SUMMARY.
Most Eriospermum species in Southern Africa grow in places that are grazed by livestock either associated with ranching practices or small scale stock farming. They have all adapted to the presence of grazing livestock in various ways. Some are locally well represented in grazed areas whereas others are rare and may be declining. These interesting processes are discussed in this newsletter as well as the natural occurrence and habitats occupied by the Eriospermums, some of which are little known and rare.

The plateau west of Bulletrap is extremely rich in bulbs and geophytes. This photograph, taken in early August 2009 after a good rainy season, shows much of the habitat frequented by bulbs and caudiciforms such as Eriospermum species.

ERIOSPERMUMS ON THE SKAAP RIVER ESCARPMENT NORTH WEST OF SPRINGBOK IN NAMAQUALAND.
The Skaap River area and its escarpment to the east is very rich in bulbous, caudiciform and succulent flora and a number of endemic plants are found in this region. The species diversity of Eriospermums is very high with different plants ranging from locally common to rare. The commoner species are those that are able to withstand heavy grazing by sheep and goats. The livestock is grazed during mostly the winter months from May to about mid-September. During this time the pastoralists, who live mainly in the town of Steinkopf to the north, set up their winter grazing camps on the plateau.

The two most readily observed Eriospermum species are Eriospermum paradoxum and Eriospermum ramosum. Eriospermum undulatum is uncommon and encountered in small localised groups growing either on sunny western hill slopes or else in south-facing positions on rocky hillsides.

E. paradoxum grows out in the open in full sunlight usually in areas littered with rocks. In these places the plants are protected from trampling by livestock. The upright habit of the plants ensures too that they are less vulnerable to trampling than other species with flat leaves. These are readily damaged by the hooves of grazing animals.

E. ramosum is much rarer than E. paradoxum. It is generally found in localised groups and these may occasionally number over 50 plants. This species only grows in large groups in places where there is a minimum of trampling by livestock. The low growing multi-branched leaf enations are readily damaged by the hooves of grazing animals.

The rarest Eriospermum on the plateau is E. undulatum. These plants have one leaf with short distinctive hairs on the undulate leaf margins as well as on the upper and undersides of the leaf. The plants grow on very rocky hillsides often together with various bulbs such as Brunsvigia herrei and Gethyllis setosa. The species is evidently rare but does not appear to be trampled by livestock owing to the protection afforded to the leaves by surrounding rocks. At one place on the plateau E. undulatum grows together with Eriospermum alicorne, a magnificent species with distinctive multiple irregularly shaped leaf enations. E. alicorne seems always to be found on steep hill slopes in northern Namaqualand and occurs further south in the van Reenen se Water Mountains near Komaggas.

The other Eriospermum which is well represented is Eriospermum villosum occurring in small clumps under shrubs or beside rocks. These plants have blade-like leaves covered in a dense fine silvery pubescence. The species is well distributed in the hills south of Steinkopf up to the Bulletrap Plateau. The plants occur once again in the van Reenen se Water Mountains to the south.

The Eriospermum species on the Bulletrap Plateau occur together with a very rich bulbous and geophytic flora. Most notable amongst the bulbs are Brunsvigia herrei, Haemanthus amarylloides subspecies amarylloides, Gethyllis setosa, Strumaria merxmuelleriana and a Strumaria species that appears to be closely allied to Strumaria karoopoortensis. This last mentioned plant grows in large concentrations around a seasonal pan that fills up with water during the rainy season in the winter.

Eriospermum aphyllum has characteristic large white flowers produced in the early autumn. Cultivated plants, such as this one, produce good amounts of seed via manual cross pollination with cotton buds.

Eriospermum erinum has some of the most distinctive leaves in the genus. These two photographs, taken in different light conditions, show the masses of unusual tubular leaf enations.

ERIOSPERMUM ERINUM IN ITS HABITAT SOUTH OF NIEUWOUDTVILLE IN SOUTHERN NAMAQUALAND.
E. erinum is one of the most unusual species in the genus with masses of densely packed cylindrical leaf enations each with a bristle on top. The plants grow mainly south of Nieuwoudtville particularly around Papkuilsfontein. Quite a lot of the habitat in this area has been destroyed by wheat fields but where the habitat is still intact the plants may be locally common.

Eriospermum erinum has some of the most distinctive leaves in the genus. These two photographs, taken in different light conditions, show the masses of unusual tubular leaf enations.

The leaves emerge very early in the winter after the first good rains have fallen, usually during May. They continue to grow throughout the winter usually dying back with the onset of warmer weather in the spring. In some areas the Eriospermums are mostly road reserve plants particularly where there is a combination of wheat farming and sheep farming. The wheat fields destroy large amounts of habitat and the sheep graze in the restricted areas of karooid veld that surrounds these fields. Many of the Eriospermum leaves are trampled by sheep but those growing in the adjacent road reserves avoid this problem. 

