Zambia lacks the spectacular mountains of most of its
neighbours, it has more intact
miombo woodland than any other country. It
also has many large lakes and vast
floodplains.

The Zambezi and several of its
tributaries are larger than any river to the
south. There are larger and more spectacular
waterfalls in Zambia than in the whole of the
rest of the subcontinent, including five major
waterfalls on the Kalungwishi River system
alone.

Zambia occupies a central position in the
Zambesian Region, which is the summer-
rainfall belt of southern tropical Africa.

Within the region the natural vegetation is largely
determined by altitude, rainfall and soils.
Common Names
In countries where the English language
has been in use for centuries, such as
the United States, South Africa and
Australia, many plants are known by
common English names. Zambia has a
vegetation quite different from those
countries and very few species have
accepted English names.

The tendency
to borrow names like ?Wild Medlar? is of
little help to local Zambians who are
never likely to see a medlar, and would
not recognize the similarity if they did.
Ecologists in this country have preferred
to use one of the local names. There is
no problem with ?mopane? or ?baobab?,
which are established internationally, but
there seems little point in coining a
whole new system of names when all
plants already have very specific
botanical names. It is true that the Latin
names can be difficult to get your
tongue around, but are essential to be
sure of exactly which wild fig, for
example, you are looking at. Knowing
the botanical name will allow you to find
out the local name.

Ecological Zones

Zambia can conveniently be divided into the
following ecological zones:

Plateau – with higher rainfall
Plateau – with medium rainfall
Montane
Kalahari Sand – with higher rainfall
Kalahari Sand – with medium rainfall
Valley

Thank you for reading.