Secamone alpini, bobbejaantou

The robust, woody stems of Secamone alpini, a forest creeper, often hang down from the high branches like ropes or cables among the tree trunks. The forest hikers only see the bare, brown parts, the plant’s leaves high and out of sight, forming part of the canopy above.

The plants common name in Afrikaans is bobbejaantou (baboon rope), shared with other twining and climbing plants, notably the white-flowered, coastal Cynanchum africanum. That is the plant associated with bobbejaantou poisoning, a horse disease occurring when grass becomes scarce and hungry horses sample the wrong leaves.

There is also Rhoicissus tomentosa, a vigorous rainforest climber sometimes called bobbejaantou. Shared use of common names among different plant species causes confusion, best overcome by also checking the botanical names that are not shared among different plants.

There is, of course, the ultimate bobbejaantou man, Tarzan of the Apes, who grew up as a feral child in the untamed African forests, taught tree tricks by the great apes of the Mangani tribe. This fictional character, created by Edgar Rice Burroughs, moved at great speed through the forest, swinging high from available hanging vines, unconcerned with their botanical heritage.

S. alpini commonly grows in central Africa among trees. It would have been an appropriate favourite, meriting Tarzan’s trust when making split-second decisions about changing ropes on his journeys through the tropical forests.

Every liana would have to carry his weight and be of the right length for deft swinging. The guaranteed safe landing without a scratch upon a targeted branch where the next liana is always conveniently positioned, goes without saying. In the fictional forest breathtaking feats reach audacious proportions, only emulated by the likes of Peter Pan or avatars, but those are other movies. The idea of the primeval forest is a cherished romantic myth residing in the recesses of the modern mind, the hero imagined in first person adventures, for Walter Mitty is sometimes Tarzan.

The slightest calculation error would have caused disaster for the Tarzan film hero, Johnny Weissmuller, who learnt proper rope swinging only after swimming in the Olympics. Let alone the havoc that could be caused on the film set, if Johnny had landed on a movie camera among the crew.

Maybe Viscount Greystoke, Tarzan’s persona for the civilised world, was no amateur botanist and only assessed the thickness of lianas, not their species and hoping about strength. Go check your Tarzan comic books, if they are still around (Wikipedia).