Spekboom on a southern slope

It is not often that a notable stand of Portulacaria afra plants become established on a southern slope in the Little Karoo. Here the spekboom plants follow the foot of the rocky ridge for some distance among a variety of mature shrubs in veld that hasn’t burned for several years.

Spekboom tends to grow in association with wildepruim, Pappea capensis or guarri, Euclea undulata, on north-facing slopes, often in shallow, rocky soils (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2010).