PENROCK SEEDS AND PLANTS NEWSLETTER
OCTOBER, NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER 2009, JANUARY 2010.

THE BUSHMAN CANDLES, A NEW BOOK ON SARCOCAULONS (MONSONIAS)
BY CHARLES CRAIB AND JOHN LAVRANOS.

SUMMARY

A lavishly illustrated book, The Bushman Candles, is scheduled for publication early in 2010. The brochure follows at the end of the newsletter and provides a summary of the contents of the book as well as the various editions that will be published.

The account of the book which follows supplements the details given in the brochure. It also features a selection of artwork that will appear in the book as well as photographs of some of the Bushman Candle species and their habitats. This lengthy newsletter will run for four months, not the usual two.

There was no newsletter for September 2009 as we were awaiting finalisation of some of the photography and artwork to be included in the book. This newsletter will run from October 2009 until the end of January 2010. Afterwards there will be a newsletter for February 2010 and then they will be run once every two months as usual.



This magnificent pencil drawing by Bowen Boshier depicts the rocky coastal desert on the Lüderitz Peninsular south west of the town. This is the habitat where Monsonia patersonii grows and the plants often face the onslaught of gale force winds which blow in from the surrounding Atlantic Ocean.


The Sonenberg is one of the spectacular peaks along the Orange River in south western Namibia. Bowen Boshier has captured perfectly the feel of this rocky, desolate place via the expressive medium of pencil. Monsonia crassicaulis grows in the lower third of the mountains in the distance.



The Rooiberg is a spectacular mountain east of Eksteenfontein in the west central Richtersveld. In this pencil drawing Bowen Boshier depicts one of the rocky buttresses of the mountain with its folds and convolutions. This is the home of Monsonia herrei which grows everywhere on the west and northern slopes of the entire mountain.



The Obib Mountains immediately west of the mining town of Rosh Pinah, boast some of the finest desert scenery in south western Namibia. Bowen Boshier captures in this drawing the multiplicity of peaks on the range and the changing effects of light and shadow as the sun moves across the sky. These mountains form the greatest part of the habitat occupied by Monsonia inermis, one of two Bushman Candle species with a very small distribution range.


Portal is an apt title for this drawing. Bowen Boshier has captured so well the view from the top of the desert valley south of Rosh Pinah as it unfolds towards the Orange River. This rugged scenery, as desolate as a lunar landscape, is the habitat frequented by Monsonia peniculina. This is the rarest of all the Bushman Candle species with the smallest distribution range limited to this valley and one other to the east.

NEWSLETTER

PROGRESS WITH THE BOOK
Since the brochure was distributed late in 2008 a good deal of interest has been expressed in the publication. The 5 sponsors’ copies have all been sold and the publisher, Penrock Publications, is most grateful to the sponsors whose generosity has made the publication of the book possible. It was decided to offer a sixth sponsor’s copy and this is available at present. People who may be interested in the newly offered sponsor’s copy should contact the publisher via the details given in the brochure, at the end of the newsletter.

A number of people have expressed interest in the standard and collectors editions of the book. Once the cost of the standard edition has been calculated the details will be emailed to all the people who have requested these particulars.

The two authors have finished writing the text and this will be sent shortly to Dr. Piet Vorster for scientific editing. Afterwards the book will be on its way to the language editor and then it will be designed.


Gerhard Marx has captured perfectly in this water colour painting the diagnostic features of Monsonia peniculina. The plant nestles here in its harsh rocky niche. This painting, as with Gerhard’s 5 other paintings of different Bushman Candle species, accompanies the sponsor’s copies of the book. They also feature in the chapter on Gerhard and his artwork.



In this watercolour of Monsonia multifida Gerhard Marx has depicted a particularly well branched specimen. The plant is decked in fresh foliage and flowers after fog has swept into the desert from the Atlantic Ocean to the west.


THE FORMAT OF THE BOOK, THE ARTWORK AND THE PHOTOGRAPHY.
The book will be rather large, 320 x 250 mm, specifically for the reproduction of the Ellaphie Ward-Hilhorst water colour paintings of the Bushman Candle species life size. A good white blank margin around her paintings is necessary, in order that their aesthetic beauty can be appreciated to its fullest.

Two of the highlights in the book are the beautiful pencil landscape drawings by Bowen Boshier and the magnificent watercolour paintings by Gerhard Marx depicting different Bushman Candle species. Gerhard’s paintings accompany the six sponsors’ copies of the book and also all appear in a chapter about him and his artwork. Bowen’s pencil drawings feature in various chapters in the book and also in a separate account he has written about them. He covers too his travels in Namibia and the Richtersveld for the preparation of these drawings, a fascinating blend of the beauty of the landscapes and his prowess as an artist.

