plants of kilimanjaro

brad, brian and i spoke on the phone this evening, not long ago, and brian gave brad and i a butt chewing for not having posted our first "assigned" topics. so...i'd better get crackin'!

the climb up mt. kilimanjaro took us through a 5 climate zones. each zone having its own distinct characteristics and vegetation.






forest zone - this zone looked like a jungle! we kept an eye open for tarzan, as he and his monkey-type buddies could have swung down, through the fog, mist and moss, from any of the massive trees on the vines at any time. this zone gets upwards of 230cm of rain annually. that's alot! in this "rain forest" there were plants EVERYWHERE, with alot of flowers. one of the more notable flowers is the Impatiens kilimanjari which is a beautiful red and yellow flower endemic to kilimanjaro.

heath zone - as we emerged from the forest we climbed into a forest of heather. it was easy to figure where they got the name for this zone, as the whole of the mountain was covered with the brushy/shrubby plant. this is also the last zone that general grasses can be found virtually everywhere. the heath zone averages about 130 cm of rain each year.



moorland zone - unlike the transitions to and from the other zones, the heath and moorland zone overlap a bit and can contain many of the same plants in the overlap. the moorland is characterized by a clearer sky, though most of its 53 cm of annual rainfall comes from the mist that is almost always present on the mountain at this elevation. alpine heather, a smaller variety of "regular" heather, is often present, though two plants that are characteristic of the moorland zone are the giant senecio and the lobelia plants. both are unique looking plants that kind of look like crosses between palm trees and century-type plants you'd find in arizona. both plants have adapted to the harsh environment by using their old leaves to insulate their trunks. several beautiful flowers can also be found in this zone including a couple varieties of helichrysums.

alpine desert zone - with less than 20 cm of rain, there aren't nearly as many varieties of plants in this zone. helichrysums, however, can still be found in this zone, along with a yellow daisy-like flower called an asteraceae. although plants, and specifically flowers, weren't plentiful in the alpine desert, the contrast between the few flowers and all the rocks of different colors was spectacular and really brought out the color of the flowers.

ice cap zone - with extreme weather conditions and vertually no rainfall in this zone there is virtually no plant life. lichens are about the best we can do here. though there are sone pretty cool looking lichens of various colors that can be found all over many of the larger rocks.



on the mountain as a whole, outside of the ice cap, the plantlife was beautiful! many plants that are specific only to kilimanjaro and many beautiful flowers that have a incredible backdrop to show off there splendor!