Flora of Wolayta

Flora of Wolayta

For a visitor coming from the north by the shashemene-Arbaminch road or through the Addis-Hosanna Road, through the Arid dusty savanna sparsely covered by thorny plants, or from the south through the hilly and mountainous territory of Gammo, the Wolayta zone appears like a paradise (wanderheym 1896:162).

The vegetation is abundant through the year with eucalyptus, pines, acacia, magnolias, fire trees, and enormous sycamores mingled with false banana (Utta).

Grass, at the end of the rainy season, can be as high as three meters. The variety of trees and colors make the region very impressive, and all travelers comment on its beauty (Leontief 1900:292; Du Bourg 1906; Pascal de luchon, march 29, 1930 and December 25, 1937).

Du Bourg wrote enthusiastically about Wolayta:

“The indications of the richness are abundant all around the villages: large fields of cereal surround them, and above all, the large cotton plantations.

Here is the cotton country, the country where the Ethiopian mantles are prepared, where this plant grows, which together, with the coffee is the source of the present Ethiopian wealth and which will become the great product of the exportation in the near future.

“Maize, wheat, durra, barley, and teff are cultivated all over the area…for many of them can reap two harvests per year” (gaslini 1940:986).

All medetranian trees grow and bear fruit grapes,apples,pears,peahes,apricots,oranges,tangerines,bananas,papyas,avocados,etc –with impressive production all year round.

There are no forests, but a great variety of non-indigenous trees in the region: bamboo, eucalyptus, and euphorbia grow naturally in steep and arid soil and are used for fire and the milky liquid is used as a poison.

Greatly appreciated are the fern, because of its resistance to terminate and the wild olive. A softer tree (ochiyaa), with leaves like the olive, is used for fences and domestic purposes.

The most appreciated of all is the very hard wood of the (gassa) which is heavy and strong as iron. Its wood is made into the long sticks used for tilling because it can penetrate the most arid soil.

Sugar cane and a light fibrous wood (kaytariya or deshsha loomiyaa) are used as tooth brush culturally; a pleasant smelling wood (susungiyaa) is used in coffee, and the aromatic (natra) is added to butter for cosmetics. Many kinds of mushrooms are used either alone or mixed with raw meat.

Geography of Wolayta

Wolayta is one one of the 13 Zonal Adminstartions of the Southern Region In Ethiopia,Located 400 kilometers south of Addis Ababa.

Wolayta is limited north west by Tambaro,east ward by Bilate river which divides it from Arsi-Oromo,South ward by Lake Abaya and Kucha,west ward by Omo river.

The vegetation and very comfortable climate of the large part of the region are conditioned by an over all elevation of between 1,500 and 1,800 meters above the sea level.There are,however,five mountains higher than 2,000 meters,with Mount Damota---at 3,000 meters---at the center.

Through mildly undulating hills,one can travel through the whole area with out difficulty,there are no Large forest except in the Soddo Zuriya,and  Omo river basin,which is well below 1500 meters and a malaria zone.

In the local view ,there are only two regions: the highlands(Geziyaa) and the lowlands(Garaa). In the highlands,there are numerous streams and small rivers.Several thermal hot springs are situated around lake abaya,with boling and steaming water which is believed to cure diseases.The ajora waterfalls are a majestic scene of the wilderness,like damota precipices.

The soil of the Wolayta is of heavy red color which becomes brown and black during the rains and has the fragility and the softness of sand.the dry period makes the soil hard as brick,one reason why people can plough and dig only after the rains.One can hardly find any stone except on the river banks,whose soil is light and easy to excavate.the layer of soil is very deep--an average of 30 meters--in both the plains and the hills,as verified during the drilling of wells.The soil is very fertile and produce two crops per year when the rains are regular.

Climate:

The climate is stable,with temprature variation between 24 and 30 degree centigrades during the day and 16 to 20 at night,all year round.The dry,temprature heat makes the climate simplly “delicious”(hodson 1970:33).
The year is divided in to two seasons:the wet season(balguwa) from June to October,and the dry season(boniya) from October to June,broken in February by a short period of so called “little rains”(baddessa).The average rain fall for the entire region is 1350 millimeters per year(WADU 1977-1978:table 1).

The dry season is characterized by a strong wind which blows from the east;the sky is absolutelly blue and rarelly crossed by small white clouds.At night the sky is so tranparent that it seems to hold twice the number of starts as in European or American skies.

During the heavy seasons,heavy precipitation and violent storms which,at the end of the season can list a full evining or night ,are common events.

I never witnessed a full day of rain.Fog can be seen in the valleys almost every morning of the rainy season;it then evaporates in the first hours of the sun.
In both seasons either hail which destroys crops or tornadoes,which Knoch down trees are possible events.


Wolayta is Heaven to be Visited
From the Book Entitled(Wolayta)