The African Savanna is a thornbush savanna, which has many different kinds of plants such as acacia Senegal, candelabra tree, jackalberry tree, umbrella thorn acacia, whistling thorn, Bermuda grass, baobabs, and elephant grass. The Serengeti Plains are a grass savanna that has very dry but nutrient-rich volcanic sand.

Plants of the savannas are highly specialized to grow in this environment of long periods of drought. They have long tap roots that can reach the deep water table, thick bark to resist annual fires, trunks that can store water, and leaves that drop off during the winter to conserve water.

The savanna is covered by grasses such as Rhodes grass, red oats grass, star grass, lemon grass, and some shrubs.. There are various types of trees that will grow in particular areas of a savanna biome. They include pine trees, palm trees, and acacia trees.

The bountiful rain that we've had has created a superbloom this year.

Unfortunately, this superbloom has brought with it abundant crowds to see and experience this prolific blooming event. People are wandering off paths and into the flower fields for photos and experiences that are threatening the viability of many of these plants. In response, the California Poppy Reserve had to close off the entire reserve in order to incorporate signs, warnings, and staff, to keep people on the paths, before re-opening.

Our Meeting at Bragg's estate and Tiki Hut, to be held on April 27th requires car-pooling. We will congregate at the Costco parking lot and carpool up in one group to the Bragg estate. We will arrive not later than 11:30 a.m. to congregate near the Costco Auto Center (western portion of lot) and plan on driving up to the estate at 11:45 in one group of a few cars.

Please contact Erik at (805) 705-5103 to RSVP.