Free State highway view

This grassy hill was photographed from the N1 in the southern Free State during April, the season when the grass ripens or has done so. Motorists on this highway are usually concerned with speed limits and passing trucks when driving through.

Spare a thought for grassland: The second biggest, least conserved and most degraded biome in the country. Much of the water needed for sustaining life in this thirsty country comes from grassland.

Grass species expected here include Themeda triandra (red grass), Digitaria argyrograpta (silver finger grass) and several Eragrostis (lovegrass) species. The trees and shrubs seen on the hill are likely to include Searsia lancea (karee), Olea europaea subsp. africana (olien) and Vachellia karroo (sweet thorn).

This land is hot in summer when the rain comes, usually in the form of convectional precipitation. Winter yields sudden, brief hot spells as well, from veld fires that remove the grass cover, sometimes with devastating consequences (Wikipedia; www.ewt.org.za).