The Northern Acacia-Commiphora bushlands and thickets cover much of lowland Kenya and reach into southeastern South Sudan, northeastern Uganda, southwestern Ethiopia, and northern Tanzania, encompassing the upper Tana River watershed and the Rift Valley lake basins of Magadi, Naivasha, Nakuru, and Baringo; Nairobi sits within it. The vegetation is characteristic Acacia-Commiphora bushland and thicket grading into open grasslands and savanna, with Acacia (Vachellia) and Commiphora the principal trees alongside Boswellia and grasses such as Aristida, Stipa, and Chloris. The climate is semi-arid and highly variable, with annual rainfall ranging from about 200 mm near Lake Turkana to roughly 600 mm toward the Kenyan coast, falling mainly in the long rains of March to June; mean maximum temperatures run near 30 degrees C in the lowlands and around 24 degrees C at higher elevations. Elephants act as major shapers of the landscape, and the arid-adapted Grevy's zebra is the flagship species, having suffered one of the most severe range reductions of any African mammal; about 20 percent of the ecoregion lies within protected areas. For gardeners, the native flora here includes the aromatic resin genera Commiphora and Boswellia, the source plants of myrrh and frankincense.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 0.2°N, 37.5°E.
Climate snapshot for this ecoregion
°C
°F
Current zone range (2011–2040)
12b-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: +3.9°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: