Buddleja saligna lower stems

Buddleja saligna may branch much low down. The creamy brown to pale grey bark may be fairly smooth on the bulging stem parts, thin flakes becoming loose upon the surfaces.

The fissures inbetween are dark and uneven, providing refuge to the homeless from insect world that are small enough and crave such living spaces.

Space for small annuals may be created on the soft, untrampled ground near the stem. Shade sought by these more delicate plants lasts here for much of the day and most of the year.

When the last veld fire or flood is about forgotten, their effects upon stems and surrounds dwindle. This happens faster when the fire hadn’t been hot and slow, or the bigger plants werent swept away by the deluge.

In this way plants, animals and nutrients, as affected by the occasional disaster (that delivers more nutrients), form complex ecologies, even in ostensibly bare spots where nothing seems to happen most of the time (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Schmidt, et al, 2002; iNaturalist).