Pelargonium spinosum low branches

When the camera aims low on an old, large Pelargonium spinosum bush, missing the leaves, this is what is to be seen. A thicket of hard stems and leafless stalks only appear dead as they support young growth of the upper plant parts.

Impenetrable to all but the smallest animals that might call this home, such patches in scrub vegetation force circumspection on entrants, regulating the rhythm of life in the neighbourhood and fostering diversity. Such plants present building material as well as ready to occupy homes suitable to some locals. In fact, the plant kingdom offers home building material to most animal species on earth (Frandsen, 2017; Le Roux, et al, 2005; www.bihrmann.com; www.pelargonium.si).