Bowen’s drawings recreate for us the feel of the landscapes. Pencil, when so masterfully used, conveys the atmosphere of the grandeur and scale present in the desert landscapes and the way they fade from view into the far beyond.

Bowen’s drawings will be exhibited at the Everard Read Gallery in Johannesburg from the time of the book launch which will also take place at the gallery. If anyone would like to get in touch with Bowen his email address is sally@mail.ngo.za His cell telephone number is 083 740 2000 and his land line in Cape Town is 012 788-6851.

The photographs which illustrate the book were taken mainly by Dr. Tim Harvey, who lives near Los Angeles and Connall Oosterbroek who lives in Johannesburg. These photographs contribute a special dimension to the book complementing the art and capturing the visual splendour of the plants and the environments in which they occur. The photography too is discussed in a separate chapter written by Connall Oosterbroek. Reference is made here to the special requirements for photographing the plants and a set of different factors that come into play for high quality landscape photography.

Author Charles Craib and Connall Oosterbroek went on a photographic expedition to south western Namibia, the Richtersveld and northern Namaqualand to take photographs for the book from 10 – 16 August 2009. The time was ideally chosen as many of the rarer species were in flower, such as Monsonia inermis near Rosh Pinah.

Most Bushman Candle species have fully open flowers during the brightest part of the day from 11H00 until 15H00, unless they grow in west-facing positions. In these places some flowers remain open until about sunset. As a result the flowering plants largely had to be photographed under conditions of intense radiation and bleached light. In addition to these problems, strong winds were frequent. Connall Oosterbroek had, as a result, to take special precautions whilst changing lenses and also when capturing via the camera lens, the delicate flowers that flutter so easily in the slightest breeze.

Gerhard Marx painted 6 of the Bushman Candle species in their natural habitats. These have been beautifully executed and are amongst Gerhard’s finest artwork. One of these paintings accompanies each of the sponsor’s copies of the book. Some of these paintings feature in the chapter on Gerhard and his art and others are scattered throughout the text in the book. Gerhard’s paintings are a very valuable contribution to the project, representing a unique form of botanical illustration.


Monsonia crassicaulis from Volmoed near Oudtshoorn in the Western Cape is at the extreme eastern end of its distribution range. Gerhard Marx shows to perfection here the mass of short petiolar spines that are so typical of plants from this part of the Little Karoo.


Monsonia lavrani is a newly described species from the south western corner of Namibia. These plants with their very beautiful showy conspicuous flowers often occur on black limestone mountains. Gerhard Marx depicts the species in this magnificent water colour painting, growing amongst black rocks on the mountains near Witputs north of Rosh Pinah.



Gerhard Marx has painted this specimen of Monsonia patersonii in the wind swept desert about 20 kilometres east of Lüderitz in south western Namibia. He depicts so well the stems of the plant burnished to a golden yellow by the onslaught of wind-blown sand. These Bushman Candles grow gregariously here and specimens can be seen fading out into the far distance.


Monsonia mossamedensis painted by Ellaphie Ward-Hilhorst.


Monsonia patersonii by Ellaphie Ward-Hilhorst.


Monsonia herrei painted by Ellaphie Ward-Hilhorst.


Monsonia crassicaulis painted by Ellaphie Ward-Hilhorst.


A Monsonia multifida plant and a branch with an open flower, bud and leaves painted by Ellaphie Ward-Hilhorst.


This painting of Monsonia vanderietiae by Ellaphie Ward-Hilhorst was chosen for the cover of the book.



Gerhard Marx has captured perfectly the delicate flowers and crinkled foliage of Monsonia inermis. This rare plant has rarely been photographed and hardly ever illustrated. The painting depicts a specimen growing on the farm Spitskop north of Rosh Pinah in south western Namibia, the northernmost known occurrence of this species.



This caricature of Charles Craib was painted by Gerhard Marx. It will be used alongside another one he has painted of John Lavranos for the two author portraits in the book.


SPECIAL FEATURES IN THE BOOK
Previous work on the Bushman Candles focuses largely on their taxonomy. The emphasis here is on the plants in their natural habitats, based on extensive fieldwork spanning many decades. Some interesting and hitherto unrecorded details about the plants live in their respective habitats are discussed in a chapter on each species in the text.

All the Bushman Candle species live in places where there is stock farming of various forms. In Namaqualand and the Richtersveld communal stock farming is practiced and the herds consist mainly of sheep and goats. Most grazing takes place in the winter months at a time when the Bushman Candles that occur there are in active growth.

In most instances the plants benefit from the domestic herds since they not only keep the habitat clear from cluttering vegetation but also loosen the soil with their hooves, thereby enhancing the chances for seeds to germinate. Grazing also has the very important role of keeping the cover short, permitting the Bushman Candle species to bask for most of the day in strong direct sunlight. This is essential for them to keep their compact growth form as well as flower and seed profusely.

