PlantsMap

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8 plants worth knowing

Chad

Chad lies at the very heart of Africa: in the north rise the Saharan Tibesti and Ennedi mountains, the centre of the country is taken up by the Sahel with its acacia savannas, and in the south stretch the wetter savannas along the Chari and Logone rivers. In the west lies the shrinking Lake Chad, surrounded by wetlands and fields cultivated on its exposed bed.

Hover over a plant to see on the map where it grows.

where it grows

  1. Red acacia 1

    tree

    Red acacia

    Vachellia seyal

    Chad is one of the main producers of gum arabic – most of its output is the brittle talha gum from the red acacia.
  2. Desert date 2

    tree

    Desert date

    Balanites aegyptiaca

    The thorny “desert date” grows all over Chad – for centuries its fruit and seed oil have helped people survive the hungry season.
  3. African palmyra palm 3

    palm

    African palmyra palm

    Borassus aethiopum

    Tall rônier palms with trunks bearing a distinctive “belly” form groves on the floodplains of the Logone and Mayo-Kebbi.
  4. Sorghum 4

    crop

    Sorghum

    Sorghum bicolor

    Berbéré sorghum is planted on fields exposed by the receding waters of the Chari and Logone – Chad’s way of getting a dry-season harvest.
  5. Upland cotton 5

    crop

    Upland cotton

    Gossypium hirsutum

    The “white gold” of southern Chad – for decades cotton was the main source of income for farmers in the Logone region.
  6. Gum arabic tree 6

    tree

    Gum arabic tree

    Senegalia senegal

    Chad is one of the world’s leading producers of gum arabic, tapped from cuts in the trunks of the gum arabic tree.
  7. Date palm 7

    palm

    Date palm

    Phoenix dactylifera

    Date palm groves in the oases of Borkou, Ennedi and Tibesti, led by Faya-Largeau, are green islands in Chad’s Saharan north.
  8. Peanut 8

    crop

    Peanut

    Arachis hypogaea

    Peanuts are one of Chad’s main crops – they make a thick sauce for porridge and the oil used in every kitchen.