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39-518: The Chimanimani Mountains include Monte Binga (2,436 m), the highest peak in Mozambique and the second-highest in Zimbabwe. The mountains are home to diverse forests, savannas, montane grasslands, and heathlands. Zimbabwe's Chimanimani National Park and Mozambique's adjacent Chimanimani National Reserve protect parts of the range. These two parks, together with a larger buffer zone, constitute

78-647: A family of flowering plants , commonly known as the heath or heather family , found most commonly in acidic and infertile growing conditions. The family is large, with about 4,250 known species spread across 124 genera, making it the 14th most species-rich family of flowering plants. The many well known and economically important members of the Ericaceae include the cranberry , blueberry , huckleberry , rhododendron (including azaleas ), and various common heaths and heathers ( Erica , Cassiope , Daboecia , and Calluna for example). The Ericaceae contain

117-459: A healthy mycorrhizal network in the soil helps the plants to resist environmental stresses that might otherwise damage crop yield. Ericoid mycorrhizae are responsible for a high rate of uptake of nitrogen, which causes naturally low levels of free nitrogen in ericoid soils. These mycorrhizal fungi may also increase the tolerance of Ericaceae to heavy metals in soil, and may cause plants to grow faster by producing phytohormones . In many parts of

156-486: A morphologically diverse range of taxa, including herbs , dwarf shrubs , shrubs , and trees . Their leaves are usually evergreen , alternate or whorled, simple and without stipules . Their flowers are hermaphrodite and show considerable variability. The petals are often fused ( sympetalous ) with shapes ranging from narrowly tubular to funnelform or widely urn-shaped. The corollas are usually radially symmetrical ( actinomorphic ) and urn-shaped, but many flowers of

195-683: Is also found on schist soils. Trees tend to grow low (2 to 4 meters high) and widely scattered at higher elevations. At lower elevations the trees grow higher and closer, and Uapaca kirkiana and Faurea saligna accompany msasa. Woodland of Brachystegia tamarindoides subsp. microphylla grows on quartzite outcrops and rocky slopes. The trees grow low and spreading, and are draped with tassels of Usnea lichen. Montane forests occur in scattered patches, typically in sheltered areas with access to year-round moisture. Small patches of 1 to 5 hectares are most common, with patches up to 30 km in some locations. The largest patch discovered by Timberlake et al.

234-620: Is also typical of peat bogs and blanket bogs; examples include Rhododendron groenlandicum and species in the genus Kalmia . In eastern North America , members of this family often grow in association with an oak canopy, in a habitat known as an oak-heath forest . Plants in Ericaceae, especially species in Vaccinium , rely on buzz pollination for successful pollination to occur. The majority of ornamental species from Rhododendron are native to East Asia , but most varieties cultivated today are hybrids. Most rhododendrons grown in

273-545: Is composed of very hard pale grey precambrian quartzite , which underlies all of the Chimanimani Plateau, giving it a desolate rocky appearance. The north–south trending quartzite bedding is upturned near the summit to an angle of about 40 degrees and dips to the east, the foot of the mountain and the Turret Towers range immediately to the south lying on a thrust fault. Consequently, the eastern approach

312-585: Is found on quartite-derived soils above 1200 meters elevation. It is characterized by shrubs in the heath family Ericaceae , including Erica hexandra, E. simii, E. pleiotricha, E. johnstonii , and E. lanceolifera . The ericaceous scrubland includes many other species, including many of the species endemic to the Eastern Highlands and Chimanimani Mountains. Proteaceous scrub is found on schist-derived soils between 1100 and 1800 meters elevation, interspersed with schist grasslands. Dominant shrubs are from

351-545: Is found on richer soils near forest patches. The mountains are home to three types of miombo woodland . Trees are generally 4 to 8 meters high, with 20 to 60% canopy cover, with grasses and bracken covering the ground. Mzhenje (Uapaca kirkiana) woodland is found on east-facing slopes below 1200 meters elevation, typically on schist-derived soils. Mzhenge is accompanied by the trees Brachystegia utilis , Pterocarpus angolensis , and Pericopsis angolensis at lower elevations. Msasa (Brachystegia spiciformis) woodland

