Plant navel-gazing

In retirement, pondering on the marvels of the Natural World is something that I am doing more and more, and I find it exceedingly therapeutic in the restorative sense. One of the great things about being an active, aging, botanist is that my knowledge base is still growing and I revel in this fact on a daily basis. The up-side is that while many of those around me grow older and more weary, I get more and more invigorated by Nature because I know I still have so much to discover. In life there is always a down-side, and oft times it is difficult for me to be positive. The fact humans are still mindlessly exploiting the many wonders of Nature because of our exponential greed for the latest technological baggage is burdensome. Our increasing selfishness, consumerism, and the fact that we are becoming more and more dislocated from Nature bodes for a most horrendous future…

But put all that doom and gloom aside – rather let those of us who care about the Earth’s future take some solace from enjoying the wonders of Nature while we are still able. Every time I walk – be it down the road to the local Kikuyu-grassed park covered in dog faeces (despite the fact that there are poo-bag stations located at every entry point), in some local fynbos or forest place that is now being badly managed, or in my beloved scrub-encroached and fire-ravaged Lowveld, I take the time to ponder on: “How are the plants coping?”

For plants to survive the ravages of time, climate, predation, exploitation, bio-engineering and the huge chemical loads we are increasingly subjecting them to is truly miraculous. And nowhere globally is this more apparent than in Africa – the cradle of human-kind. There are many, many examples I have discovered and keep on discovering that keep me fascinated and invigorated. Therefore, it is time to share some of my “plant” strength with the like-minded - to assist in their rejuvenation process and bring a little peace and fun in these globally stressful times.

So next time you walk, anywhere where there are one or many plants, take the time to look and wonder how they survive? Rule one is to remember that plants are rooted to one spot and cannot hide from the wind and the sun, and everything else that we and the environment throw at them. They and the insects will be here long after we are gone – competing under different circumstances to survive and thrive, as they must do right now…

We are surrounded by so many examples of amazing plants that it is difficulty to know where to start? Maybe I should start with a Dandelion because they are not only successful “weeds” that are common in many neighbourhoods all round the country, but are also valuable food plants that are almost completely overlooked in our modern world of supermarkets, bling and Twitter.

One of the locally common species is Hypochaeris radicata L. - globally known as Cat's Ear, and locally as Wild Lettuce, yet is not a true Dandelion but a so-called False Dandelion. If one looks it up in Wikipedia, part of the entry reads: “It is a perennial, low-lying edible herb often found in lawns. The plant is native to Europe, but has also been introduced to the Americas, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. The leaves, which may grow up to eight inches, are lobed and covered in fine hairs, forming a low-lying rosette around a central taproot. Forked stems carry bright yellow flower heads, and when mature these form seeds attached to wind-borne ‘parachutes’. All parts of the plant exude a milky sap when cut.”
First I must remind readers that Wikipedia is a non-peer reviewed website, which means that one cannot simply accept entries as fact. Here there is no mention of the species being common in South Africa and growing not just in lawns but in pavements, fields and almost anywhere the plant can “muscle in” – from mountain tops to tropical coastal areas, in blazing sun and in partial shade. In fact plants that we call “weeds” are mostly some of the toughest and astonishing plants (the definition of a weed that I like is: “a plant that grows where WE DO NOT WANT IT TO GROW”. They are, therefore, plants that grow well to annoy us).
At this point I need to introduce you to some of the successful traits that enable plants to “annoy us” (as weeds, or as scrub-encroachment species – all are “INCREASER” species). Firstly these plants need to be able to get to places where they can germinate (which is “dispersal”), grow and reproduce –, and that is a whole intriguing topic in itself*. Certainly producing many, wind dispersed, seeds is a valuable attribute for the lowly Dandelion. Why “lowly”, well my take on that is that much of the Dandelion’s success is attributable to the way it’s leaves grow in a tight, basal rosette - thus muscling over any adjacent plants and creating it’s own space. This same basal rosette is below the mow-line, so individuals survive mowing to produce a new batch of flowers (in fact they thrive on mowing because mowing removes much of the local competition). One could say that dandelions are “pre-adapted to mowing and trampling”, and their fairy-like, spherical, seed-covered, inflorescences are ideal to be plucked and blown - to discover the time of day, or whether she-loves-me-or-loves-me-not!
Other increasers have different strategies they harness for their success, and maybe more of that later! But right now can you think of traits that make plants in your neighbourhood, or in your favourite nature area, successful?
Before signing off, what of the forgotten uses of this plant? Wikipedia has the following entry:
“All parts of the Cats Ear plant are edible; however, the leaves and roots are those most often harvested. The leaves are bland in taste but can be eaten raw in salads, steamed, or used in stir-fries. Older leaves can become tough and fibrous, but younger leaves make for good eating. In contrast to the edible leaves of dandelion, cats ear leaves only rarely have some bitterness. In Crete, Greece, the leaves of a variety called pachies (παχιές) or agrioradika (αγριοράδικα) are eaten boiled or cooked in steam by the locals. The root can be roasted and ground to form a coffee substitute.”
Here is South Africa I am sure that some rural people still harvest leaves. I am sure too that they will be amongst the poorest of the poor, without access to supermarkets. I am not sure if people still make a coffee substitute from the root, or if richer people still eat the leaves? However, as food prices escalate the “lowly” dandelion, or Wild lettuce may well become an important plant to more of us and maybe the time will come when we do our best to cultivate our own “vegetable” patch, possibly to discover that these pants prefer to annoy us rather than be tamed!

*There is the most magical, old book that captures much of the details of plant dispersal: Ridley H.N (1930). The dispersal of plants throughout the world. Reeve.



The basal rosette of leaves muscling out the grasses and showing the branched inflorescences (true Dandelions have unbranched inflorescences) of Hypochaeris radicata. The Greater plantain (Plantago major) is another cosmopolitan weed - called White man's Footprint by native Americans as is appeared wherever the colonists went.A typical inflorescence of the Greater Plantain - which is a similar "weed" in form and ecology to the Dandelion, also edible and with many medicinal properties.