Rhigozum obovatum persistent capsules

By April, the time of the photo, the Little Karoo veld may have waited long for rain. These Rhigozum obovatum twigs are alive, but convey that the times are trying.

Some leaflets are now single or simple, their two mates normally making up the trifoliolate leaf structure having expired. The red leaflet colour tells of stressful conditions, the plant forced into rest. Knobbly short spur-branchlets at the stem nodes from where the leaves grow, also serve as base for the spring flowers, now a long time off.

Some mangled remains of fruit capsules are still present. Their dry, thin walls have split open long ago and released their seeds, losing their original shapes (Coates Palgrave, 2002).