Grielum humifusum or pietsnot

Grielum humifusum, known as duikerwortel (duiker root) or pietsnot (Piet snot, referring to the slimy feature) in Namaqualands colourful Afrikaans, is a common flower of the famous spring flowering season. This plant has a large fleshy, or more precisely, a slimy root system.

It served as an important seasonal carbohydrate staple food to the Nama and Khoi tribes inhabiting the area in the past. Some of the ecotourists who try it today might still acquire the taste, especially if hunger helps. And the duikerwortel common name might suggest that duikers eat the plants.

Pietsnot seeds contain an inhibitor to prevent germination until enough water has reached them, when the inhibitor is neutralised and new plants can grow, ensuring to some extent that the seeds are not lost in unsuitable conditions (Dean and Milton, 1999, The Karoo: Ecological Patterns and Processes. Cambridge University Press; www.getawayafrica.com).