Malawi Vegetation

Malawi's vegetation is reflected by its diverse climate and terrain. Dry lowland areas are largely made up of savanna, while Miombo (Brachystegia) woodland stretches out along barren slopes and plateaus. Sadly, this is an important but poorly studied global biome, subject to rapid land-use and climate change, the results of which threaten its sub-saharan existence.

Fertile but isolated plateaus are littered with grass and woodland extending to the rivers. In the highlands, grassland and forest can be found.

In the south east, much of the Mulanje Massif consists of rolling grassland, skewered by deep forested ravines. The native Mulanje Cypress lives here, but has been so heavily destroyed that it is considered endangered. The park contains the last remaining stands of this tree.

The south also contains some interesting baobabs and acacia woodlands as you approach Lake Malawi, but is still mostly Miombo woodland.

In Northern Malawi, on the Nyika Plateau, Nyika National Park is famous for its flora, with 200 recorded species of orchids (a dozen of which are endemic) covering the grasslands in the spring. Nyika is the richest orchid area in south-central Africa.

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