Never mind the animals. Look at that acacia tree

When Patricia Cleveland-Peck went on safari in Kenya, she was stalking plants, not big game

We are sitting on a rock above the river. George, our driver, has spread a blanket and laid out our bush-breakfast of fruit, egg-and-bacon sandwiches, juice and coffee. It is early but the sun is up and locals are bringing their cattle to drink and washing their clothes in the water below. As we eat, we watch one young girl lathering her hair with Omo and another manoeuvring a huge can on to her head and beginning the slippery climb back up.

On our way here we passed through miles of combretum woodland, seeing plenty of typical safari game. But for us game-viewing is not a priority; ours is a botanical safari. As if to illustrate the point, our botanist guide, Anne Powys, reaches up and picks a twig from the tree that shelters our picnic spot. She shows us how, from this Gardenia volcalia, the branches emerge in threes and tells us that such twigs are used to make whisks which the locals call gibere. Later that day, George presents us each with a gibere which he has fashioned from this very twig – rather more interesting than your average holiday souvenir, and I bet you can't buy one in John Lewis's kitchen department.

As someone mad keen on plants and gardens, I was intrigued by this wholly new type of safari in which flora, rather than big game, is the focus. My husband, less keen on botany, was reconciled when he learnt that the trip has a strong human angle: we would not only be looking for plants but also visiting native communities to find out how plants are used in everyday life. For such a combination of interests, Kenya is the ideal location, because it has numerous tribes whose relationship with plants – in food, housing, medicine and magic – is intimate.

So far, the safari is exceeding all our expectations. Our lodge, Elsa's Kopje, built into Mughwango Hill in the Meru National Park, consists of nine luxurious cottages, each with its own butler. One night we were woken by the roaring of lions, and realised they were quite probably descendants of the lioness after whom the lodge is named. For it was on this very kopje (outcrop) that George and Joy Adamson returned Elsa, the lioness immortalised in Born Free, to the wild.

Today, however, we are on our way to visit a community just outside the national park. We are lucky to be accompanied by Anne, whose family has farmed in Kenya for three generations and who speaks several of the local languages. So, having stopped to examine a Lawsonia invernis, the tree from which henna is derived, and a huge Raphia farinifera, which provides gardeners with that useful fibre, raffia, we find ourselves sitting in the shade of yet another tree, talking to John, the elder of the Tharaka tribe who is responsible for goat husbandry.

The Tharaka are known for goat herding, beekeeping and for their skill with bows and arrows. This tree, the only living plant in the dusty compound, is an Albizia anthelmitica, an essential aid to veterinary medicine. A tiny bit of bark boiled up in water will rid goats (and people) of worms; too much, though, John tells us, and it will kill. Many different tree barks are used in Kenyan cures and John points to a tree outside the compound which has been all but destroyed by over-enthusiastic stripping. It's not elephants that are responsible, he tells us wearily, but youngsters sent out to collect the stuff but who don't take enough trouble to remove it carefully.

During the safari we also get to visit other tribes. At a village inhabited by the Bornana people, Abdi (a young man who speaks English) and his mother, Nuriya, welcome us into their tiny hut. The hut's structure, they explain, is made from branches of Cordia sinensis, a low-growing, leafy shrub which has a great significance for the Borana people and is widely used in their rituals. The seeds are enjoyed as a food and the leaves are used as a blessing and as a symbol of happiness in the homes and cattle bomas. The shrub is almost thought of as magical because its leaves remain green throughout the dry season.

The hut itself is thatched with leaves stripped from a palm, the Phoenix reclinata or wild date. The middle rib of the leaf of this palm is bound with cow or camel hide to make mattresses which are given to newly-weds as part of the wedding ceremony. I sit on one throughout our conversation and can vouch for its surprising comfort and springiness. One of the most amazing objects Nuriya shows us is a milk pot made from the woven fibre of a wild asparagus root. It is made watertight by a lining created from fat and dye from the oily red and black seeds of the Tricilia emetica tree. The Borana people are a nomadic tribe originating from Ethiopia, and coffee, which they consider a seed blessed by god, also plays an important part in their prayers. It is drunk in a very mild form, but the blessing seems to be derived from roasting and grinding the beans. Finally, Nuriya goes to a locked chest and takes out some precious pieces of aromatic gum, gathered from the Boswellia neglecta tree. This is similar to frankincense and is burned at prayer time and used for perfuming beads.

We all go outside and meet the community's healer, who shows us a variety of tree barks and roots which are used to treat conditions such as malaria, consumption and even leprosy. He shows us a bright yellow root he claims cures jaundice. Anne comments on how often the colour of a plant can dictate its use here. Near another lodge, Tortilis Camp at Amboseli in the south of Kenya, we meet elders of the colourful Masai tribe. Plants play a part in many of their complex rituals, but they also demonstrate how they use twigs of the Salvadora persica bush as toothbrushes. It must be very effective, as their teeth are splendid.

For anyone interested in plants there could hardly be a more absorbing trip. Our visit took place during the dry season, when most of the foliage had turned brown and the temperature could rise to 50C in the middle of the day. The optimum time for a botanical safari is really after the rain in December or June when the air is fresher and suddenly the bush is carpeted with flowering annuals. I can't wait to return.

The Facts

Getting there

Patricia Cleveland-Peck flew to Kenya with Air Kenya and Yellow Wings through Carrier Africa (01625 547010; www.carrier.co.uk). She stayed at two Cheli & Peacock Lodges, Elsa's Kopje and Tortilis. The cost for a seven-night safari ranges from £2,251 per person, including return flights, transfers, one night's b&b in Nairobi, three nights' full board at Tortilis Camp, and three nights' full board at Elsa's Kopje, game drives, escorted game walks, membership of Flying Doctors. The services of a botanical guide is negotiable depending on length of time required. This can be booked through Carrier Africa on application.

Further information

Kenya Tourist Board (020-7836 7743; www.magicalkenya.com).