African vegetation. Rare plants of the world

The African continent has the second largest area and population in the world. Due to the changeable climate, there are a variety of plant and animal species in Africa: large predators roam the vast savannas among the peacefully grazing herds of herbivores. Monkeys and snakes reign in dark dense forests. Africa is home to some of the world's most interesting animals.

Equatorial Africa has the world's largest endangered rainforest area.

Several plants are endangered, including the baobab. These trees are probably the most ancient inhabitants of the continent, some are estimated to be over 3,000 years old. Baobab trunks are used to store water, while the bark and leaves are used for medicinal purposes.

Ebony or ebony is also endangered. It has heavy wood, which is highly prized by indigenous peoples and internationally.

Acacia is a tree symbol of Africa. These trees are adapted to hot and dry climates, they grow in most of the black continent. Acacia leaves are often the only greens that animals can get hold of. To protect itself from starving, the tree has grown itself thorns, and now only giraffes can feast on acacia leaves.

Many species of aloe grow in Africa, including aloe vera. It is a succulent plant with a sweet nectar that attracts many birds. Aloe juice is widely used for medicinal and cosmetic purposes.

Animal world

Africa boasts over 1,100 species of mammals, including gregarious animals such as wildebeests, buffaloes and antelopes, as well as zebras, giraffes and elephants. Rodents are represented by squirrels and rats of various species, there are also rabbits and hares. There are over 60 species of carnivores on the continent: lions, cheetahs, hyenas, leopards and others. Africa is also home to four great ape species, including the western and eastern gorillas, chimpanzees, pygmy chimpanzees, and many other primate species.

Due to the diverse climate, there are many species of reptiles and amphibians in Africa. There are chameleons, cobras, vipers, pythons, geckos, and rare species of frogs. Large turtles and crocodiles also inhabit the black continent.

Many representatives of the savannah fauna are listed in the Red Book. Among them are cheetahs and African lions. They are at risk of habitat loss and climate change.

Black rhinoceros - a huge animal weighing one and a half tons has three horns. Unfortunately, the horns have medicinal properties, which led to a decrease in the number of rhinos. Due to the loss of habitat, African elephants and rare zebras may also disappear. Poachers do not stop their hunt for valuable tusks, horns and skins.

Africa is an amazing continent, perhaps it was here that the first life was born. There are still many unexplored areas and areas that are difficult for scientists to reach. This means that Africa will surprise us with new discoveries more than once.

Video: Nature of Africa. Nature protection, environmental problems.

Africa is a continent that occupies a fifth of the Earth's land mass. It is home to about 100 species of various animals and 1500 species of birds, the flora of the continent is also quite diverse.

In different climatic zones, you can find original and dissimilar African plants. More arid regions are home to "stone" green inhabitants that look like a bizarre boulder. Also, their leaves grow here, reaching a height of more than three meters. The tropics are inhabited by bamboo, lianas, ferns and other trees.

Surely, the most original green inhabitant of this continent can be considered breadfruit. Many people think that the plant got its name due to the fact that bread grows on it. But this is far from the case. The fact is that the fruit of the tree is very similar in taste to this rich product.

Another plant growing on the continent - mango tree... Its sweet, juicy fruits have become a favorite food of many nations. And the most popular dish of the indigenous people is fried mango with potatoes.

Bambooalso native to Africa. It is found on the mainland quite often, and often trees can reach the height of a nine-story building.

Baobab. Not all African plants are long-livers, which cannot be said about baobab. There is a plant on the continent that is about 5,000 years old. It is 22 meters high, the trunk circumference is 47 meters, the crown circumference is 145 meters.

Bananas. Another delicious food that came from Africa and is known all over the world. In Guinea, you can see fruits reaching 60 centimeters in length.

Kalanchoe Degremona... Due to its unusual structure, Kalanchoe is unlike all other plants in Africa. Its peculiarity lies in the fact that on each leaf there are many embryos with their own root system, which allows them to exist separately. And Kalanchoe juice is considered a healing agent.

