GAZALAND AND MOZAMBIQUE 239 



Boschveld. South of the Zambezi, with increasing- 

 distance from the equator and an undiminished eleva- 

 tion, the tropical savana very gradually turns to a 

 subtropical type of park landscape which, under the 

 name of 'boschveld', extends into the northern Transvaal. 

 With a rainfall of about 20 inches, concentrated in 

 summer, this is essentially a grass-land, the low growth 

 of which no longer compares with the tall tufts of 

 the tropical savana grasses, but consists largely of 

 short andropogon and aristida forms. Numerous small 

 herbaceous bushes with small leathery leaves, especially 

 composites, are freely interspersed among bulbous and 

 tuberous plants; there is no longer that variety of 

 trees which prevailed within the tropics. Trees are 

 mostly bushy, and acacias form the bulk of them, with 

 low and flattened crowns as a characteristic feature. 

 ' They are scattered singly or in groups over the surface 

 and their dark foliage contrasts strikingly with the 

 lighter green or faded straw -yellow of the sward.' 

 Especially noticeable here are the thorny acacia hor- 

 rida, and the mopani-tree which alone, or almost alone, 

 successfully resists the yearly grass-fires : the majority 

 of trees shed their foliage in winter. On granite hills, 

 like the Matoppos, the grass plays but a secondary 

 part, and the woody perennials and bushy tree-forms 

 become more prominent. It is a barer landscape, 

 but more varied in forms of vegetation and species 

 of plants. 



The boschveld may be compared with the prairies of 

 Texas, in which the mesquite would be replaced by the 

 acacia and the mopani-tree. It is closely allied in 

 appearance and mode of life with the park scenery of 

 East Africa, and is primarily a grazing ground. 

 Agriculture can only assume the second rank as an 