390-576: Is more gradual, while the western face is steep to sheer in places. The northern face is cut off by a fault and is sheer near the top, changing to a vertical cliff lower down. Approaching from the west, from the Bundi River Valley, there is an ill-defined trail which branches off from the main smugglers trail to Skeleton Pass. The climb is arduous and takes the best part of a day. There are a number of false summits en route. The best path, marked with cairns, climbs south-east then eastward up from

429-683: Is not found in the Clethraceae and Cyrillaceae , the two families most closely related to the Ericaceae. Most Ericaceae (excluding the Monotropoideae, and some Epacridoideae) form a distinctive accumulation of mycorrhizae , in which fungi grow in and around the roots and provide the plant with nutrients. The Pyroloideae are mixotrophic and gain sugars from the mycorrhizae, as well as nutrients. The cultivation of blueberries, cranberries, and wintergreen for their fruit and oils relies especially on these unique relationships with fungi, as

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468-618: The Chimanmani Transfrontier Conservation Area . Much of the range is composed of quartzite ridges running north and south, with Monte Binga (2,436 m) as the highest point. Other peaks include Mt. Peza (2152 m), Mt. Dombe (2188 m), and Mawenje or Turret Towers (2362 m) in Zimbabwe, and Mt. Nhamadimo (2144 m) in Mozambique. The mountains are drained by tributaries of the Buzi River , including

507-582: The lichen -covered hard-rock outcrops. The views over the Mozambique plain are spectacular. Theoretically, with a telescope it should just be possible to see the Indian Ocean from the peak of Binga on a very clear day looking along an easterly bearing, at a range of 190 kilometres. The mountain is remote from settlements. This Mozambique location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Ericaceae The Ericaceae ( / ˌ ɛr ɪ ˈ k eɪ s i . aɪ , - iː / ) are

546-482: The Bundi valley, then swings north-east below the mountain until, at Bingas's northern shoulder, swings south-east, climbs the mountain's western face, and, reaching the ridge, swings into a northward scramble up to the beacon: about three hours from the Bundi valley. There is little if any water on the approach from the west, nor at the top, but small puddles of water seep from the peat and collect in hollows not far off

585-938: The Chimanimani Mountains. Grassland is most widespread vegetation, found on level and rolling terrain. Grasslands are of three main types - quartzite grasslands, schist grasslands, and wet or hydromorphic grasslands. The quartzite and schist grassland types are determined by the underlying geology. The quartzite grasslands generally grow low, with tufted grasses . Common grasses are Loudetia simplex , Sporobolus festivus , Panicum brazzavillense , Elionurus muticus , Monocymbium ceresiiforme , Panicum ecklonii , Rhytachne rottboellioides , and Trachypogon spicatus . Quartzite grasslands cover an area of 50 to 100 km. Schist grasslands grow on soils derived from schist, which are generally red in color and deeper and more nutrient-rich than quartzite-derived soils. Schist grasslands grow taller and denser, with Themeda triandra as

624-727: The Chimanimani mountains between the British Southern Rhodesia colony and Portugal's Mozambique colony. Differing interpretations of the treaty language by the governments of the UK and Portugal revived the boundary dispute, and settlement of the boundary between the Zambezi and Save rivers was arbitrated by Paul Honoré Vigliani , an assistant to the King of Italy. The arbitration was completed on January 30 1897, establishing

663-745: The Limpopo to the Zambezi rivers, including the local Ndau people. In the late 19th century the Gaza Empire came into conflict with European colonial empires – the British expanding north from South Africa, and the Portuguese expanding from the coast of Mozambique into the interior. The Anglo-Portuguese Treaty of 1891 fixed the boundary between the United Kingdom's and Portugal's colonial possessions in southern and eastern Africa, and divided

702-818: The Mozambican government created Chimanimani National Reserve , with an area 640.6 km that encompasses the high mountains on the Mozambican side. Monte Binga Monte Binga is the highest mountain in Mozambique and the second-highest in Zimbabwe . It is located in the Chimanimani Mountains , straddling the border of Zimbabwe and Mozambique in the Chimanimani Transfrontier Park in Manica Province . Its lies 8,004 feet (2,440m) above sea level. The mountain

741-712: The Rusitu (called the Lucite in Mozambique) and the Mussapa. The mountains are in Chimanimani District of Zimbabwe's Manicaland Province , and Sussundenga District of Mozambique's Manica Province . The mountains rise out of the low Mozambican plain, and the eastward-facing slopes intercept moisture-laden winds from the Indian Ocean, creating much orographic precipitation . There are no weather stations in

