Secrets of Namaqualand Succulents

About this book

With a flora dominated by succulents and geophytes, Namaqualand is one of our planet’s richest botanical treasures. In this semi-arid region of western South Africa, an exceptionally diverse range of succulents have adapted to survive the extreme climatic conditions by ingeniously storing water in their tissues whilst geophytic plants spend the dry season buried underground. Namaqualand is home to many of the world’s most popular succulents and geophytes, including Conophytum, Aloe, Adromischus, Crassula, Pelargonium, Gethyllis, Bulbine, Massonia, Eriospermum as well as many more astonishing and beloved genera.

Boasting more than 1,100 exclusive habitat photographs representing over 700 Namaqualand plant species, this highly accessible book is intended for a broad readership. It aims to reveal the secrets of this extraordinary flora by presenting up-to-date scientific knowledge through a series of engaging narratives anecdotes and detailed observations. A fusion of refined photography, botanical field notes and environmental ecology, this book is a remarkable source of information and wonder for specialist collectors and natural history enthusiasts alike.

This publication is the culmination of four years of field-based research and botanical exploration, led by the author. The long periods of fieldwork, four consecutive months every year, represented a most intense and painstaking effort to document the Namaqualand flora. With a budget to stretch over 500 days, conditions proved to be rather rudimentary but generated a wealth of data through photographs and field notes.

The book comes with a large Namaqualand map (with photographs on its back), measuring 60 cm × 40 cm.

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