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Project Noah Nature School
Myrothamnus flabellifolius
The leaves of this plant are shriveled, brown and appear to be dead in dry periods, but surprisingly turn green within a few minutes after exposure to water, even if the stems have been picked a while ago. I saw hundreds of these scattered across the mountain slopes of Honey Canyon near Neuras Wine & Wildlife Estate. They all measured approximately between 20 and 100 cm in height and grew in close proximity to each other.
Arid, mountainous areas, along cracks and crevices in rocks. The plant's roots intercept water draining into these crevices after rainfall, thereby rehydrating again.
It is an important plant in southern Africa because of its widespread use in African medicine and culture. The leaves contain essential oils, like camphor and eucalyptol, and have been used for many medicinal purposes by the indigenous African people, such as asthma relieve, treatment of colds, chest pains, nosebleeds and fainting.
Spotted on Jul 25, 2016
Submitted on Aug 27, 2016
8 Comments
Thank you Ashley, Pradeep and triggsturner!
Congrats on your SOTD Lizzie.
Congratulations for the SOTD!
Congrats Lizzie, this interesting plant has been chosen as Spotting of the Day!
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Thank you DanielePralong! I think it's so interesting to see how some African plants have developed these amazing survival mechanisms to deal with the climate, if only humans could handle those extremes just as easy :)
Another most interesting Southern African plant Lizzie!
Thank you Ashley!
Your spotting has been nominated for the Spotting of the Week. The winner will be chosen by the Project Noah Rangers based on a combination of factors including: uniqueness of the shot, status of the organism (for example, rare or endangered), quality of the information provided in the habitat and description sections. There is a subjective element, of course; the spotting with the highest number of Ranger votes is chosen. Congratulations on being nominated!