BOTSOC NEWS MARCH 2004

Green greetings to all plant enthusiasts

I cannot but be enthusiastic about the green round about and I have gone as far as collecting grass seeds for my garden next year! A trip to Swakopmund took much more time than anticipated for all the stops to enjoy the superabundance in the country side. Enjoy the beauty of Namibian nature while the going is good!

Just to remind you of your CAPP (Core of Active Plant People - in short, the committee) for 2003/2004:

Chairperson - Luise Hofmann
Vice chairperson - Kurt Schlenther
Secretary - Ellen Gudde
Treasurer - Diana Thompson
NBRI liaison - Gillian Maggs-Kolling
Publicity - still vacant (any offers?)
Member's secretary - Bertchen Kohrs
Botgarden liaison and refreshments - Silke Bartsch
Newsletter - Ellen Gudde and Luise Hofmann

MONTHLY TALKS:

Esmerialda Klaassen from NBRI gave a very interesting talk on "Daisies in Namibia" at the beginning of this month and I was amazed to learn that we have 409 species of daisies, of which 69 are endemic, in this country. Most of them are evergreen shrubs and very ornamental, which is definitely something to consider for our indigenous gardens. Please contact Esmerelda should you wish to find out more. On behalf of Botsoc I wish to thank Esmerelda sincerely for sharing her interesting research with us.

We have planned the following talks of interest for the next few months.

All talks will take place in the NBRI Lecture Hall at 19:30 (summer) and 19h00 (winter).

25 March - a talk on Nepal by Lisa Burmeister

06 May - Sonja Schubert, Technician with the National Herbarium, will speak on "Poisounous Plants in Namibia".

July - Barbara Curtis on the subject she does best! Trees in Namibia and/or Madagascar.

We trust that you will enjoy these topics and look forward to seeing you at the meeting.

The talks are free of charge. Refreshments will be served and a small donation to cover costs will be most appreciated.

GARDEN WALKS

The early morning walk on 6 March was enjoyed by many. The interest was so enormous that Luise jumped in at the last minute and took a group interested in trees and shrubs while Hartmut showed the rest of us the grasses of the garden. We looked at some odd 30 grass species, which left me as confused as ever!

I should like to thank both Hartmut and Luise most sincerely for sharing their vast knowledge with us.

The Botanical Garden looks magnificent owing partly to the good rains but much more to the excellent care. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Silke Bartsch and her team for her excellent work in keeping the Botanical Garden a joy to visit. Please feel free to visit the garden, which is open during office hours. Please contact the NBRI office in this regard.

The next Garden Walks are planned for:

3 April with Benjamin Strohbach/ Luise Hoffmann at 08h00 (due to the imminent changeover to winter time)

8 May with Kurt Schlenther at 07h00 (winter time)

A nominal entry fee of N$10 will be charged for conducted Garden walks.

OUTINGS:

The following outings are planned

Please contact the leaders early should you wish to join any of the excursions, as unfortunately, numbers will have to be restricted.

April 19 - 12 A visit to the Otavi Mountains with Luise Hoffmann and Kurt Schlenther as leaders. This excursion will visit farms Uisib, Gaub and Auros.

May 20 - 24 A week-end in the Erongo Mountains – come along and help Barbara Curtis find the elusive Trema orientalis. The farms Ameib, Etemba, Bergsig and Kransberg will be included in the itinerary. Please contact Barbara Curtis or Kurt Schlenther in this regard.

TREES ALONG MANDUME NDEMUFAYO AVE BETWEEN ACADEMIA AND PIONIERSPARK

Coming from town and having crossed the bridge over the railwayline on the strip between the two lanes there are Peltophorum africanum or omuparara with leaves similar to those of Jacaranda and now covered in pods. In nature this tree occurs from about Otavi northwards.
Following these there is Combretum erythrophleum or river bushwillow which is a South African species. It has the typical fourwinged fruit of Combretum. Watch it for lovely autumn colours.
The next section is planted with Acacia galpinii or apiesdoring with hooked thorns and straight pods, followed by Acacia sieberiana or the paperbark thorn with paired straight thorns and a typically spreading flat crown. This acacia occurs naturally along the northern border of Namibia. The other two species are South African natives that do very well in Namibia. The Municipality is to be highly praised for planting all these trees and many others along the main throughfares in Windhoek.
On either side of this highway therre are many indigenous trees, mainly acacias such as A. karroo or soetdoring now heavy with sickle-shaped pods, A. reficiens with straight pods, a few A. tortilis or umbrella thorn trees with curled pods, as well as many A. mellifera subsp detinens, better known as swarthaak, with paired hooked thorns and almost round leaflets.
Then there are a few Albizia anthelminitca or wormcure albizias to be recognised by the leaves which are very similar to those of the swarthaak. However, the wormcure albizia has no thorns! Lastly we find a few quite young Boscia albitrunca or shepherd trees along that road. They have narrow leathery leaves and a yellowish bark, whitish on some.
Happy tree-spotting! Luise

BOTSOC'S OWN POSTAL BOX

The Botanical Society has acquired its own Post Office Box:
P.O. Box 11531, Klein Windhoek.

Please feel free to use it for your correspondence and membership application. Please do not include cash with your application.

WEBPAGE

Our website address is the following:
"http://www.biodiversity.org.na/society/botsoc/botsoc-intro.php"

John writes: “Comments, suggestions, criticism welcome! I'd like to invite everybody to write and send whatever you want and I'll add it to the site. There is literally *no limit* to what the Botanical Society can put there: photos, articles, newsletters, identification keys, news items, advertisements, event notifications, things published elsewhere, anything you can think of can go up there. It's your corner of cyberspace. Please fill it. And to all readers: please visit the website!"

GOODIES FOR SALE.

Botsoc shopping bags are still availabe. Please contact Bertchen Kohrs.
A variety of books on flora are on sale at the monthly talks.
A few copies of "Veld and Flora" are for sale at 20N$. Please contact Gillian.

VELD AND FLORA

The Botanical Society of Namibia is affiliated to the Botanical Society of South Africa. The magazine "Veld and Flora" as well as free entry to South African Botanical Gardens form part of the membership benefits. "Veld and Flora" is kept in the NBRI library for all to read. Should you wish to make use of the membership card for a trip to South African Botanical gardens please see Gillian.

SUBSCRIPTION FEES

Please be reminded to update your subscriptions as soon as possible. Membership is N$50 for individuals, N$80 for families and N$10 for students and covers the period from the AGM (September) 2003 - the AGM (September) 2004. Bertchen and Jeanne handle the membership fees of Botsoc and are the persons to contact.

Enjoy the green veld and the long weekends and if you are travelling or otherwise, please take care.

With kind regards

Ellen Gudde stpc.ge@mweb.na
Tel: 228815

and

Luise Hofmann luisehof@mweb.na
Tel: 239415

and

THE CORE OF ACTIVE PLANT PEOPLE (CAPP)

Kurt Schlenther (275300) capella@iafrica.com.na
Diana Thompson raftom@mweb.com.na
Barbara Curtis (202-2021) treeatl@mweb.com.na
John Irish (2022040) jirish@mweb.com.na
Silke Bartsch (202 2014) silker@mweb.com.na
Bertchen Kohrs earthl@iway.na
Jeanne Scott jeanne@mweb.com.na
Gillian Maggs-Koelling (2022020) gmk@mweb.com.na
Edna Mohrmann edna@matitisafaris.com