Monsonia crassicaulis spines

There is more colour variation than one might think under full sun among the pale Monsonia crassicaulis plant parts, so desperately trying to reflect some heat and remain cool.

The glaucous leaves are varied, mainly darker than the lemon-green ovoid fruits developing among the leaves. Flower buds, not present here as the season is closing, would have been darker with pointed sepal tips converging and protruding. These fruits may sometimes be shiny.

The few bare stem patches are olive-green or dark in shade, sometimes also brown or grey. The long, rigid spines challenging all approaching bodies to a joust are white, grey or some shades of purple before they dry.

Overall, the plant’s colouring is light, the appropriate dress code for coping with summer heat one can’t escape when rooted in such exposed conditions (Le Roux, et al, 2005).