Namaqualand Continued

The Garden staff continues botanizing through Namaqualand. Get caught up and  read the first and second installments of our Namaqualand Travelogue!

First stop on our way into the Khurisberg Mountain Range where we were on the edge of Bushmanland where the mountains are separated by grasslands.

Along our way down a dry river bed we were surrounded by large sandy quartz outcrops where we found a member of the family Scophulariaceae, Colpious mollis. It is remarkably well adapted at living in rock crevices in shade and has the ability to turn its fruits around and reinsert its progeny back into the crevice.

Colpious mollis

Following this we went on a four hour hike up and down one of these unique outcrops, home to countless endemic species including Conophytum spp., Cheiridopsis spp., Lachenalia spp., Brunsvigia spp. etc

Larryleachia cactiformis looking like a sea creature with its geometric shape was found on the way up the outcrop. This leafless succulent is not in the Cactaceae like its epithet suggests but rather the milkweed family, Apocynaceae.

Close to the top we were rewarded with a spectacular view and as if we didn’t need another reminder of how stunning this environment was!

From the top of the outcrop the view was outstanding and framed by a quiver tree (see day 2) the magnificent landscape and dry river.

The end of the day treat was a form of the species Euphorbia caput-medusae along the roadside. The species name translates to “Medusa’s head,” inspired by the serpent-headed character of Greek mythology. This species has highly variable morphology from the southern tip of South Africa north into Namaqualand – the population we saw today was previously known as Euphorbia ramiglans, but this is no longer an accepted name. What to call it is a subject of heated debate amongst our hosts.

Springbok to the coast 
Our tour continued amongst the flora of the Springbok klipkoppies. 

One tends to ignore detailed examination of the common shrubbery, focusing instead on the super-rare and eye-catching. To this point, Othona ceraroides, a succulent shrub in the daisy family, was only officially described as a species in 2020. One wonders what else lies out in plain view waiting for someone to take a closer look.

Othona ceraroides

Massonia bifolia was an exciting find in a shady crevice. Each bulb has two large leaves appressed to the ground, and a flower stalk that resembles those of the pineapple lily, (Eucomis spp.), which is in the same family. The flowers attract nocturnal rodents which lap up the nectar and pollinate the plant, a rare strategy among geophytes. In addition to pollinating the flowers the rodents confer another benefit to the plant: a healthy dose of droppings as fertilizer.

This habitat was dotted with an impressive shrub Euphorbia dregeana. Its columnar blue-green stems provided a visual contrast to the low scrubby plants and rocky outcrops.

Director of Collections Andrew Doran with Euphorbia dregeana

It was at this stop that Tim Gregory discovered another tortoise species, Chersine angulata. Fortunately this beautiful animal is still quite common within its range, and one of the very few tortoises that are not endangered.

Our days often involved hiking decently far away from the road towards the top of a local peak, where we botanized for an hour or two. Often, however, our target plants were fairly close to the road – what our guides referred to as a “roadkill” stop. It was during one of these we uncovered two remarkable stapeliads – Orbea namaquensis and Tromotriche pedunculata. This group of succulents derives its name from the subtribe Stapeliinae, which is a division of the milkweed family Apocynaceae.

Despite their intricate flowers (which are often accompanied by foul odors), these plants are difficult to spot, most often observed growing in the light shade at the base of a larger shrub.

In the afternoon we entered Namaqua National Park, where we were greeted with one of the most stunning localities of the trip: a quartz pavement that was packed with botanical curiosities. In an area not larger than 30 square meters, our guide Adam Harrower counted ten species just within the genus Crassula.

Crassula muscosa was one of 10 Crassula found at this site, no bigger than 30 square meters.

This morning we were taken to a roadside habitat of one of the most loved plants at UCBG, Boophone haemanthoides. This large bulb has strikingly architectural leaf arrangements, and large cream-colored flowers that form in early summer. Growth is slow, but plants can live to be hundreds of years old. Unfortunately, these characteristics make them targets of poachers, and we found extensive evidence of illegal plant theft at this site.

UCBG Horticulturist Ethan Fenner with Boophone haemanthoides

The bulb collects its outer leaf bases in papery layers, just like an onion. In habitat, these outer non-living layers serve to protect the inner bulb from intense light and heat. Poachers dig the plants out and slice them on one side to remove these scales, in order to decrease the bulk for mass transport. Pictured above: Adam Harrower holds up one of the discarded husks, with a face that says it all. This individual was probably well over one hundred years old.

Despite the disturbance, we found several healthy and ancient Boophone haemanthoides that had been left behind by the poachers. Also present were favorites Medusa-head Euphorbia (Euphorbia caput-medusae), the parasitic Hyobanche (Andrew’s favorite), the striking bulb snake-leaf lachenalia (Lachenalia anguinea)—Ethan’s favorite, and an interesting form of the geophyte Ferraria divaricata.

We left the Boophone field and had a quick stop to see a very old Aloe arenicola (shown below), a name that refers to this plant’s preference to sandy areas. This creeping aloe is limited to the Sandveld—the coastal area of Namaqualand—and has distinctive red-purple spotted leaves that change form from juvenile to adult.

Aloe arenicola – Adult form (top), juvenile form (bottom)

Our first sighting of the coast took us to a fascinating habitat on granite with impressive veins of quartz running through it. These rock outcrops were weathered away forming fissures and an ideal habitat for succulent plants.

Shown below: Conophytum minimum (Aizoaceae) growing together with Curio cf. crassulifolius (Asteraceae) in a rock fissure.

It was fascinating seeing two of the Pelargonium species we have in the Garden in the context of their natural environment. One, Pelargonium echinatum, was a small mounded shrub with a range of flower colors from white to pale pink to striking magenta. The other, Pelargonium fulgidum, had solid, bright salmon-red flowers ready to be pollinated by sunbirds.

After a brief interlude to help our companion’s truck break free from the sand, we were back to coastal botanizing. Our last stop was close to the huge breaking surf and extreme windy conditions. One of the highlights was Gazania splendidissima, a species endemic to just a small stretch of the Namaqualand coast, described only since 2011.

Nearby, partially buried in the sands, were clumps of Fenestraria rhopalophylla, in the family Aizoaceae – colloquially called “baby’s toes.” These plants derive their genus name from the Latin “fenestra”, meaning window, referring to the layer of mostly clear cells atop each leaf which refracts the harsh light down to the leaf’s interior, where photosynthesis occurs.

Fenestraria rhopalophylla

At last a genus that occurs here in California! What we call pickleweed, in South Africa this species is called glasswort. Salicornia littorea is a coastal species and tolerant of salty and brackish habitats. For those of us in the Bay Area it is often associated with dodder (Cuscuta spp.) a parasitic plant that turns patches of the east bay marshes orange. It’s also edible and quite delicious.