In the dry season, a visitor might have the impression that Namibia is almost barren and its vegetation is monochromatically drab. Broad expanses of golden-brown grass, rugged mountainsides and plains dotted sparsely with scrub are characteristic of many regions of this desert land. But as spring begins, in August and September, acacias such as the camelthorn (Acacia erioloba) deck themselves out with mimosa-like bunches of flowers. After months without rain, this reawakening always seems like a miracle.
Quiver Tree Forest, Keetmanshoop.
Clare Louise Thomas/Apa Publications
When the first rainfall comes, generally in October, broad, dusty plains are transformed overnight by a covering of green fuzz. In a few days, this has developed into a thick yellow carpet of morning stars or devil’s thorn (Tribulus zeyheri) mainly on disturbed ground, especially roadsides and around waterholes, while countless bulbs and buds quickly unfold colourful flowers. Annual plants suddenly appear, ornamented with magnificent flowers of every colour and transform the veld. Some 2,400 flowering plants, along with 345 different grass species, have been recorded in Namibia.
Although most acacias are trees, the water-thorn Acacia nebrownii grows in small bushy clumps. In the evenings its yellow balls of blossom waft a sweet fragrance across the savannah.
The cold Benguela Current, which runs along the entire coast, prevents rainfall from the west. The result is a strip of desert running northwards from the Orange River on the southern boundary to the Kunene River on the border with Angola – the Southern, Central and Northern Namib. This can be further split into the 56km- (35-mile-) wide coastal belt, which receives almost no rainfall but obtains some moisture from coastal fogs, and the eastern semi-desert, which gets a meagre 50–100mm (2–4ins) of rainfall annually.
Acacia erioloba.
Ute von Ludwiger/Namibia Tourism Board
In the transition area between the two, the famous welwitschia plants (Welwitschia mirabilis) sprawl across the sand, their twin leaves shredded by the wind. Some of these living fossils are over 1,000 years old. Other desert dwellers include several species of stone plants (Lithops spp.), also known as Bushmen’s buttocks, which look like stones until their beautiful flowers emerge.
More humble but tremendously important for the desert ecosystem are the two species of ganna or brack-bush: Salsola aphylla, which grows in seasonal riverbeds, and the dune-loving Salsola nollothensis. Apparently growing on top of a dune, ganna actually grows first and the dune forms around it, helping to retain moisture and protect it from the wind.
In dune areas, especially around Sossusvlei, you should come across that staple of the Namib desert, the !nara melon (Acanthosicyos horridus), a Namibian endemic. It has protective stems with long, bare, evil-looking thorns but somehow oryx, brown hyena and porcupine penetrate its defences in order to get to the watery melon.
Slightly further inland are two more noteworthy plants. One is the elephant’s foot (Adenia pechuelii), which grows among rocks and has a thick grey-green stem about a metre (3ft) tall with woody twigs on top. The second is Euphorbia damarana, quite a large plant with many individual, grey-white stems whose milky latex is poisonous to man – although black rhino and gemsbok eat it without ill effect.
In the north of Namibia, the semi-desert gives way to the mopane savannah, which characterises mountainous Kaokoland and the western half of Ovamboland. Here, mopane (Colophospermum mopane) appears as shrubs or trees. Although apparently providing welcome shade in the middle of the day, the mopane often fools the innocent traveller for its paired leaves fold together to save moisture, thus casting little shade, while small black mopane bees descend on any source of moisture and collect, irritatingly, around the eyes and nose. The dry river beds, or arroyos, are lined with white-flowering ana trees (Faidherbia albida) which can easily reach heights of 15 metres (50ft).
Stone plants look more like pebbles than plants – until they bloom in the rainy season.
Dreamstime
Among the dark red rocks and kopjes in this area, sterculia trees (Sterculia quinqueloba) are common. Their thin, light grey, bark is made even whiter by a white bloom that covers it as an adaptation to the dry climate. They stand out in graphic contrast to the dark, rocky background. In the same general habitat are what appear to be small baobab trees. In fact they are moringas (Moringa ovalifolia), whose bloated trunks and branches resemble the general pattern normally made by roots – giving rise to the legend that they have been planted upside-down.
In many areas where there is enough water, especially on the Kunene, tall makalani palms (Hyphaene petersiana) with their odd but strangely appealing scent grace the landscape. In the rainy season, the area is regularly flooded, and various beautiful water plants spring up, including water lilies, different types of Aponogeton, and the mimosa-like Neptunia oleracia, whose feathery petals close at the slightest touch.
The hard fruits of the makalani palm are known as vegetable ivory. They are frequently carved into ornaments with animal motifs.
The northern Kalahari consists for the most part of an open dry forest, which reaches all the way to the Caprivi Strip. In the Kavango region the false mopane (Guibourtia coleosperma) or oshivi tree and others are harvested and used by the Kabangos for their woodcarvings.
Bordering on southern Ovamboland, Etosha National Park is dominated by the eponymous pan, a salt desert that supports almost no vegetation. Only in the west, after the rainy season, is it lightly bedecked with a species of salt-loving grass. To the north and west, this basin is bordered by grassy plains and to the south, by a savannah of small shrubs.
The succulent desert plant Phyllobolus digitata.
Ute von Ludwiger/Namibia Tourism Board
Here, at the beginning of the rainy season, omuparara trees (Pettophorum africanum) explode into yellow blossom; in autumn, the purple-pod terminalia (Terminalia prunioides) leaves large red blotches of colour on the landscape. Marula trees (Sclerocarya birrea) produce fruits that are a particular favourite of elephants. It is probably a myth that they become drunk by eating them when they are fermenting, although marula fruit is turned into a creamy liqueur for human consumption.
Further east in Bushmanland you may come across the poison grub tree (Commiphora africana) under which are found Diamphidia beetles. The Bushmen dip the shafts of their arrows in the deadly juice of these insects but keep the tips clean in case they stab themselves accidentally.
The central highlands, with altitudes of up to 2,000 metres (6,560ft), are the highest part of Namibia. Characteristic plants here include the mountain thorn (Acacia hereroensis) and wild sage (Pechuela loschea-lubnitzia). In the spring, the worm-bark tree (Albizia antheimintica) is thickly covered with large yellow blooms which resemble downy chicks.
South of here, once you leave the mountains at Rehoboth, the broad expanses are covered by dwarf shrub savannah. Here, large trees can only be found in dry riverbeds in small stands. The quiver-tree (Aloe dichotoma) is an exception. An aloe rather than a true tree, it grows to a reasonable size, and its branches, hollowed of their cellular interiors, were once modified by Bushmen to make quivers. It is possible to make out its distinctive mushroom shape on plains and stony hillsides, especially in May when it has shining yellow blossoms.
Sausage Trees and Baobabs
Two of Africa’s most spectacular trees are common in northeast Namibia. Most noticeable in the Caprivi Strip, the sausage tree (Kigelia africana) has exquisite blood-red, velveteen flowers, but is named after the large elongated fruits that hang from the branches and occasionally drop to the ground, to be eaten by the likes of rhino and baboon. No less striking are the baobab trees (Adansonia digitata), ancient bulbous giants whose enormously thick trunks have an edible pulp eaten by elephants. Even when they are totally hollow, baobabs somehow survive, supported by their shell of bark.