780-760: The United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Portugal, and other countries in Central and Western Europe. The most common examples of plants in Ericaceae which dominate heathlands are Calluna vulgaris , Erica cineria , Erica tetralix , and Vaccinium myrtillus . In heathland, plants in Ericaceae serve as host plants to the butterfly Plebejus argus . Other insects, such as Saturnia pavonia , Myrmeleotettix maculatus , Metrioptera brachyptera , and Picromerus bidens are closely associated with heathland environments. Reptiles thrive in heaths due to an abundance of sunlight and prey, and birds hunt

819-1051: The United States are cultivated in the Pacific Northwest . The United States is the top producer of both blueberries and cranberries, with the state of Maine growing the majority of lowbush blueberry . The wide distribution of genera within Ericaceae has led to situations in which there are both American and European plants with the same name, e.g. blueberry ( Vaccinium corymbosum in North America and V.   myrtillus in Europe) and cranberry ( V.   macrocarpon in America and V.   oxycoccos in Europe). Like other stress-tolerant plants, many Ericaceae have mycorrhizal fungi to assist with extracting nutrients from infertile soils , as well as evergreen foliage to conserve absorbed nutrients. This trait

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858-465: The dominant grass, along the grasses Loudetia simplex, Tristachya hispida, Monocymbium ceresiiforme , and the sedge Bulbostylis contexta . The shrubs Protea afra subsp. gazensis , Indigofera cecilii , and Morella chimanimaniana and the bracken fern Pteridium aquilinum are also typical. Schist grasslands cover an area of approximately 150 km. Shrublands grow on steeper slopes, are of two main types, Ericaceous and Proteaceous. Ericaceous scrub

897-754: The dry season reduce stress on plants. The mean average temperature ranges from 22º C in the southeastern lowlands to less than 18º C in the high mountains. Frosts occur above 1500 meters in elevation. The mountains above 1000 meters are part of the Eastern Zimbabwe montane forest-grassland mosaic ecoregion. Montane plant communities (generally above 1000 meters elevation) include grassland, scrub (shrublands), woodland, forest, and lithophytic vegetation. The Chimanimani Mountains' montane plant communities are Afromontane , and share many species with other high-elevation mountain regions scattered from South Africa to Ethiopia. 70 montane plant species are endemic to

936-425: The edges of forest patches, and along streams and gullies in grassland and shrubland areas, and includes a mix of forest and Ericaceous shrub species, together with grasses and bracken ferns. The transitional forests include the large shrubs and small trees Erica mannii , Englerophytum magalismontanum , Rapanea melanophloeos , and Myrsine africana . Groves of the large banana-like shrub Strelitzia caudata and

975-560: The genus Rhododendron are somewhat bilaterally symmetrical ( zygomorphic ). Anthers open by pores. Michel Adanson used the term Vaccinia to describe a similar family, but Antoine Laurent de Jussieu first used the term Ericaceae. The name comes from the type genus Erica , which appears to be derived from the Greek word ereíkē ( ἐρείκη ). The exact meaning is difficult to interpret, but some sources show it as meaning 'heather'. The name may have been used informally to refer to

1014-523: The group. One possible classification of the resulting family includes 9 subfamilies, 126 genera, and about 4,000 species: The Ericaceae have a nearly worldwide distribution. They are absent from continental Antarctica , parts of the high Arctic , central Greenland , northern and central Australia , and much of the lowland tropics and neotropics . The family is largely composed of plants that can tolerate acidic, infertile, shady conditions. Due to their tolerance of acidic conditions, this plant family

1053-407: The guerrillas laid mines along local roads to disrupt the local economy. The passes were heavily mined by Rhodesian government forces to prevent guerilla movements. In 1980, a settlement was reached which gave the country's black majority full political participation, and the country was renamed Zimbabwe. Decades later land mines remain a hazard in the area, particularly after heavy rain. In 2003,

1092-466: The international boundary which has persisted until the present day. The new boundary split the Ndau communities who live on either side of it. The government of Southern Rhodesia established Chimanimani National Park in 1949, with an original area of 82 km. The park was later expanded to 155 km. In 1953, the colonial government of Mozambique gazetted the forest reserves of Maronga , Zomba, and Moribane on

