Arctotis revoluta young plant

Little of this growth habit goes up, most expansion is lateral in the young Arctotis revoluta plant that spreads in its rocky and sandy location. The long, narrow lobes of the grey-green leaves protrude ostentatiously. They would be stick-like if it weren’t for frilly margins and soft texture.

Spreading on sand and stone has the advantage of casting a shadow. This is often beneficial to root wellbeing and moisture retention under a hot sun.

Conscious planning isn’t a feature of evolutionary adaptation in plants, however. Numerous past plant life outcomes, those earlier generations that followed the fortunate course among growing options and capitalised best on prevailing circumstances, shaped the species.

A living species is always the result of selective dying before procreation, like a war is always about who is left, not who is right (Manning, 2007; Le Roux, et al, 2005; iNaturalist; http://pza.sanbi.org).