South Sahara desert
RESOLVE 842
The South Sahara Desert ecoregion forms a vast arid belt across the southern Sahara, stretching from Western Sahara and northern Mauritania eastward through southern Algeria, northern Mali, Niger, Chad, Sudan, and into Egypt, marking a transitional zone between the desert's hyper-arid core and the wetter Sahelian savanna to the south. Vegetation is sparse and concentrated in dry riverbeds and wadis, where acacia (including Acacia tortilis and Acacia ehrenbergiana), tamarisk, Maerua crassifolia, and Balanites aegyptiaca grow alongside clumps of bunchgrass such as Aristida and Stipagrostis. The climate is severe, with summer temperatures reaching about 50 degrees Celsius and winter frosts, while highly unreliable rains fall mainly in July and August. This ecoregion shelters the last wild herd of addax as well as critically endangered dama gazelle, cheetah, and striped hyena, though conservation coverage remains limited and overgrazing and hunting continue to threaten its wildlife. For gardeners in hot, dry climates, the region's drought-hardy acacia and tamarisk genera are notable for tolerating extreme heat and scant, erratic rainfall.
About the deserts & xeric shrublands biome
Arid and semi-arid lands where low, erratic rainfall and high evaporation limit vegetation to drought-adapted shrubs, succulents, and sparse grasses. Day-to-night temperature swings are large, and life is finely tuned to water scarcity.
Collections for this ecoregion
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.