Grazing livestock has the equivalent function to winter grass fires in the South African interior. The Bushman Candles would mostly be on the rarer side were it not for domestic livestock, which are nowadays the functional equivalent of the indigenous herbivores in the past.

Professor Emeritus Rodney Moffett has written a full interesting account of his excellent work on the Bushman Candles. He revised the Genus Sarcocaulon as it was then known and the revision was published in 1979. Rodney Moffett struck up a good friendship with Ellaphie Ward-Hilhorst and the plates of the Bushman Candle species which illustrate this book were originally used to illustrate his
M. Sc. thesis.

The Bushman Candles live in some of the most arid habitats in Southern Africa, particularly the fog desert in south western Namibia and the north west Richtersveld. The plants are able to come into flower after dense fogs have drenched the habitat. These have the same effect as light penetrating rain and often contain enough moisture to bring most species into flower in their leafless state. This subject is covered in detail in the text, discussed with reference to all the species which occur in these sorts of environments.

One of the most interesting facts about Bushman Candle species is that they are almost without exception found well away from grassland biomes. The stems of the plants are highly flammable and as a result would be burnt were they to be found in true grasslands. Two species occur however on the fringes of a grassland biome, namely Monsonia camdeboensis and Monsonia salmoniflora. In both instances they grow in places where the grass cover is always very sparse, such as stony dolerite outcrops and flat limestone terrain cobbled with calcrete fragments.

It may be argued that the annual Monsonia species, so typical of the South African grassland interior, are an adaptation of the Genus Monsonia to fire. A consideration of this very interesting subject is beyond the scope of this book although plenty of details in support of this view emerge from a detailed reading of the text.

The Bushman Candle species grow in some of the most spectacular desert and semi-arid country in South Africa and Namibia. This natural splendour is emphasised throughout the book via the medium of pencil illustration and photography. Colour and texture play a significant role in leading the reader's eye to the remote beyond in the landscapes rich in mountains.

Ellaphie Ward-Hilhorst is widely recognised locally and abroad as one of the finest botanical artists. Little has hitherto been published about her private life. Graham Duncan of Kirstenbosch in Cape Town has written a most informative chapter on Ellaphie the person as well as Ellaphie the artist. The chapter is in effect a subtle blend of all the attributes that made Ellaphie such a fine botanical artist. As Graham points out, Ellaphie reached the acme of perfection in botanical illustration, whether in painting the papery tunics of a Cyrtanthus bulb, the pubescence on a Haemanthus leaf or the bark-like texture of a pelargonium tuber. It is hoped that this chapter Graham has written will serve as a catalyst for a biographer to write a full account of her life and work, in due course.


Monsonia inermis in full flower photographed by Connall Oosterbroek. The photograph was taken in the middle of the day on 11 August 2009 when the flowers were fully open. This plant is part of the northernmost known colony on the farm Spitskop north of Rosh Pinah in south western Namibia.



Details of Monsonia inermis flowers and foliage photographed by Connall Oosterbroek on the farm Spitskop, south western Namibia.



The delicate flowers of Monsonia inermis photographed with light from behind. This photograph was taken by Connall Oosterbroek on 11 August 2009.


A dead Monsonia inermis photographed by Connall Oosterbroek on the farm Spitskop in south western Namibia. The plants die off sometimes in fair numbers either as a result of prolonged droughts or else when they have reached the end of their life cycle.


Monsonia flavescens photographed by Connall Oosterbroek on the farm Spitskop in south western Namibia. These plants grow in exceptionally arid places drenched with intense sunlight for most of the day. The Monsonia inermis prefer better irrigated places on the valley floor below.



An arid slope covered in many loose rock fragments. This terrain is typically occupied by Monsonia flavescens. The photograph was taken by Connall Oosterbroek on the farm Spitskop in south western Namibia.



Monsonia flavescens often flowers in the leafless state particularly when there is little moisture in the habitat or else where the plants are growing in a very arid rocky place with intense radiation from the sun. This photograph was taken on the farm Spitskop in south western Namibia by Connall Oosterbroek.



The arid mountain above the valley frequented by Monsonia inermis at Spitskop is home to numerous succulents and geophytes but is partly shaded at various times of the day. Owing to the lack of direct sunlight Bushman Candles are rare or absent. This photograph was taken by Connall Oosterbroek in mid-August 2009.



Typical undulating desert country between Rosh Pinah and Witputs to the north, in south western Namibia. This photograph was taken in the late afternoon, towards dusk, by Connall Oosterbroek. Monsonia lavrani grows scattered across the plains in the foreground.



