PlantsMap

EN PL

5 plants worth knowing

Lesotho

Lesotho is the “kingdom in the sky” – the whole country lies above 1,400 m, and its lowest point is the highest lowest point of any country in the world. The Maloti and Drakensberg mountains are covered in grassy slopes, high-mountain wetlands that feed the Senqu (Orange) River and high-altitude heathland; there are almost no natural forests, and the western lowlands are dominated by fields of maize and sorghum.

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

where it grows

  1. Spiral aloe 1

    succulent · National flower of Lesotho

    Spiral aloe

    Aloe polyphylla

    This aloe’s leaves form a perfect spiral – it grows only in the mountains of Lesotho and is the kingdom’s national flower.
  2. Oldwood 2

    shrub

    Oldwood

    Leucosidea sericea

    Cheche is one of the few native “trees” of Lesotho’s treeless mountains – its thickets are a valuable source of firewood and a refuge for wildlife.
  3. Kniphofia caulescens 3

    perennial

    Kniphofia caulescens

    Kniphofia caulescens

    In late summer the high-mountain wetlands of Lesotho are lit up by the coral torches of this red-hot poker, which shrugs off frost and snow.
  4. Red grass 4

    grass

    Red grass

    Themeda triandra

    In autumn tussocks of this grass turn Lesotho’s mountainsides russet – it is the basis of the pastures on which Basotho herders depend.
  5. Red star 5

    flower

    Red star

    Hypoxis baurii

    In summer the damp meadows of the Maloti Mountains are covered in thousands of pink and white stars of this little Drakensberg plant.