Flora

Baobab

The vegetation of Senegal is in accordance to the particular average rainfall of the different areas. Bush savannas define the North of the country. The heart of the country is dominated by dry savannas with a meagre grass growth, acacias and the baobab, which is characteristic for West Africa.

The baobab is the national tree of Senegal. It belongs to the family of adansonia trees and can reach an age of up to 1000 years. It stores around 5000l water in the rainy season and it sheds it leaves afterwards in order to protect itself from excessive evaporation during the drought.

Pflanzen

The landscape towards the South is dominated by tamarind trees as well as tall elephant grass. In the south there are subtropical forests consisting of baobabs, bamboo, ceiba and mahogany trees. A very common tree is the shea butter tree, which is used to extract the famous shea butter and cotton. The cotton-like hair from the ceiba tree ("silk cotton tree") is used to fill mattresses.

The west of the country is distinguished by a dense mangrove growth. This tree, however, is endangered due to the increased demand for firewood.