Lithops bromfieldii var. mennellii

The fissure where this Lithops bromfieldii var. mennellii hangs out is also called home! South of Upington, not far from the Gariep River, is a small area where this stone flower ekes out an existence in what appears to be trying circumstances.

But where it looks easier to people, one doesn’t find these plants! Easy for us is not easy for the next species. Adaptation means coping with the given. Proof is what is found and where that happens.

The kindness of transplantation into “better” conditions often kills a rare plant. And losing species on earth is bad for us all. Can we then not get it right? Yes we can! Learning what a rare species needs does help with growing it in more environments, finding new solutions. Species survival is a worthwhile knowledge field. Thats what science and technology are about. 

Even the deserts are presently suffering degradation caused by excesses of human lifestyles and numbers growth. Refraining from filling every nook and cranny with more people is a notion that may gain ground. Nature is not waiting, already reacting.

Leave the Lithops to do its thing where possible. Allow plants and animals to fend for themselves... just a little bit more.

Humanity becoming less invasive, planning for a smaller human presence on earth? The new heresy! Consider it!