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Capparis tomentosa
The guide called this a woolly caper tree. We saw a couple of them, but this was the most refined and tree like. I also found this www.namibian.org/travel/plants/trees/woo... No pictures or other citations https://books.google.com/books?id=x3ElAw...
Chobe park
despite spines on its branches is it a common browse plant for game animals and monkeys/baboons eat the fruit, as do some of the tribesmen and it is also the larval foodplant of the butterflies Belenois creona and Eronia cleodora
Spotted on Dec 29, 2013
Submitted on Apr 7, 2015
28 Comments (1–25)
Aw the memories. Loved Chobe park
A very beautiful, and a very interesting, landscape photo....
Isn't it though? Thank you!
Wow - that's quite a caper!
Congrats!
Thank you!!
Huge Congrats, Karen!
Thank you Josef
Congrats Karen!!!
Thank you, Antonio. This is truly one of my favorites from the year and from the trip
Thanks, Larry
Congrats Karen on the 3rd place
So wonderful Karen! Congrats!
Thank you, Lisa!
Congrats Karen, your unique spotting Woolly caper bush on termite mound placed 3rd in the plants category for the Best of 2015! Here is the link for the '2016 Best Wildlife Photo mission so you can add more fantastic spottings for this year! http://www.projectnoah.org/missions/2004...
https://www.facebook.com/projectnoah/pho...
Thank you for the heads up - and for the memories :)
Congrats Karen, your beautiful caper tree has made the top 10 plant spottings in the '2015 Best Wildlife Photo' mission! Rangers are voting on the top 10 plant spottings, and the top 3 will be announced on February 3rd. The top 3 spottings will be commented on here on the site, but make sure you keep a look out on our Facebook app page for the announcement as well! Congratulations on making the top 10! https://www.facebook.com/projectnoah
Thank you. There were a couple of them that we saw, but this one so nicely shaped. I think by giraffe browsing the top
Interesting spotting Karen.
I found some citations to back up what the guide said. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capparis_to...
All the references seem to show that the termite mound is a "former" termite mound, but not so sure about that
I guess we can't be certain of animal input to this phenomena unless the termites actively encouraged the plant. It's even possible the plant is a pest to the colony with temperature aberrations or root invasions eventually forcing a shutdown and mass exodus. ?? It seems this colony is still active though from the tell-tale lack of grass all around the base? Some interesting evolution going on there for sure... and it looks great. Raises so many interesting questions. I wonder if there's a third player which places the plant in the top of mound because I doubt termites would do that?
Since the bush is on a termite mound, please consider adding this spotting to the Animal Architecture mission at http://www.projectnoah.org/missions/8082...
Smile is good. Check the photo halfway down here http://www.plantes-botanique.org/espece_...
Jae to the rescue. Well done!! Like Karen, I couldn't find any reference either. PS: Love your comments, Mark. They always make me smile :)
Beautiful spotting, Karen. Perhaps the guide was referring to a caper-bush. Capparis fascicularis sometimes occurs on termite mounds according to wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capparis_fa...