Bome van die jaar:
Harige
Blinkblaar Wag-‘n-bietjie / Hairy Buffalo Thorn-(Ziziphus mucronata)
Ziziphus
mucronata, or as it is more frequently known, the wag-'n-bietjie tree
represents life as we know it. The young twigs are zigzag, indicating that life
is not always straightforward. Two thorns at the nodes are also significant;
one facing backward represents where we come from and one facing forward,
represents where we are going. Ziziphus mucronata is a small to medium-sized
tree, 3-10(-20) m high; with a spreading canopy. The main stem is green and
hairy when young; year old branches often zigzag; the bark is reddish brown or
roughly mottled grey, cracked into small rectangular blocks, revealing a red
and stringy under-surface. Young stems are reddish brown.
Geographic
distribution: The
buffalo thorn is distributed throughout the summer rainfall areas of
sub-Saharan Africa, extending from South Africa northwards to Ethiopia and
Arabia.
Ecology: Although the fruit of Ziziphus
mucronata cannot be counted as very tasty, the tree itself plays an important
role ecologically. The leaves and fruit are sought after by birds of many
species, wild animals and domestic stock. Giraffes are known to be especially
fond of the leaves of this tree. Impala often feed on the dead leaves lying
under the tree. Its inconspicuous, green to yellow flowers produce abundant
nectar and often yield a good honey. While slow-growing (0.3 m or less per annum), it makes a
pleasant shade tree and gives life to the garden by luring birds and insects
such as butterflies, beetles and bees.
Ebbeboom
/ Ebony Tree (Euclea pseudebenus):
Afrikaans
common name(s): Swartebbe, Valsebbehout,
Tsabiboom, Ebbeboom, Ebbehout, Abikwa, Sabbiboom, Basterebbehout
English
common name(s): Black ebony, Cape ebony, Wild ebony, False ebony
Trees 3-9 m
high or occasionally shrubs, with characteristically drooping branches, trunks
8-30 cm in diam. with a rough, dark bark; branches drooping, virgate, little to
much branched, bark grey, or yellow or reddish-brown, young parts densely
glandular and sparsely hairy.
Euclea
pseudebenus or ebony guarri is a remarkably drought-hardy and tough indigenous
tree with a most graceful appearance contrasting its harsh and unforgiving
natural enviro Distribution
and habitat: Euclea
pseudebenus is found in harsh, stony and sandy desert and semi-desert areas,
usually in lowlying areas along watercourses, or fairly nearby. This species of
tree is often the only surviving tree that is able to cope with the harsh
desert conditions. The distribution of black-ebony is relatively wide and
follows a northwesterly direction across its range. It starts to appear in
northern Namaqualand, extending eastwards to Bushmanland where it hugs the
Gariep River on both the South African and Namibian sides. It then continues
throughout the southwestern, central and northwestern part of Namibia right into
the Kaokoveld and across into the mountainous parts of southern Angola. It is
by nature a desert plant, being happy with both winter and summer rainfall
conditions. In terms of its cultivation Euclea pseudebenus would be well suited
to arid and semi-arid regions, with hot, long summers, and given plenty of
water, will thrive and grow faster than those in the wild.
Uses: Euclea pseudebenus is highly sought
after for its excellent quality fire wood. It is also valuable as a general
timber for building and carving, but since pieces are usually small, it is not
used extensively. The heartwood is black, hard, heavy and durable, very similar
to the true ebony, and is often used for inlay work, such as the black squares
on chess boards. The Nama of Namibia call this tree the tsawib which refers to
its ebony-like wood. A place in Namibia where numerous ebony guarri trees grow
is called Tsawisis, named after the tree. The roots and twigs are sometimes
used as chewing sticks to clean the teeth. The fruits are edible when ripe,
said to taste sweet and slightly astringent.
Euclea
pseudebenus is not popular in horticulture, although its value as a small
drought hardy tree, cannot be over emphasized. In parts of South Africa where
hot and fairly dry weather is experienced, this species would make excellent
garden trees, as they would grow quicker in cultivation. They would be ideal as
replacements to exotic trees which are still too common in our gardens.
Voël van die jaar:
Swartaasvoël
/ Lappet-faced
(Lappet-faced
Vulture / Nubian Vulture (Torgos tracheliotos).
Aasvoëls is
roofvoëls in die familie Aegypiidae wat van afval en aas lewe. Hulle is meesal
groot voëls en het tipies 'n min of meer kaal kop. Navorsing het getoon dat
hierdie veerlose koppe 'n belangrike rol mag speel in hitteregulering. Die
kloue is nie baie sterk ontwikkel nie, maar die bek is kragtig en word gebruik
om die vel van die dooie dier af te skeur. Die sig is baie sterk ontwikkel en
die aas kan baie ver gewaar word. Een of twee eiers, na gelang van die soort,
word gelê. Die nes, 'n platform van takkies, word in bome, op die grond of op
kranslyste gebou. Aasvoëls word in alle wêrelddele aangetref, behalwe
Antarktika en Oseanië. In suidelike Afrika is die naam vir 'n Swartaasvoël sinoniem
met die term vir bemindes, aangesien hierdie aasvoëls altyd in pare aangetref
word, die ma en jongeling bly in noue band met mekaar. Afparing,
paar-assosiasie, beskerming en sorg word gesien as noodsaaklike eienskappe
benewens die aasvoël se grootte en vermoë om hoog in die lug te sweef.
In die
Wildtuin is die swartaasvoël die grootste en sterkste van sy soort. Hy word
maklik uitgeken aan die diep persrooi kop en die los rooi nekvel, die massiewe
snawel en die donker vere. Hy is die dominante figuur by ‘n karkas wat selfs
met jakkalse en maraboes meeding om die sappigste happies, en hy sal nie skroom
om na kleiner aasvoëls te pik as hulle nie gou genoeg padgee nie. Die
swartaasvoël broei in die Wildtuin en kom oral voor.
Die
swartaasvoël is reeds geruime tyd as kwesbaar gelys en sterftes neem steeds
toe. Dit is die grootste spesie op die vasteland - die volwasse voël se
vlerkspan is 'n nimlike 2,8m. Oor die laaste 12 jaar is 324 swartaasvoëls in
die land gering waarvan 'n skrale 24 weer gesien is.
Inligting:
Wikipedia.
Foto's hier geplaas met erkenning aan fotograwe. 
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