Understanding Burseraceae: Trees of Eastern Africa

Commiphora bushland in eastern Hiraan Region, Somalia (Photo: Peter Kuchar)

THE BURSERACEAE

Those of you who downloaded digital copies of The Burseraceae by Kuchar and Gillett on storiesofeastafrica.com will welcome the updated version now available at Kuchar & Gillett – The Burseraceae (Dec 2025).

For those unfamiliar with the term, Burseraceae is a family of shrubs and small trees. In Somalia, it comprises two genera, Boswellia and Commiphora, the latter probably the most diverse, abundant, economically important, yet worst understood and documented genus of woody plants in the Horn of Africa. This report not only explains why but also includes information (Somali names, uses etc.) about Burseraceae species in (pre-1989) Central Somalia, not to mention a very useful vegetative key for identifying them.

***A commiphora tree showing the species’s iconic contorted appearance.***

Author: JMK, C.C.C-Share Alike 4.0 International license

RANGELAND DOCUMENTS RELEVANT TO LARGE AREAS OF SOMALIA.

Speke’s gazelle is a very rare small antelope that is similar in appearance to the Thomson’s gazelle encountered by tourists on the Serengeti Plains in Tanzania. It inhabits a 20-40 km wide grassy plain along much of Somalia’s coast. In the mid 80’s it also occurred in the northern Ogaden of eastern Ethiopia. cc-by-sa-2.0. FlickreviewR 2

This announces the availability of another batch of free downloads of hard-to-find documents on the rangelands of Somalia: Twenty-six reports on subjects ranging from the Trees of Somalia, a sand movement inventory, and the traditional Deegan ecological classification, to the Yeheb nut and Spekes gazelle. Publication dates range from 1907-2013. Several reports, originally published between 1954 and 1976, are translations of articles in Italian journals (1954-1976).

RANGELAND DOCUMENTS RELEVANT TO LARGE AREAS OF SOMALIA

FREE DOWNLOADS OF HARD-TO-GET DOCUMENTS ON THE RANGELANDS OF SOUTHERN SOMALIA

Featured image: Densities of goats November / December 1983

This announces the availability of free downloads of hard-to-find documents on the rangelands of Southern Somalia, an area larger than Great Britain. These include 2 published papers, 15 reports and 87 maps. Twenty-six of the maps compare wet and dry season densities of dynamic resources, including livestock, wildlife, cropping and seasonal habitation. Publication dates range from 1980 to 1992. https://storiesofeastafrica.com/the-southern-rangelands-of-somalia-2/

Free Downloads of Documents on Central Somalia Rangelands

Featured image: Large trucks provided the primary transport for pastoralists and villagers within the Central Rangelands. Boards resting on the upright sides of the truck separated people (above) from small stock and other cargo (below).

A fourth set of free downloads of hard-to-find documents on the Central Rangelands of Somalia’s is now available. This installment includes eleven extension leaflets (five written in Somali) and nine monitoring and evaluation documents by the Central Rangelands Development Project. The period covered is from 1979 to 1988. https://storiesofeastafrica.com/?page_id=4229

Free Downloads on Central Somalia Rangelands

Featured image: A village in Central Somalia

A third set of free downloads on the rangelands of Central Somalia is now available. This installment includes five reports, ten maps, and seven published papers on rangeland ecology and development https://storiesofeastafrica.com/?page_id=4116

FREE DOWNLOADS OF CENTRAL SOMALIA RANGELAND DOCUMENTS–2nd Installment

A second set of free downloads of hard-to-obtain documents on the rangelands of Central Somalia is now available. This installment includes survey and research results produced by the Central Rangelands Development Project https://storiesofeastafrica.com/reports-by-somalia-crdp/. Reports by other agencies will follow in future texts.

REPORTS BY SOMALIA’S CENTRAL RANGELANDS DEVELOPMENT PROJECT (CRDP)

RANGELANDS OF CENTRAL SOMALIA

REPORTS BY RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND RESEARCH, LONDON.

This announces the availability of free downloads for the first set of hard-to-obtain reports on the rangelands of Central Somalia. https://storiesofeastafrica.com/reports-on-the-rangelands-of-central-somalia/

This post includes surveys and maps carried out in 1979 by Resource Management and Research (RMR), London. Reports by other agencies will follow in future posts.

DIGITAL COPIES OF PUBLICATIONS ON THE RANGELANDS OF SOMALIA

(Featured image: Dr. Tom Thurow and Somalia National University students collecting rangeland composition data on the coastal plains of Central Somalia.)

Because Its rangelands are Somalia’s primary natural resource, a considerable amount of research has been carried out over the last several decades to determine their productive potential and how they may best be managed. Unfortunately, much of the resulting information was not widely published and is, therefore, now difficult to obtain. This post is the first of several to at least partially remedy this situation by making available digital copies of relevant publications and reports for free downloads

Publications on the Rangelands of Somalia

Stories of East Africa by Dennis Herlocker

Category: Somalia