Serengeti National Park Plants
Serengeti National park plants. Serengeti National Park plants are many, and are spread all throughout the vast endless plains of Serengeti National Park. Serengeti National Park comprises a variety of habitats that is large tracts of plains, woodlands and riverine forests. All these habitats inhabit a wide diversity of trees and grasses, or plants. Serengeti National Park has one of the oldest ecosystems, spanning over 30,000 square kilometers extending to the famous Masai Mara National Reserve Kenya as well as the Ngorongoro Conservation Area of Tanzania referred to as the Garden of Eden.
Trees in Serengeti National Park
There are a number of trees in Serengeti National Park. The various trees in Serengeti National Park are sausage trees, fig tree, wild date palm, yellow fever tree, commiphora, umbrella tree and whistling thorn.
Sausage Tree
The sausage tree is found sparsely throughout the Serengeti National Park endless plains. Sausage trees in Serengeti National Park are usually found along the dry river banks, producing remarkably long succulent buy yet poisonous fruits that drop from the trees and give out seeds. The fruit stalks can be seen for a while in the park when they fall, and are sometimes highly mistaken for leopard’s tails.
Fig Trees
Fig trees are among the several species of fig trees in Serengeti National park. The fig trees in Serengeti national Park have a distinctive grey smooth bark with large buttressing intertwined roots and saucer-sized dark green leaves, making them quite easy to identify. Fig trees are commonly seen along the moist river banks of the various Serengeti National park rivers, or seen growing in the rocky clefts of kopjes in Serengeti National Park.
Wild Dates Palm
One of the plants in Serengeti National Park include wild date palms, monocotyledonous plants with veins in their leaves, unbranched and parallel. Wild date palm trees are relatives of lilies, bananas, orchids and grasses. Wild date palms are the commonest palm tree plant in Serengeti National Park, also usually found along swamps and rivers in Serengeti National Park. Much as the fruits of wild date palms are edible, they really taste terrible. The sap can be made into palm wine, a common drink in Nigeria. Wild date palm trees are a great place for Serengeti National Park animals to get shade during the very sunny days, especially lions.
Yellow Fever Tree
The yellow fever tree is one of the common tree or plants in Serengeti National Park, especially in the wet areas of the park. Yellow fever trees can be found along rivers, floodplains and near swamps. The yellow fever tree is a tall and graceful tree with large white thorns, wide far stretching branches, and the yellow bark distinct it from all the other plants in Serengeti National Park. The tree earns her name from early settlers who blamed their fevers on the yellow fever trees growing near the water areas ignoring the water areas that are breeding grounds for mosquitoes, thus calling the tree the yellow fever tree.
Umbrella Tree
The umbrella tree is like the trademark of Africa safari destinations. The umbrella tree literally represents Africa, with its iconic shape arching beautifully and dramatically across the savannah endless plains of Serengeti National Park. The umbrella tree has prominent white thorns, dark bark and a distinguishable flat-top. Umbrella tree seedlings are much sought after by giraffes and elephants. Important to note is that most umbrella trees in Serengeti National Park are 45 years or 125 years old.
Commiphora
Commiphora trees are a dominant plant in Serengeti National Park, especially found along the eastern part of the park. The commiphora plant is a local medicinal plant known to treat various illnesses like rashes, stomach aches, and liver problems.
Whistling Thorn
The whistling thorn has hard, hollow spheres at the base of thorns filled with biting ants. This plant in Serengeti National park derives her name from the whistling sounds made by the ants’ entrance holes into the hollow galls.
Grasses in Serengeti National Park include Red oat grass, finger grass, and pan dropseed grass among so many others. These various grasses are a source of food to the many Serengeti National Park animals including herbivores like wildebeests, elephants, giraffes, elands, antelopes, zebras among so many other animals in Serengeti National Park.
Serengeti National Park is one of the most beautiful and sought after Africa safari destinations that you can visit all throughout the year and still be rewarded with out-of-this-world wild game experiences. Get in touch with a trusted tour operator to help you create an amazing Serengeti National Park safari, and get to see and enjoy all that this UNESCO World Heritage Site, including the various Serengeti National Park plants.