Colophospermum mopane spring pageant

New spring sprouting can become a festive affair in mopaneveld. Unimagined shades of celebratory colours are on display, somewhat correlated with leaf size, but not quite; look carefully.

Biological data presents exuberant life and continual becoming, not precision and sameness among its multitudes. The feast exults like one integrated organism in diversity, inviting artistic portrayal, and if needed statistical description, not monotypic exactness free of “grey areas”.

The only grey here is on the woody branches and in the grass. Nature rarely hesitates in using colour; grey is part of its mix. The soft tinges of young leaf fragility are balanced by signs of the hardness and strength required for survival.

Strong roots equip this plant to wait stoically for rain that may take its time coming. Those out of sight facilities carry mopane leaves through their delicate phases, usually without wilting until the first summer thunder storm (Coates Palgrave, 2002).