Crassothonna cylindrica plant

Bobbejaankool (baboon cabbage) flourishes at the end of winter in the Little Karoo when the rain has been good. It grows here on a stony slope near Oudtshoorn.

Whether baboons actually eat anything of Crassothonna cylindrica is not known. The stem becomes woody, but new stems and the succulent leaves are richly juicy. Whatever may live off this plant is not causing harm to its future, as the species is not considered to be under threat in its habitat early in the twenty first century (Le Roux, et al, 2005; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; iNaturalist; www.redlist.sanbi.org).