Flora

Swaziland''s flora is much richer and more varied than one would expect from a small (some would say tiny) country. There is a clear reason for this: Swaziland extends from the edge of the African plateau of the highveld through the middleveld to the lowveld. In addition there is a mountain range close to the sea, the Lubombo, that has a unique assemblage of plants.

The large range of geology also means a varied climate, in the west the country is 800 to 1800 metres above sea level, this region recieves large amounts of rain, often a metre or more a year. The vegetaion found there is Afromontane with regions of trees in shelytered places. - in other words it is open grassland with clumps of trees and bushes in rocks and wtewrcourses. There are several endemic species of plant endemic to this region, including various cycads and proteas.

The middleveld has a temperate climate with tropical elements, the result is woodland and broadleafed svannah in the hills with riverine forests near water. The lowveld is Afrotropical with wide expanses of grass with flat topped trees, many of them acacias. The Lubombo is at a similar height to the middleveld and there is similar vegetation with open grassland and dense riverine forests, there are relic populations of rare trees like Androstachys. The Swaziland National Trust Commission website has detailed species checklists for plants.