Palm trees. When describing plants in Africa, one cannot fail to mention palms. These trees have a cork structure, due to which, bending in a strong wind, they are able to touch their top of the ground. But the main thing that attracts people to this plant is its tasty, fragrant fruit called coconut.

In the eastern regions of the continent you can find crocodiles. Reptiles are huge in size, and some representatives can reach a height of more than 6 meters and weigh a ton.

Another animal living in the water - hippo.The indigenous population calls him the lord of reservoirs . You can meet the hippopotamus in the western, southern and eastern parts of the mainland, as well as on the banks of the Nile River. The animal feeds mainly on plants, however, it also poses a considerable danger to humans.

Elephant.It is considered the heaviest and largest land mammal on the entire earth. With their long trunk, these unique animals are able to nibble on grass, pluck leaves from trees and smell. Now these animals live mainly in protected national parks and reserves.

A lion.Since ancient times, this predatory animal has been called. These animals are hunted day and night, in flocks and individually. Today, there are about 23 thousand individuals, most of which live in national parks. However, few flocks of lions can be found in western Africa.

Africa is a special continent. Our compatriots rarely remember it, thinking about emigration (Europe and North America, or at worst Australia, are usually associated with "overseas paradise"), but if you want to spend a vacation in exotic lands, then you can't find Africa better! In addition, a visit to the “black continent” for all of us, without exception, will be a visit to our historical homeland - after all, it is from there that the species Homo Sapiens originates. And most importantly, there you can see elephants, hippos, crocodiles, giraffes - and, of course, unusual trees.

When it comes to African trees, the first thing that comes to mind is the baobab. The tree is really interesting ... "and you will be a baobab for a thousand years, until you die", - V. Vysotsky sang. Poets tend to exaggerate, but in this case, the poet understates: a thousand years is youth for a baobab, but in general they can live for 10,000 years. In girth, they reach 30 meters, and with age, a cavity forms inside such a huge trunk - and, of course, people could not help but find an application for such a convenient gift of nature: in some countries these cavities were used as tombs for criminals so as not to desecrate the earth with their wicked bodies , in others they got along easier - used as storage rooms. And one farmer set up a small cafe inside the baobab - needless to say, how much tourists like it!

However, there are more interesting examples: in Zimbabwe there is a bus station inside a baobab, and in Botswana ... a prison.

However, this is not the only "gift" of baobab to people: its fruits resembling a melon are loved not only by people, but also by monkeys, therefore baobab is popularly called the "monkey breadfruit", and a very tasty soft drink is prepared from the pulp of the fruit. Another drink, reminiscent of coffee, is made from roasted baobab seeds. From the ash formed when burning its wood, they make soap, and from the dried bark - dishes. Even the juice of the roots is used - the Africans have painted faces with it since ancient times.

In southern Africa and Madagascar, another interesting tree grows - kigelia. It is remarkable for its fruits, because of which the kigelia was nicknamed "the sausage tree." But if you are in Africa, do not taste these "sausages": the locals eat their seeds - but only in severe famine, because if they are improperly prepared, you can get poisoned (in this regard, kigelia seeds are more dangerous than our conditionally edible mushrooms).

Welwichia grows in the Namib Desert is amazing ... yes, that's what it is called, and this is quite fair. This is a dwarf tree (in the desert, gigantic dimensions are generally useless - where to get the whole mass of water!), 50 cm is the limit, but it grows well in width, exceeding a meter. Even more, there are two leathery leaves at the top of the trunk - almost 2 meters wide and up to 8 meters long. It is not surprising that they reach such sizes - after all, these leaves have been growing ... for centuries!

The moringa tree in West Africa has also adapted to live in a lack of moisture. It stores water by absorbing it into its sponge-like wood. At the same time, the trunk swells up pretty much.