The desert mountains north west of Rosh Pinah in south western Namibia photographed by Connall Oosterbroek about an hour before sunset. Layer upon layer of grey, blue and earthy colours unfold in the richness of the late afternoon light fading off into the far beyond.



An ornamental winter growing Boophane species occurs together with Monsonia salmoniflora in the red sands of the desert plains south of Aus in south western Namibia. This photograph was taken by Connall Oosterbroek in mid-August 2009.


Details of the beautiful foliage produced in the winter by the Boophane species that grows in the sandy desert south of Aus. The photograph was taken by Connall Oosterbroek.


Monsonia salmoniflora photographed by Connall Oosterbroek on the desert plains south of Aus in south western Namibia.


Spectacular black limestone mountains are a prominent feature of the desert around Witputs in south western Namibia. This harsh arid environment, photographed by Connall Oosterbroek in August 2009, is home to large concentrations of Monsonia lavrani.



Strumaria hardyana often grows near colonies of Monsonia lavrani in the Witputs area of south western Namibia. The Monsonias frequent harsh sun-baked areas cobbled with limestone whereas the Strumarias grow in cracks on sheets of exposed weathered rock. These rock sheets trap water even after the lightest shower which flows down to irrigate the Strumaria bulbs.


This photograph taken by Connall Oosterbroek shows details of Monsonia lavrani flowers and the plant’s colossal petiolar spines that radiate from the stems like needles. The photograph was taken at Witputs Nord, south western Namibia, in mid-August 2009 after a rainstorm had drenched the limestone mountains some ten days beforehand.



The wind swept stabilised gritty sandy plains about 20 kilometres east of Lüderitz are frequented by many thousands of Monsonia patersonii. This photograph was taken just before sunset in mid-August 2009.



The Eenriet Mountains and their western foothills north of Steinkopf in northern Namaqualand are frequented by large colonies of Monsonia herrei. This photograph was taken by Connall Oosterbroek in the rich light just before sunset.



Monsonia herrei photographed by Connall Oosterbroek in the northern foothills of the Eenriet Mountains. The plants are frequent amongst fragments of white quartzite. This specimen is dripping with buds after an earlier shower of rain.



Connall Oosterbroek took this photograph of Monsonia herrei flowers shortly before sunset. Plants such as this one growing in the Eenriet Mountains only close their flowers late when they occur in places which trap the late afternoon sun.



The desolate valley between Rosh Pinah and the Orange River is one of only two localities inhabited by Monsonia peniculinum, making this the rarest and most restricted of all the Bushman Candle species. The plants are most frequent in the convolutions of the mountains and on the peaks above them. Both localities where these plants grow fall within the confines of the Ais Ais Richtersveld Transfrontier Park. Photograph by Connall Oosterbroek.



CULTIVATING BUSHMAN CANDLES AND USING THEM FOR ORNAMENTAL CONTAINER PLANTING.
Little has been published about cultivating the Bushman Candle species as well as growing them from seed. A detailed account is given in one of the closing chapters as to how the various species should be grown. There is a full discussion on soil mixes, watering requirements and growing the different species from seeds.

Some of the species are well suited for use in landscaping particularly Monsonia vanderietiae. This species thrives under conditions of intense heat and dryness and grows in the most arid of places where little else would be able to survive.

The Bushman Candle species have a useful purpose to serve in ecotourism but this is as yet unrealised. The subject is discussed in some detail and it is hoped that the information may be of some use to landowners who have these plants on their property.

Ornamental container planting is a form of art where the vessel and the plant in it form an aesthetically pleasing unit. Some Bushman Candle species, particularly M. vanderietiae are ideal candidates for this form of art. They are able to thrive in strong day long sunlight as well as grow well within the confines of a container.

The chapter on ornamental container planting is an in-depth discussion about the techniques used in this unusual and little known form of art. The chapter is illustrated with Elsa Young’s beautiful photographs which show up to best effect the vessels made by craftsman potter Chris Patton, and the plants growing in them.


Monsonia vanderietiae is an ideal subject for ornamental container planting. The branches of the plant duplicate in a figurative sense the hand crafted vessel with its wavy pattern. The photograph was taken by Elsa Young.


These vessels, as with the other one planted up with Monsonia vanderietiae, were made by craftsman potter Chris Patton whose studio is in Muldersdrift near Johannesburg. Photographer Elsa Young has cleverly arranged and photographed the vessels emphasising their angular lines and the branches of Monsonia vanderietiae, which in their own unique way mirror the shapes of the two vessels.


Photographer Elsa Young has made optimal use in this photograph of textures and shapes as well as light and shadow. These elements are also integral to the art of ornamental container planting.

THE BROCHURE.
The brochure for the book follows below. The costs of the various editions will soon be available and people interested in these details should request the order form directly from the publisher.

Click here to download the brochure.

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