[4] “Impressions of South Africa,” p. 13.
Chapter III
THE FLORA OF THE COUNTRY
“South-West Africa,” a writer on the flora of the country has recently stated, “is distinguished neither by a great variety of its flora nor by the presence of plants or trees of any singular kind.” How far this is from the truth will be made clear in this chapter.
For a dry country South-West Africa is fairly rich in vegetation, and it may be useful to give some slight impression of the part which the vegetation plays in the landscape and in the economic conditions of the country, cursory though our examination must be.
The Coast Regions
To begin with the Namib. The general aspect of the vegetation here is monotonous, since there are but few plants that rise to any appreciable height from the sandy surface to break the dull level. No tree grows within a dozen miles of the coast, except in an occasional watercourse where there is underground moisture.
The Kokerboom, Aloe dichotoma, however, often occurs as a solitary tree, and occasionally forms little groves on the limestone hills of the eastern portion of the Namib. In the winter, when they bear large clusters of bright yellow flowers, they give quite a touch of colour to the drab landscape.
The northern Namib has two plants of singular interest in the Welwitschia and the Naras. The Welwitschia, Welwitschia Bainesii, is in reality a tree with a fairly thick trunk that terminates abruptly just above the ground. Two thick, leathery leaves are permanent and grow continuously at their base until they sometimes reach a length of 10 feet, by which time they are frayed into numerous snake-like thongs. The plant flowers in January and the cones ripen in May. The roots of the largest plants may be traced to a very great depth in the sand. “This plant,” says Dr. Marloth,[5] “is of great scientific interest, being the most highly developed gymnospermous plant known to us either in the living or the fossil state. It is not a connecting link between the gymnosperms and the angiosperms, but the final stage of a separate line of development of the vegetable kingdom, that, as far as is known to us, led no further.” The Welwitschia was first discovered by Dr. Welwitsch in Southern Angola in 1865. It has not been found south of the Kuisip district.
The curious Naras, Acanthosicyos horrida, has been well termed the “Wonder of the Waste,” for this shrubby, leafless member of the order Cucurbitacea spreads over the sand dunes in dense straggling masses, defying all the sandstorms that threaten to bury it. Instead of tendrils it bears sharp thorns, while the main root may be as thick as a man’s arm, with a length of 20 to 40 feet. The fruit is about the size of a very big orange, and the skin encloses a yellow pulp of a rich flavour and a number of seeds similar in taste to almonds. The fruit is greatly relished by the natives, and, as it has extraordinary nutritive value, they almost live on it. The seeds are stored for the dry season, when no fruit can be obtained. The existence of this plant always indicates underground moisture. Both the Welwitschia and the Naras flourish in the vicinity of Walvis Bay, but the Naras has been found in recent years in several places in the southern Namib. It is believed that the species does not occur naturally so far south, but has been introduced by natives. Its true southern limit is not far from the southern extremity of Walvis Bay.[6]
In the region described as the Upper Kuisip Zone, which embraces the valley of the Kuisip, among the fairly abundant vegetation, with camelthorns, ebony trees, and wild figs, the handsome Ana tree, Acacia albida, is found. The fruit of this remarkable tree is a legume. The beans, when ripe and dry, are used for fodder for cattle, and they have extraordinary fattening properties. Cattle also relish the leaves of the tree.