In East Africa, in the area of \u200b\u200bLake Chad, grenadil grows - aka black rosewood, aka African ebony. This is a tree with the hardest wood in the world, which is saturated with a huge amount of essential oils, therefore it does not rot, moreover, this wood has a very beautiful texture. Of course, people appreciated this: the locals believe that a palisade made of such a tree does not let evil spirits into the dwelling, and witchcraft items retain their power better if stored in such a box. Medieval Europeans believed that ebony dishes neutralized poison - this, of course, is an exaggeration, but it is possible to treat a cold with a tincture from its core. And, of course, ebony is still used to make furniture, souvenirs, billiard cues, and even musical instruments - for example, an oboe. That is why the tree is in danger of extinction, and this worries the oboists very much: a little more - and we will never hear the sound of a truly high-quality oboe ...

Of course, these are just a few of the bizarre African flora ... but even these trees are well worth taking a trip to Africa and seeing them up close!

The flora of Africa amazes the imagination with its diversity and unusual appearance. Due to the different climatic zones in which the continent is located, in some regions plants grow that are not found anywhere else in the world. Most of them have a bizarre shape due to the hot climate and constant lack of water. All African plants can be divided into two large groups: growing near water and surviving in the hellish conditions of deserts.

Breadfruit

Many flowers and trees on the hottest continent have very unusual and even at first glance edible names. These include the breadfruit, so named not because bread is made from it, but its fruits taste like baked goods. People do not use them for food, but the monkeys eat them with great pleasure.

Mango tree

Some African plants are familiar to us, such as mango, the fruits of which are imported to our country. It is worth noting that African fruits are very different in taste. Locals keep their secrets for the preparation of this product. They fry mangoes together with potatoes, it turns out a very tasty and original dish.

Baobab

Plants and animals of Africa are accustomed to surviving in the harshest conditions, due to the constant lack of water, the hot sun, many trees acquire bizarre shapes. So the baobab is compared with an inverted carrot, then with a large nest, or even with a crab. This tree cannot be called beautiful, since its height, reaching 20 m, is absolutely not proportional to the thickness of the trunk, which reaches 10 m in diameter. The crown is small, clumsy, branches with openwork leaves are scattered in different directions. The largest and oldest baobab grows in the area of \u200b\u200bLake Tanganyika, its approximate age is about 5000 years, the height is 22 m, the crown circumference is 145 m, the trunk circumference is 47 m.

Kalanchoe Degremona

Plants in Africa are trying to adapt to the harshest conditions of survival. So, for example, the Kalanchoe on each leaf has a huge number of embryos with a ready-made root system, falling off, they immediately fall to the ground, where they take root. This plant is not only beautiful, but also useful; its juice is used to treat many diseases.

Palm trees

The most common plants in Africa are palms, they grow in almost every country on this continent. They are quite flexible thanks to cork wood, even in the worst storms, when the wind bends them to the ground, palm trees do not break. Their fruits - coconuts - are very difficult for an inexperienced tourist to get and peel. If you knock him off a tree with a stick, the coconut will simply fall and break, and the milk will pour out, so you have to climb the tree. Visitors are also bad at peeling the fruit with a machete, but the locals remove the hard fibrous layer with their teeth.

African exotic

Plants of Africa, despite their bizarre shapes, are very beautiful. Local exoticism attracts many tourists, because some types of trees and flowers can no longer be found on any continent. Thanks to different climatic zones, here you can see both lush green tropical forests and inconspicuous, gnarled trees with a minimum number of leaves. It is this contrast that arouses great interest in local nature.

The second largest continent on planet Earth is continent Africa. The first in size is the continent of Eurasia. There is also a part of the world, which is also called Africa. This article will consider Africa as the mainland of the planet.

In terms of its area, the size of Africa is 29.2 million km2 (with islands - 30.3 million km2), which is about 20% of the entire land surface of the planet. The continent of Africa is washed by the Mediterranean Sea on the northern coast, the western coast is washed by the Atlantic Ocean, in the south and east the continent is washed by the Indian Ocean, and the northeast coast is washed by the Red Sea. There are 62 states on the territory of Africa, of which 54 are independent states, and the population of the entire continent is about 1 billion people. By clicking on the link, you can see the full list of African countries in the table.

The size of Africa from north to south is 8000 kilometers, and when viewed from east to west, it is approximately 7,500 kilometers.

