Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-09-19
Queer Plants in South Africa.

from the fOrtn1&nty REVIEW.
In the spring, in the years when rain has
fallen for two months. the karoo is a flower
garden. As far as the eye can reach stretch
blotches of white and yellow and purple fig
flowers. Every foot Of karoo sand is broken
up by small towering lilies and wax flowers;
in aspace few feet square you may sometimes
gather fifty kinds. In the crevices of the rocks
little, hard-leaved towering air-plants are
growing At the end Of two months the bloom
il over, the bulbs have died back into the
ground by millions. the fig blossoms are with
cred, the karoo assumes the red and brown
tints which it wears all the rest Of the year
Sometimes there is no spring At intervals OF
a few years great drouths occur, when no rain
falls. For ten or thirteen months the sky is
cloudless. The karoO bushes drop their leaves
and are dry, withered stalks; the fountains fail
and the dams are foored with dry-baked mud,
which splits up into little squares: the sheep
and goats die by thousands. and the karoo is q
desert. 1t is to provide for these long rainiess
periods that all the plant life in the karoo is
modified. Nothing that cannot retain life ha-
bitualy for six months, and at need for twice
that time, without rain can exist here. The
karoo bush itself provides against drouth by
roots Of enormous length. stretching under
ground to depth of many feet. At the end of
a ten months drouth. when the earth is brick
dust for two feet from the surface, if you break
the dried stalk of karoo bush three inches
high you will find running down the center
a tiny thread Of pale, green-tinted tissue alive
with sap.
Many plants live by means of aeshy bulbs
buried deep under the ground and in wears
when no rain falls they do not appear above
the surface, or flower. Many plants have thick,
feshy leaves, in which they store up moisture
against the time Of need; some such as the
common sorrell and dandelion, become ice
plants; all over their feshy leaves and stems
are little diamond-like drops, which when
broken are found to be full Of pure water,
little plant sometimes having Q cupful stored
in this way. Some live by having their leaves
closely pressed together into little solid squares
or balls, SO saving all evaporation from their
surfaces. The air plants, which are fastened
by the slenderest roots to the ground rocks
live entirely on any moisture they may draw
from the air, and will grow and bloom for
months in Q house without any water. In
other ways the intense dryness modifes vege-
tation; food being scarce. all forms Of vegeta-
ton are eagerly sought after by animals, and
an unusual number are protected by thorns or
by such an intense bitterness that no animal
will touch them One little plant protects itself
by assuming curious likeness to q white lichen
that covers the rocks; the plant has sharp
pointed green leaves; these are placed close
together with their points upward, and on the
tip Of each leaf is a little white scaly sheath
The resemblance Of the smooth surface thess
present to the lichen growing on the rocks, be-
side which It Is always found, 10 SO great that
it 10 not till you tread on it that you discover
the deception. Even on insects the stern con-
ditions Of life have q marked effect Imitation
coloring is more common here than elsewhere.
One little insect is 30 like the white pebbles
near which it is always found. and lies 80 mo-
tionless among them, that once dropped it can
not be found again; another large, square To-
Gust. with hardly any power of fight protects
itself by simply lying motionless on red stones,
which 1t 20 exactly resembles In color. having
even rough cleavage marks upon il, that 1t Is
often impossible to detect 1t when you know
il IL there.