount Mulanje The Mulanje Massif, also known as Mount Mulanje, is a large inselberg in southern Malawi. Sapitwa Peak, the highest point on the massif at 3,002 m, is the highest point in Malawi. It lies 65 km east of Blantyre, rising sharply from the s ...

massif in southern Malawi. The plains to the north are part of the Central African Plateau, about 400–450 m altitude. The plains to the south are lower, 200–350 meters elevation, descending towards the

Zambezi River The Zambezi (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than half of t ...

. The valley of the

Shire River The Shire is the largest river in Malawi. It is the only outlet of Lake Malawi and flows into the Zambezi River in Mozambique. Its length is . The upper Shire River issues from Lake Malawi and runs approximately before it enters shallow Lake Malo ...

, part of the

African Rift Valley 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 la ...

system, lies 35 km to the west. Timberlake, Jonathan; Julian Bayliss, Tereza Alves, Susana Baena, Jorge Francisco, Tim Harris, Camila da Sousa (2007). "The Biodiversity and Conservation of Mount Chiperone, Mozambique". Darwin Initiative Award 15/036: Monitoring and Managing Biodiversity Loss in South-east Africa's Montane Ecosystems. Accessed 22 June 2018

/ref> About 100 square kilometers of the mountain lie above 600 meters elevation, with around 4915

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...

s above 800 meters elevation, 2770 ha above 1000 meters, and only 110 ha over 1800 meters.

Flora

The plant communities on Mount Chiperone vary with elevation and exposure.

Miombo woodland Miombo woodland is a tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome (in the World Wide Fund for Nature scheme) located in central and southern tropical Africa. It includes three woodland savanna ecoregions (listed below) charac ...

is predominant below 1000 meters elevation. Most of the woodland below 800 meters elevation has been cleared for cultivation, with most of the remaining woodland on the northern and western slopes. ''

Brachystegia spiciformis ''Brachystegia spiciformis'', commonly known as zebrawood (not the genuine zebrawood, ''Microberlinia brazzavillensis''), or msasa (spelled as ''masasa''), is a medium-sized African tree having compound leaves and racemes of small fragrant gree ...

'' is the predominant tree in the woodland, forming a 10-15 meter high canopy. '' B. utilis'' is more common on drier ridges and shallower soils, forming an open canopy of 8-10 meters. Both species are dry-season deciduous, and canopy cover ranges from 80% to 20%, with a well-developed grass layer covering the ground underneath. Associated trees include ''

Bridelia micrantha ''Bridelia micrantha'', the mitzeeri or the coastal golden-leaf, is a tree in the family Phyllanthaceae and is native to tropical and southern Africa as well as to the island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean. Description A medium to tall tree (u ...

, Combretum molle, Pericopsis angolensis,

Pterocarpus angolensis ''Pterocarpus angolensis'' (African teak, wild teak, , , , , , , , Ndebele: Umvangazi, , ) is a species of ''Pterocarpus'' native to southern Africa, in Angola, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of the Co ...

Erythrina abyssinica ''Erythrina abyssinica'' (lucky bean or flame tree) is a tree species of the genus ''Erythrina'' belonging to the plant family of the Fabaceae (or Leguminosae) described by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle in 1825. This leguminous tree species is n ...

, Cussonia arborea,

Uapaca kirkiana ''Uapaca kirkiana'', the sugar plum or mahobohobo, is a species of dioecious plant in the family Phyllanthaceae. It is native to the southern Afrotropics, where it occurs in well-watered miombo woodlands. Within range it is one of the most popula ...

Uapaca nitida ''Uapaca'' is a genus of plant, in the family Phyllanthaceae first described as a genus in 1858. It is the only genus comprised in the tribe Uapaceae. The genus is native to Africa and Madagascar. ''Uapaca'' is dioecious Dioecy ( ; ; adj. dio ...

Psorospermum febrifugum ''Psorospermum febrifugum'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Hypericaceae. It is found across tropical Africa in seasonally dry tropical biomes. French botanist Édouard Spach described ''Psorospermum febrifugum'' in 1836. Descript ...

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. ...

,'' and ''

Faurea saligna ''Faurea saligna'' is a graceful, semi-deciduous tree in the family ''Proteaceae''. It grows to about , or up to under forest conditions. Found from tropical Africa south to the Transvaal, Swaziland and Natal, often in large communities on ...

''. Above 1000 meters elevation, the woodlands transition to medium-elevation forests. The main tree species are ''

Newtonia buchananii ''Newtonia buchananii'' is a species of plant in the family Fabaceae. Description ''Newtonia buchananii'' is a tree from 10–40 meter high, forming a loose canopy with a flattish top. It has smooth bark, and the trunk has small buttresses at th ...

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 ...

, Rinorea convallarioides,

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, ...

,'' and scattered large ''

Khaya anthotheca ''Khaya anthotheca'', with the common name East African mahogany, is a large tree species in the Meliaceae family, native to tropical Africa. The name ''anthotheca'' was taken from the Greek word ''anthos'', meaning flower, while ''theca'' refe ...

''. ''

Albizia gummifera ''Albizia gummifera'' is a species of legume in the family Fabaceae, native to sub-saharan Africa and Madagascar, and naturalized in Brazil. It is also known as peacock flower. It is recognisable as a very large deciduous, flat-topped tree reach ...

, Macaranga capensis'', and ''

Trema orientalis ''Trema orientale'' (sometimes ''Trema orientalis'') is a species of flowering tree in the hemp family, Cannabaceae. The basionym of ''T. orientalis'', ''Celtis orientalis'' was originally described and published in ''Species Plantarum ...

'' are found at the forest edges, and where the forest transitions to woodland. High-elevation forests are found above 1600 meters elevation.

References

{{Mozambique-geo-stub Chiperone Chiperone Chiperone Chiperone Important Bird Areas of Mozambique Inselbergs of Africa