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10 plants worth knowing

Tanzania

Tanzania combines the vast savannas of the Serengeti and Tarangire, huge expanses of dry miombo woodland in the south and west, and the humid forests of the Eastern Arc Mountains, famous for their endemics. On the slopes of Kilimanjaro the vegetation changes from coffee and banana gardens to high-mountain heathland with giant groundsels, while the coast and Zanzibar are fringed with mangroves, coconut palms and spice plantations.

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

where it grows

  1. African baobab 1

    tree

    African baobab

    Adansonia digitata

    Monumental baobabs towering over the Tarangire savanna are one of the most recognisable sights of a Tanzanian safari.
  2. African blackwood 2

    tree · National tree of Tanzania

    African blackwood

    Dalbergia melanoxylon

    Mpingo, or African blackwood, yields one of the world’s most valuable timbers – used for clarinets, oboes and the famous Makonde carvings.
  3. Dendrosenecio kilimanjari 3

    tree

    Dendrosenecio kilimanjari

    Dendrosenecio kilimanjari

    Kilimanjaro’s giant groundsel grows on this one mountain alone – every climber knows its bizarre “palm trees” crowned with leaf rosettes.
  4. African violet 4

    flower

    African violet

    Streptocarpus ionanthus

    The popular “African violet” found on windowsills all over the world comes from the humid forests of Tanzania’s Usambara Mountains.
  5. Clove 5

    crop

    Clove

    Syzygium aromaticum

    Zanzibar and Pemba are the “spice islands” – for two centuries clove plantations drove the archipelago’s economy.
  6. Umbrella thorn 6

    tree

    Umbrella thorn

    Vachellia tortilis

    The umbrella-shaped crowns of acacias above the grassy plains of the Serengeti are one of Africa’s most recognisable landscapes.
  7. Arabica coffee 7

    crop

    Arabica coffee

    Coffea arabica

    For over a century the Chagga have grown coffee on the slopes of Kilimanjaro, planting the bushes in the shade of banana plants.
  8. Cashew 8

    crop

    Cashew

    Anacardium occidentale

    Tanzania is one of Africa’s largest cashew nut producers – plantations stretch along the southern coast.
  9. Sisal 9

    succulent

    Sisal

    Agave sisalana

    In the mid-20th century Tanganyika was the world’s largest sisal producer – the agave’s leaves yield fibre for ropes and sacks.
  10. Msasa 10

    tree

    Msasa

    Brachystegia spiciformis

    The miombo woodlands where msasa grows cover huge areas of Tanzania – before the rains, the trees’ young leaves flush red.