People on their first trip trough the Kalahari are often struck by just how green and vegetated it is, often in contrast to their mental image of a 'desert'. In fact most of the Kalahari is covered in a thin, mixed bush with a fairly low canopy height, dotted with occasional larger trees. Beneath this is a rather sparse ground-covering of smaller bushes, grasses and herbs.

To be a little more precise, the central Kalahari's vegetation is dominated by Terminalia sericea sandveld standing on deep sand. The most common species within this are the silver terminalia itself, Terminalia sericea, the Kalahari apple-leaf, Lonchocarpus nelsii, and Kalahari sand acacias, Acacia luederitzii, which occasionally form thickets. These vary from bushes to substantial trees, growing to a maximum height of around 10m. (Their flattened canopies are easily confused with the umbrella thorn, Acacia tortilis, earning them the alternative name of bastard, or false, umbrella thorn.)

Other common trees include the distinctive purple-pod terminalia, Terminalia prunioides, which seem to grow best in areas where there is more clay in the soil; shepherd's trees, Boscia albitrunca, with their characteristic whitish bark; and feverberry trees, Croton megalobotrys. Bladethorns, Acacia fleckii, and their close cousins the bluethorns, Acacia erubescens, are common bushes with fine, feathery foliage but keen, curved barbs. Inevitably you'll spot plenty of old, gnarled camelthorn trees, Acacia erioloba.

Beneath these you'll commonly find a variety of low bushes and shrubs including wild seringa bushes, Burkea Africana and bushwillows, Combretum collinum. Meanwhile on the ground one of the more common grasses is the lovely silky bushman grass, Stipagrostis uniplumis.

Look carefully, perhaps helped by a good guide, and you'll find plenty to interest you here including, during the wetter months of the year, many flowers and herbs. The beautifully curving purple flowers of the cat's tail, Hermbstaedtia odorata, form spectacular patches in damper areas. More entertaining are the bright red fruits of the balsam pear, Momordica balsamina, which, when ripe, fall to the ground and pop themselves open automatically if disturbed. In Common wild flowers of the Okavango Delta, Veronica Roodt reports that the young leaves of this plant are used as vegetable, and while a few will use the fruits in cooking, many communities treat them as poisonous or use them in medicines.