Palmares de karanda'y
Karanda’y, Copernicia alba © Andrea Grosse, John P. Mosesso /life.nbii.gov.
This unit occupies areas that suffer periodic flooding followed by prolonged droughts.
These palm savannahs are distributed throughout the Humid Chaco. They occupy intermediate areas, between the higher zones where forests dominate, and the lower parts where the wetlands are found.
The dominant species is karanda’y (Copernicia alba). Other species are:
- algarrobos (Prosopis spp.)
- chañar (Geoffroea decorticans)
- palo cruz (Tabebuia nodosa)
- aromita (Acacia caven)
The herbaceous layer is highly variable, and the species composition depends on the length of the flooding. Species of the following genera are common:
Palo cruz, Tabebuia nodosa © M. Peña Chocarro.
- Ruellia
- Ludwigia
- Cuphea
- Cienfuegosia
- Hyptis
- Scoparia
- Turnera
- Glandularia
- Solanum
- Nicotiana
- Eryngium
- Rhynchospora
- Eleocharis
- Scirpus