The sclerophyll forest with Hyphaene petertiana is found in the fluvial alluvial part of the Rusizi. It currently occupies about 1200 ha. Hyphaene is a largely dominant and endemic lowland species. In the sense of Lebrun and Gilbert (1954) it is a dense woody formation with a continuous dome. In 1951, it occupied more than 2,800 ha and now covers about 1,200 ha. Hyphaene, a largely dominant species, reaches 22 m in height.

The youngest individuals of this species preserve the petioles and cauline leaves, so that at their base a dense bush is created, spared from fire and sheltering a herbaceous stratum different from that of the surrounding savannas and instead including species more frequent in the sclerophyllous forests of the region, such as Sanseviera dawei, Haemanthus multiflorus, Jasminum eminii, Crossandra infundibuii, Crossandra infundibuii, Crossandra infundibui liformis. On dune soils, this formation competes with the groves in Cadaba and Commiphora.