Extreme points on mainland Africa:

1) The most eastern point of the mainland is Cape Ras Khafun, which is located on the territory of the state of Somalia.

2) The northernmost point of this continent is Cape Blanco, which is located in the Tunisian Republic.

3) The westernmost point of the continent is Cape Almadi, which is located in the Republic of Senegal.

4) And, finally, the southernmost point of the continent of Africa is Cape Agulhas, which is located on the territory of the Republic of South Africa (South Africa).

Relief of africa

Most of the mainland is plain. The following landforms prevail: highlands, plateaus, stepped plains and plateaus. Conventionally, the mainland is divided into High Africa (where the heights of the mainland reach a size of over 1000 meters - the southeast of the mainland) and Low Africa (where heights reach a size mainly less than 1000 meters - the northwestern part).

The highest point of the mainland is Kilimanjaro Volcano, which reaches a height of 5895 meters above sea level. Also in the south of the mainland there are the Drakensberg and Cape Mountains, in the east of Africa there is the Ethiopian Highlands, and to the south of it is the East African Plateau, in the northwest of the continent are the Atlas Mountains.

In the north of the mainland is the largest desert on the planet - the Sahara, in the south is the Kalahari Desert, and in the southwest of the mainland there is the Namib Desert.

At the same time, the lowest point of the mainland is the bottom of the Assal salt lake, the depth of which reaches 157 meters below sea level.

Climate of Africa

The climate of Africa can be ranked first of all continents in terms of warmth. This is the hottest continent, since it is completely located in the hot climatic zones of planet Earth and is crossed by the equator line.

Central Africa is located in the equatorial belt. This belt is characterized by high precipitation and there is no change of seasons at all. To the south and north of the equatorial belt there are subequatorial belts, which are characterized by a rainy season in summer and a dry season in winter with high air temperatures. If we follow further south and north after the subequatorial belts, then the northern and southern tropical belts follow, respectively. Such belts are characterized by low precipitation at rather high air temperatures, which leads to the formation of deserts.

Inland waters of Africa

The internal waters of Africa are uneven in structure, but at the same time vast and long. On the mainland, the longest river is the Nile River (the length of its system reaches 6,852 km), and the Congo River is considered the deepest river (the length of its system reaches 4,374 km), which is famous for being the only river that crosses the equator twice.

There are also lakes on the mainland. Lake Victoria is considered the largest lake. The area of \u200b\u200bthis lake is 68 thousand km2. The greatest depth in this lake reaches 80 m. The lake itself is the second largest freshwater lake on the planet Earth.

30% of the landmass of the continent of Africa is deserts, in which reservoirs can be temporary, that is, sometimes completely dry up. But at the same time, usually in such desert regions, groundwater can be observed, which is located in artesian basins.

Flora and fauna of Africa

The continent of Africa is famous for its diversity of both flora and fauna. The continent is home to humid tropical forests, which are replaced by woodlands and savannas. Mixed forests can also be found in the subtropical zone.

The most common plants in the forests of Africa are palm trees, ceiba, sundew and many others. But in the savannas, you can most often find thorny shrubs and small trees. The desert is distinguished by a small variety of plants growing in it. Most often these are grasses, shrubs or trees in oases. Many areas of the desert have no vegetation at all. A special plant in the desert is the amazing Velvichia plant, which can live for more than 1000 years, it releases 2 leaves that grow throughout the life of the plant and can reach a length of 3 meters.

The animal world is also diverse in Africa. In the savannah areas, grass grows very quickly and well, which attracts many herbivorous animals (rodents, hares, gazelles, zebras, etc.), and, accordingly, predators that feed on herbivorous animals (leopards, lions, etc.).

At first glance, the desert may seem uninhabited, but in fact, there are many reptiles, insects, birds that hunt mainly at night.

Africa is famous for such animals as elephant, giraffe, hippopotamus, a wide variety of monkeys, zebras, leopards, sand cats, gazelles, crocodiles, parrots, antelopes, rhinos and more. This continent is amazing and unique in its own way.

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