In recent years a single plant of what appears to be E. erinum has been found growing on dolerite derived clayey soil on the summit of the Hantamsberg behind Calvinia. This is some 60 kilometres away as the crow flies, from the habitat near Nieuwoudtville. The Hantamsberg often experiences extremely low sub 0° Celsius temperatures at night in the winter months implying that the tubers can survive very harsh conditions. The occurrence of the species on the summit of the Hantamsberg means that it may be more widespread than formerly thought.

Eriospermum ramosum grows in sunny open places on the plateau west of Bulletrap in northern Namaqualand.

Eriospermum ramosum often grows beside rocks on the plateau west of Bulletrap. Seeds typically lodge against objects such as stones, once they have been liberated, and this is where they germinate.

Eriospermum paradoxum is a short compact plant on the Bulletrap Plateau. This photograph was taken in early August 2009 towards the end of the leafing season. .

ERIOSPERMUM PUSTULATUM IN THE SUTHERLAND AREA OF THE WESTERN KAROO.
E. pustulatum is amongst the most unusual and attractive of all the Eriospermum species. The large rounded leaf is densely covered in small pustules each of which bears a short golden yellow bristle. In the Sutherland area the leaves appear in the winter months from May – September. Little has been recorded of the leafing habits of this species from further east in the central Karoo from where the plants have also been recorded (Perry 1994: 179-180). Much of this region experiences late summer and autumn rainfall and the growing and leafing period is likely to be at this time. At present however there is insufficient research data to confirm the habits of the plants in this region.

A population near Sutherland has been studied for the past few years. The plants are sparsely scattered over the eastern and northern slopes of a gently sloping hillside where they largely grow under karooid shrubs, more rarely amongst large rocks. In these situations they escape trampling by sheep. The large leaves are readily damaged by the hooves of grazing animals. The plants have some of the largest tubers in the genus, usually about 12 cms long and 4 cms wide. These are situated very deep in the thick red dolerite derived clayey soil in which they grow. The tubers are often 25 – 30 cms below the surface of the ground.

The ground in the habitat freezes on many winter nights particularly after rainfall or snowfalls. Snowfalls are regular in June and July, the mid-winter period in the Southern Hemisphere. The deep-seated tubers may be a response the plants have developed to very cold temperatures experienced during the winter growing period.

Most plants in the population consist of old mature tubers with little evidence of regeneration. The reasons for this are not clear but may be related to irregular flowering and seed production. Eriospermum capense, which is commonly found in the same habitat, is abundant frequenting more open areas where the karooid scrub is sparse. The abundance of this species is related to copious seed production and the fact that the relatively small somewhat leathery leaves of this species are not damaged by the hooves of grazing sheep.

E. pustulatum has not been found elsewhere in the general area despite extensive searches. This implies that the distribution of the plants in the Sutherland area is rather erratic. Present indications are that E. pustulatum ranks amongst the rarest of the South African species.

Eriospermum pustulatum leaves produced by plants growing near Sutherland often have a reddish brown tinge. This originates from pigments washed out of the dolerite clayey soil, in which the plants grow, after rainshowers.

An Eriospermum pustulatum leaf photographed a few days after it had emerged from the soil, at the beginning of the new winter growing season.

Eriospermum pustulatum requires large deep pots in cultivation. This terracotta pot is 20 cms deep and 24.5 cms wide at its widest point. The plants are grown in a gravely sandy soil in which they thrive.

Eriospermum pustulatum leaves on plants in cultivation in Johannesburg. This photograph, taken shortly after mid-winter's day in 2010, shows the characteristic greyish green leaves of cultivated plants.

ERIOSPERMUM APHYLLUM NEAR KAROOPOORT IN THE CERES KAROO.
E. aphyllum has a rather wide distribution from the Komaggas area of northern Namaqualand southwards towards Clanwilliam. The plants are also locally plentiful in the Ceres Karoo north of Karoopoort. In this last mentioned area they have been studied for a number of years.

Near Karoopoort the plants grow in barren clayey soil on open ground between rocks and low karooid shrubs. They share their habitat with a rich bulbous and geophytic flora including species in the following genera: Brunsvigia, Bulbine, Gethyllis, Othonna and Pelargonium. E. aphyllum flower in March and April producing large amounts of seed over a period of several weeks. The seeds are blown around in the wind and often land up wedged between small stones in stony areas. Germination is rapid, usually within a few days after the first winter rains fall. The early winter temperatures are ideal for the growth and development of the seedling plants.

E. aphyllum avoids areas with numerous shrubs since the plants require strong sunlight throughout the day in which to thrive. The tough wiry stems are not easily damaged by the hooves of sheep which are farmed in large numbers in the Karoopoort area. The fact that the plants thrive in open barren areas which are regularly grazed, accounts for their success and abundance.

Gethyllis setosa has very attractive and unusual leaves covered in prominent white bristles. These plants were photographed in their habitat on the Bulletrap Plateau close to a small colony of Eriospermum ramosum.

REFERENCE.
Pauline L. Perry. A Revision of the Genus Eriospermum.
Contributions from the Bolus Herbarium, University of Cape Town, Number 17, October 1994.