Included here is the Sahel, a belt of semi-arid land that runs the length of the Sahara Desert’s southern margin. It forms a narrow zone some 400 km wide extending from the Red Sea coast of Sudan to the Atlantic coasts of Mauritainia and Senegal, and represents one of the hottest places on Earth.

Sahelian Deciduous Bushland

On some of the wetter rocky outcrops such as on the Darfur plateau and on the volcanic inselberg Jebel Gurgeil, a deciduous bushland or thicket dominated by Acacia mellifera and Commiphora africana can be found. Other associated species include Boscia senegalensis, Dichrostachys cinerea and Euphorbia candelabrum. 

Sahelomontane Scrub Forest

On certain sheltered rocky slopes there are scrub forests dominated by Olea laperrinei (olive). The principal woody associates include Boscia angustifolia, Ficus populifolia, F. salicifolia, Maytenus senegalensis, Rhus vulgaris and Vangueria venosa.

References

Brenan, J. P. M. 1978. Some aspects of the phytogeography of tropical Africa. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 65: 437-474.

Cook, C. D. K. 1968. The vegetation of the Kainji Reservoir site in Northern Nigeria, Vegetatio, 15: 225-243.

Kassas, M. 1957. On the ecology of the Red Sea coastal land. Journal of Ecology, 45: 187-203.

Monod, Th. 1986. Sahel Zone north of the equator. In: Ecosystems of the World 12B - Hot Deserts and Arid Shrubland, B. Eds. M. Evenari, I. Noy-Meir and D. W. Goodall. Elsevier.

White, F. 1983. The Vegetation of Africa. UNESCO.