Adenium oleifolium exposed caudex top

When the Adenium oleifolium caudex reaches these proportions, the plant has been occupying this spot (near Upington) for donkey’s years. This is not a place where tall trees abound, although the occasional camel thorn tree may be dotted around.

Although merely a dwarf plant, the swollen, underground (or nearly so), tuberous stem is what this senior citizen of the Kalahari and surrounds proudly produces, instead of a tall trunk. The demanding domain of calcareous outcrops and ridges beside the dry riverbeds, the wadis of the south, or simply loose sandy soil on the flats, allows for a different brand of heroics but heroics nevertheless.

The aerial branches sprouted from the caudex start off hairy but lose the feature with age. The bark may be pale and smooth or corky and wrinkled (Van Rooyen and Van Rooyen, 2019; Frandsen, 2017; iNaturalist; http://www.llifle.com; https://worldofsucculents.com).