| The Kilimanjaro, like all mountains, offers different | | | | 3. Alpine wetlands |
| types of vegetation with every little rise in altitude. In | | | | 4. Cold desert |
| a way, it seems to be mimicking the change in | | | | The montane forest on the Kilimanjaro can be |
| vegetation that you would see while moving from | | | | subdivided into the southern Ocotea forests, and |
| the equator to the poles, albeit on a much reduced | | | | mixed forests on the drier northern slopes. Ocotea is |
| scale. At the base of the mountain, vegetation is | | | | an evergreen flowering plant that exudes an |
| nearly identical to that of the surroundings, and a | | | | extremely pungent, sweet smell, and is used |
| slow move towards the barrenness of the | | | | extensively for honeying or to extract essential oils. |
| ice-capped poles is seen as you climb upwards. | | | | The trees found on the northern slopes are primarily |
| The zones of mountain vegetation are called - from | | | | of the Juniper and Cassipourea varieties. The latter is |
| peak downwards - alpine, subalpine, and montane, | | | | an evergreen, tropical/subtropical flowering shrub that |
| apart from which there is the zone at the base of | | | | is closely related to the mangrove. |
| the mountain that is not yet distinct from its | | | | On the subalpine zones, you will find moors and |
| surroundings. | | | | shrubs covered with heath or heather. This beautiful |
| Vegetation depends, apart from altitude, on climate. | | | | sight continues to salute you till the 4100 meter |
| The Kilimanjaro sees two rainy seasons every year, | | | | mark, where the vegetation slowly begins to cease, |
| from November to December and majorly from | | | | giving way to colorful lichens - even in ice-capped |
| March to May. From August to October, however, | | | | regions. These heath forests are known to be one |
| the climate is dry to the point of being arid. | | | | of Africa's highest cloud forests. |
| Rainfall, even when it does occur, does not hit the | | | | One of the unique plants seen on the Kilimanjaro is |
| Kilimanjaro evenly. The rain-laden winds, blowing in | | | | the water holding cabbage, found in the tussock |
| from the South-East, deposit most of their load on | | | | grassland. Surprisingly, the Kilimanjaro - unlike the |
| the lower altitudes, and leave the upper zones and | | | | other high mountains in Africa - does not have much |
| the Northern slopes barren. | | | | bamboo growing on its land. However, the number of |
| In the case of the Kilimanjaro, the vegetation zones | | | | endemic species - species growing only on the |
| from base to peak are called respectively - | | | | mountain or the set of surrounding mountains - on |
| 1. Montane forest | | | | this mountain is much lower than usual, due to causes |
| 2. Moors | | | | that have not yet been identified. |