This area tends to have dry, warm winters and wet, warm summers. The dryness comes from the mass of warm, dry air that lies above some continents. The main savanna plants are tall grasses. African elephant grass grows much higher than a man. In winter, grass blades turn brown and die but when the rain begins the grass begins to take their place again.
Many savannas simply look like open parks with scattered trees.
The largest temperate grasslands are the prairies in the heart of North America and the steppes which stretch from eastern Europe into Central Asia. Temperate Climates Between the sub-tropical deserts and the cold polar regions lie lands with temperate climates. Here the weather is neither always hot nor always cold. This description fits much of North America and Europe, and parts of southern South America, southern Africa, southern Australia, and New Zealand. Cold temperate climates suit plants such as the oak tree which shed their leaves in winter.