The Central Zambezian wet miombo woodlands sprawl across south-central Africa, covering roughly 70 percent of central and northern Zambia along with adjacent parts of Angola, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Tanzania, and Mozambique. This is classic miombo country, an open woodland dominated by legume trees of the genera Brachystegia, Julbernardia, and Isoberlinia, with Pterocarpus angolensis, Albizia, and Afzelia quanzensis among the associated species and a ground layer of herbaceous Crotalaria and Indigofera. The climate is tropical and seasonal, set on a flat plateau between about 1,000 and 1,600 meters, with most rain falling in a single November-to-March wet season followed by a long dry season that can last up to seven months. It holds the highest floral richness of the African miombo ecoregions, peaking in Zambia, and supports large mammals such as African elephant, buffalo, and black rhino across major reserves like Kafue National Park. For gardeners, several of its native canopy genera, including Brachystegia and the bloodwood Pterocarpus angolensis, are valued as ornamental and shade trees in warm, frost-light climates.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 8.6°S, 26.4°E.
Climate snapshot for this ecoregion
°C
°F
Current zone range (2011–2040)
12a-13b
Plotwright
CHELSA-derived typical winter month at this ecoregion's bbox grid.
Projected (2041–2070)
12b-13b
Plotwright
Where the CHELSA models say the typical winter month is heading.
Average warming this ecoregion is on track for: +4.1°F by mid-century. SSP3-7.0 (current trajectory) · CHELSA v2.1 bio06 sampled across 10 of 10 points within this ecoregion's bounding box.
About the tropical & subtropical grasslands, savannas & shrublands biome
Warm grasslands and savannas where grasses dominate and trees are scattered, maintained by seasonal rainfall, grazing, and fire. They support large herbivore communities and respond sharply to wet–dry cycles.
Catalog plants suited to this ecoregion
Computed from each plant's stated USDA zone range against this ecoregion's CHELSA-derived current zone range, with the CHELSA mid-century warming delta applied for the projection. Plants whose stated range falls outside both the current and projected zone end up dropped; the rest land in one of the three buckets below.
Climate-resilient picks · 4
These plants fit this ecoregion today AND remain in range under the mid-century SSP3-7.0 projection. Lead with these for a planting that holds up as the climate shifts.
No curated collection's plants all fit this ecoregion's zone range. We surface a collection only when every member would grow here — partial fits get filtered out rather than mislead. As the catalog and the curated set both grow, this section will fill in.
Related ecoregions
Other tropical & subtropical grasslands, savannas & shrublands ecoregions to explore: