Oscularia deltoides citadel lookout

Perched high above the farming scenery in the Tulbagh district, this Oscularia deltoides plant has branched much, and must have flowered much over the years. No worries if people haven’t seen the flowers too often. What’s important is that the vygie pollinators get here in season.

Quartzite or sandstone rock cracks on upper slopes are good places for these plants to start. The pale blue grey, waxy skinned and moisture rich leaves on reddish stems tell of adaptation to aridity, high solar exposure and winter cold.

Juxtaposing the hardy succulent and the lush, irrigated valley below dramatises the duality of natural persistence versus cultivated abundance. The human brain is the best evolutionary tool today for stewardship over sustaining biodiversity on people-dominated earth.