Included here is a zone mostly between 500-700 km wide extending from the Sudan-Ethiopian border westwards to the Atlantic coast of Senegal. In the north it includes the very dry Nubian Desert.

Sudanian Riparian Forest

The riparian and swamp forests of this zone are characterized by semi-evergreen species, which in southern areas mainly include Syzygium guineese subsp. guineese, Vitex doniana and the endemic Khaya senegalensis (Meliaceae) and Terminalia glaucescens (Combretaceae). In the north the main species include Acacia sieberana, Diospyros mespiliformis, Ficus sycomorus, Tamarindus indica and the endemic Ficus glumosa (Moraceae). Floodplains provide another important habitat for wet woodland. Along the River Arum (Jebel Marra) these areas include an Acacia albida association in which endemic species such as Prosopis Africana (Fabaceae), Pseudocedrela kotschyi (Meliaceae) and Terminalia laxiflora (Combretaceae) occur, while the clay depressions subject to seasonal flooding provide habitat for species such as Acacia nilotica subsp. nilotica and the endemic Mitragyna inermis (Rubiaceae).

References

Jackson, J. K. 1971. The vegetation of the Imatong Mountains, Sudan. In: World Vegetation Types.  Ed. S. R. Eyre. Macmillan.

Wickens, G. E. 1976. The flora of Jebel Marra (Sudan Republic). Royal Botanical Gardens Kew. HMSO.

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

Zohary, M. 1971. The Phytogeographical Foundations of the Middle East. In: Plant Life of South-West Asia. Eds. P. H. Davies, P. C. Harper and I. C. Hedge. The Botanical Society of Edinburgh.