The Zambezian mopane woodlands stretch across the lower basins of the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers, spanning portions of Botswana, Eswatini, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The defining tree is the mopane (Colophospermum mopane), which in many low-lying areas forms a near sole-species canopy, accompanied by genera such as Acacia, Albizia, and Combretum and the iconic baobab (Adansonia digitata). Lying at lower elevation and receiving less rain than the neighboring miombo woodlands, the region has a tropical, strongly seasonal climate with rainfall largely confined to November through April. It ranks among the most important areas for large-mammal diversity in southern Africa, holding significant populations of elephant and rhinoceros, with the hippopotamus as its flagship species. For gardeners in suitable warm, dry climates, the native baobab offers a dramatic, drought-tolerant specimen tree.

At a glance

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.

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.

Related ecoregions