A trip to the Richtersveld

This morning, I attended the annual meeting of the  Southern  African Bulb Group, which once again happened to be being held just down the road from me. There were interesting  little plants and packets of corms and bulbs  for sale ( I did succumb!) as well as a display of beautiful South African plants in flower. Here are Lachenalia (Polyxena) corymbosa and  a pretty orange form of  Oxalis obtusa.
The main event was a talk by horticulturist Alex Summers about his plant hunting expedition on behalf of Cambridge Botanic Garden and  Kew Gardens, in the Richtersveld, an arid, mountainous  region in the Northern Cape close to the  Nambian border. I was amazed at the huge variety of plants (more than 4800 species, many endemic to that area )  which grow in such hostile desert  conditions. The  plants are mostly succulents, bearing brightly coloured flowers, which  are under threat because of climate change  and  poaching. The small  team of botanists  had the  permission of the South African government to collect samples of about 200 plants and seeds growing in rock crevices on Mt Terror, to bring back to the UK for research and conservation. Some  were already being grown in cultivation  but gradually have deviated in their growth  from the wild forms, so it is important to get new material. Rightly, there is a lot of official documentation  to be completed before, and during such an expedition, and customs officers to deal with,  but I was pleased to know the team still preserve plants by arranging and pressing the material  between pages of newspapers and pieces of cardboard! Such a fascinating talk on the realities of the dedication required and the  difficulties faced in saving our rare flora.

This  afternoon, in some trepidation, as I  hadn't visited her for seven weeks, I visited my Mother. Fortunately,  she was in a good mood, and as lucid as she gets. She  remembered without  prompting I had been to Australia and asked after my sister. We looked at some of my photos and took a walk in the garden. It is such a relief to know she is happy in the care home and I can go away knowing she is being well looked after. (The  only time when she had been upset while I was away was when my other sister visited her., and she couldn't understand  why I wasn't there too!)