Included here is Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, southern Zaire (Shaba), most of Angola, much of Mozambique, Tanzania, northeastern Botswana, the eastern part of the Republic of South Africa, Lesotho and most of Swaziland.

These broadly divide into moist and dry forest, but only fragments of each type remain. The remaining relic areas of moist evergreen forest occur in the high rainfall areas of Zimbabwe such as the Lusitu River valley and Chimanimani Mountains. The principal tree species here include Blightia unijugata, Erythrophleum suaveolens, Melanodiscus oblongus, Zanha golungensis, the endemic Bersama swynnertonii (Melianthaceae) and the near endemic Curtisia dentate (Curtisiaceae), while common lianas include Mascarenhasia variegata, Paullinia pinnata and the endemic Saba comorensis (Apocynaceae). Further north on the slopes of Inyangani the endemic Maranthes floribunda (Chrysobalanaceae) becomes one of the more important trees together with Filicium decipiens, Pachystele brevipes and Xylopia aethiopica. Chirinda Forest is another example. Here common trees include Craibia brevicaudata, Diospyros abyssinica, Khaya nyasica, Lovoa swynnertonii, Stychnos mitis and Trichilia dregeana, while lower story shrubs and small trees commonly include the endemic Tabernaemontana ventricosa (Apocynaceae). The common lianas are Landolphia kirkii and Clerodendron swynnertonii, while the ground layer typically includes various shade tolerant grasses such as Leptaspis cochleata, Olyra latifolia and Oplismenus hirtellus. In Zambia the remaining patches of moist forest contain yet another assemblage of species. Among the more dominant trees are Canarium schweinfurthii, Fagaria macrophylla, Pachystela brevipes and the endemic species Hannoa kitombetombe (Simaroubaceae). Some of the endemic plants more or less confined to moist evergreen forests include the woody climber Artabotrys stalzii (Annoaceae), the evergreen shrub Combretum coriifolium (Combretaceae), the evergreen tree Maranthes goetzeniana (Chrysobalanaceae) and the annual herb Phyllanthus micromeris (Euphorbiaceae).

The remaining fragments of dry evergreen forests are mainly confined to northern parts. They have a simpler structure and are relatively poor floristically, and their floral composition varies greatly from place to place. Some of the more common trees include Berlinia giongii, Cryptosepalum pseudotaxus, Daniella altsteeniana, Marquesia acuminata, M. macroura, Parinari excelsa, Syzygium guineense and the endemic Entandrophragma delevoyi (Meliaceae), although none of these occur throughout. The main lianas include Artobotrys monteiroae, Combretum microphyllum and the near endemic Uvaria angolensis (Annonaceae) and there is often a dense under storey of evergreen thicket in which Diospyros undabunda is often conspicuous, while other small trees include Anisophyllea boehmii, Canthium anomocarpum, Diospyros batocana, Kirkia acuminata, Pteleopsis anisoptera, Pterocarpus angolensis, Uvariastrum hexaloboides and Xylopia odoratissima. The common shrubs are Canthium gueinzii, Copaifera baumiana and Kotschya strobilantha. Endemic plant species specific to these drier forests include the shrubs Beilschmiedia gilbertii (Lauraceae shrub), Popowia gracilis (Annoaceae) Vernonia potamophila (Asteraceae), the liana Combretum xanthothyrsum (Combretacea) and the perennial herb Gutenbergia polytrichomata (Asteraceae).

The Zambezian endemic plant species more generally associated with evergreen forests include trees such as Allophylus chirindensis (Sapindaceae), Bombax mossambicensis (Bombacaceae), Canthium ngonii (Rubiaceae), Dasylepis burtt-davyi (Flourcourtiaceae), Garcinia mlanjiensis (Hypericaceae), Hannoa kitombetombe (Simaroubaceae), Lasiodiscus usambarensis (Rhamnaceae), Macaranga mellifera (Euphorbiaceae), Morinda asteroscepa (Rubiaceae), Psydrax whitei (Rubiaceae), Tannodia swynnertonii (Euphorbiaceae), Trichoscypha ulugurensis (Anacardiaceae) and Vepris stolzii (Rutaceae), and shrubs such as Acalypha chirindica (Euphorbiaceae), Aeschynomene stolzii (Fabaceae), Combretum stocksii (Combretaceae), Dombeya brachystemma (Sterculiaceae), Erythrococea ulugurensis (Euphorbiaceae), Garcinia acutifolia (Hypericaceae), Monodona grandidera (Annoaceae), Ochna kirkii (Ochnaceae), Putterlickia verrucosa (Celastraceae), Rhus monticola (Anacardiaceae), Rinorea convallarioides (Violaceae), Rytigynia macrura (Rubiaceae), Sorindeia rhodesica (Anacardiaceae), Vepris whitei (Rutaceae) and Vernonia exertiflora (Asteraceae). These trees and shrubs support many climbers and lianas including the endemic Cissus faucicola (Vitaceae), keetia foetida (Rubiaceae), Popowia chasei (Annoaceae), Ritchiea gossweileri (Capparaceae) and Tragiella anomala (Euphorbiaceae), together with many endemic epiphytes particularly orchids such as Aerangis appendiculata, A. distincta, A. montana, A. oligantha epiphyte, A. splendida, Angraecopsis malawiensis, Angraecum minus, Bulbophyllum ballii, B. baronis, B. stolzii, Diaphananthe microphylla, D. stolzii, Liparis nyikana, Mystacidium tanganyikense, Polystachya goetzeana, P. greatrexii, P. moreavae, P. purpureobracteata, P. suaveolens, P. subumbellata, and the near endemic Stenoglottis zambesiana (Orchidaceae). The ground layer also includes a number of endemic orchids such as Disperis bifida, Habenaria pubidens, H. pubipetala, H, trachypetala and Nervilia pectinata (Orchidaceae), together with other endemic herbs like Dorstenia zambesiaca (Moraceae), Pentas schumanniana (Rubiaceae) and Strepocarpus erubescens (Gesneriaceae).

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