Wonderful world of thicket trees
Expert shares gems of info on walkabout
Spekboom leaves are a nutritious addition to salads, but be sure to pick them in the morning as later in the day they become bitter due to the special metabolism that many succulent plants have.
This was one of many gems of information that ecologist and tree expert Prof Eugene Moll shared during a walkabout in the Waters Meeting Nature Reserve outside Bathurst on Saturday.
He delivered the annual Wessa Jack Skead Memorial Lecture in Makhanda on Thursday, and the local branch of Wessa and Friends of Waters Meeting invited him to lead a joint tree outing for members.
More than 30 members enjoyed a perfect spring sunshine day in the reserve, which boasts prime Albany thicket vegetation. Standing under a Karooboer-bean tree (Schotia afra) at the viewing platform above the Kowie River horseshoe, Moll confessed to a lifelong passion for trees.
He explained that identifying trees started with looking closely at the leaves, which were “little photovoltaic cells that collect sunlight” and, through the process of photosynthesis, convert it into food and store energy for trees.
Other fascinating facts to emerge during the walkabout included:
The lichens growing on trees indicate good air quality as they do not do well in a polluted atmosphere; the lichens are epiphytes, not parasites, and do not damage the trees. They simply use their structure as a platform to grow on.
To get rid of invasive black wattle, put some sticky mistletoe seeds on the branches and when this parasite produces fruits, birds will excrete indigenous seeds while they feast on them and in time the natural forest will grow back.
The bumps or small pockets on the leaves of stinkwood (Ocotea bullata) are where the mites live; they are the “cleanup squad” essential for the wellbeing of the leaves.
The tough coast silver oak (Brachylaena discolor) so popular as a windbreak in local gardens has separate male and female plants.
The latex in the tall river euphorbia (Euphorbia triangularis) so characteristic of Albany thicket is a favourite meal of black rhino; Euphorbias are high in steroids and could boost these beasts’ aggression levels.
Because we live in such a complex system with many biomes in SA, Moll said we needed to manage our diversity very carefully. He stressed we were lucky in the Eastern Cape to have most biomes present.
“There’s always something new and interesting to take our attention, but never forget the basics: plants depend on soil.”
The next meeting of Friends of Waters Meeting will be a talk, Fascinating Fungi, with Prof Jo Dames of the department of biochemistry and microbiology at Rhodes University, at 10am on September 3 at Pike’s Post, at the Bathurst Agricultural Museum. Email friendsofwatersmeeting@gmail.com for more information.
● Marion Whitehead is a registered photojournalist, teacher, author, visitors’ guide: Flower Route http://www.mapstudio.co.za/product/visitorsguide-flower-route/ South Africa’s Favourite Passes & Poorts https://www.mapstudio.co.za/product/passes-en-poorts/