Monsonia patersonii yellow desert apparition

Monsonia patersonii might, when leafless but well, be a golden desert octopus if it wasn’t for the number of arms, the presence of spines and the inexplicable periodic appearance of leaves and flowers.

The twisting, sprawling branches covered in waxy bark are sometimes nearly prostrate. They lose their youthful golden yellow in time as the bases thicken. The bark is tough, the spines hard.

Leafless from time to time, the plant appears at home in this barren land of sand, stones a d sun (Frandsen, 2017; Smith, et al, 2017; Le Roux, et al, 2005; iNaturalist).