1131-438: The monogeneric tribe Diplarcheae. In 2002, systematic research resulted in the inclusion of the formerly recognised families Empetraceae, Epacridaceae, Monotropaceae, Prionotaceae, and Pyrolaceae into the Ericaceae based on a combination of molecular, morphological, anatomical, and embryological data, analysed within a phylogenetic framework. The move significantly increased the morphological and geographical range found within

1170-519: The mountains' southeastern slope. Both colonial governments also expanded logging and agriculture during the 1940s and 50s. Southern Rhodesia's forestry department and private companies created extensive plantations of pine, wattle, and Eucalyptus in the mountains and valleys west of the National Park boundary. The Mozambican colonial government established sawmills and timber concessions in the lower-elevation forests and dense woodlands southeast of

1209-464: The mountains. Mozambique became independent from Portugal in 1975, but suffered a civil war from 1977 to 1992. Southern Rhodesia declared independence as Rhodesia under an exclusive white-minority government in 1965. The Rhodesian Bush War , or Zimbabwe Independence War, raged from 1964 to 1979. During the war, mountain passes in the Chimanimani area were frequently used by guerilla fighters moving between Zimbabwe and their camps in Mozambique , and

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1248-478: The plants before Linnaean times, and simply been formalised when Linnaeus described Erica in 1753, and then again when Jussieu described the Ericaceae in 1789. Historically, the Ericaceae included both subfamilies and tribes. In 1971, Stevens, who outlined the history from 1876 and in some instances 1839, recognised six subfamilies (Rhododendroideae, Ericoideae , Vaccinioideae , Pyroloideae , Monotropoideae , and Wittsteinioideae), and further subdivided four of

1287-419: The protea family ( Proteaceae ), including Protea afra , P. welwitschii , P. wentzeliana , and Leucospermum saxosum , together with smaller shrubs, herbs, and grasses. Other shrubland types are mixed sclerophyll scrub, which contains a mix of Ericaceous and Proteaceous species, and bracken scrub, characterized by the bracken fern Pteridium aquilinum together with shrubs and tall grasses. Bracken scrub

1326-489: The subfamilies into tribes, the Rhododendroideae having seven tribes (Bejarieae, Rhodoreae, Cladothamneae, Epigaeae, Phyllodoceae, and Diplarcheae). Within tribe Rhodoreae, five genera were described, Rhododendron L. (including Azalea L. pro parte), Therorhodion Small, Ledum L., Tsusiophyllum Max., Menziesia J. E. Smith, that were eventually transferred into Rhododendron , along with Diplarche from

1365-404: The summit on the gentler eastern slope. There are no well-marked trails from Binga to the east and one must make one's own way, taking care when crossing the steep ravines that lead eastwards. At the top, the mountain curves into a dome-like prominence. The appearance of the mountain top is bleak and rocky, with an extremely shallow peaty soil supporting only tussocky grass and moss between

1404-522: The tree fern Cyathea capensis grow in sheltered stream-side locales surrounded by more open vegetation. The Ndau people have lived in the area around the Chimanimani Mountains for centuries. In the early 19th century, Nguni-speaking people left what is now South Africa to settle in the Save River valley. The Nguni leader Soshangane founded the Gaza Empire , which subjugated the area from

1443-484: The wetter Mozambican portion of the range. The western slopes on the Zimbabwean side of the range are in the mountains' rain shadow, and generally drier. Zimbabwean stations at Chimanimani and Chisengu reported 1,074 mm and 1,406 mm, respectively. The summer rainy season extends from November to late March or April. Above 1500 meters elevation rain can fall in any season, and frequent mists and overcast days during

1482-464: The world, a "heath" or "heathland" is an environment characterised by an open dwarf- shrub community found on low-quality acidic soils, generally dominated by plants in Ericaceae. Heathlands are a broadly anthropogenic habitat, requiring regular grazing or burning to prevent succession. Heaths are particularly abundant – and constitute important cultural elements – in Norway,

1521-570: Was 240 hectares, on a west-facing slope above the Nyahedzi River. Trees form a closed canopy 10 to 15 meters high. Lianas and epiphytes are common in the canopy, and the understory plants are mostly ferns and mosses. Common forest trees include Neocussonia umbellifera , Ilex mitis , Macaranga mellifera , Maesa lanceolata , Morella pilulifera , Podocarpus milanjianus , and Syzygium cordatum . Widdringtonia nodiflora occurs in drier patches. A transitional forest type can be found on

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