Guests at Russel Allen Garden Day broaden knowledge and skills
Part two: Botanical treasures of South Africa with Jim Struebing

 

[March 11, 2019] 

LINCOLN 

The third breakout in the second hour was led by Jim Struebing of New Holland. Struebing has a Bachelor in Education with a major in botany and a minor in zoology. Struebing is a former business owner in New Holland having been part owner of the farm equipment dealership in that community. He is involved with the Logan County Master Naturalist program and enjoys traveling. Struebing has traveled to many foreign countries and enjoys observing what nature has to offer in those faraway lands.

On Saturday, Struebing shared stories and photos from his trip to South Africa. The 17-day trip included 15 days with feet on the ground all through South Africa. Struebing spoke about the numerous regions within South Africa and gave examples of how the regions differ in their native plant life.

Guests were so engrossed in the program that the scheduled 45-minute session flew by.

Struebing explained that the trip included visits to each region. Most notable he said was the change in nature within the various regions. He showed slides of the agricultural areas within South Africa as well as the mountainous and the lush “Cape” regions that host a wide variety of the more tropical style flora. Photos included wildlife in the region many roads the group traveled sported beautiful flowering plants like Bottlebrush along the shoulders.

Some of the interesting points Struebing brought up included the fact that there are plants within the South Africa region that are actually the ancestors to plants we enjoy and know very well right in central Illinois. Examples of this are the Iris, geranium and the gladiola. While some don’t look much like the plants we enjoy here at home, there are still some similarities that Struebing was able to point out to the audience. The Iris and gladiola are members of the geophyte’s vegetation type in South Africa are in the Iridaceae and Gladiolus plant families respectively.

There are also many succulent varieties growing on the terrain in regions of South Africa. In his photos, Struebing showed several of these succulents and those who had attended the earlier workshop by Culver instantly noticed the similarities between what Struebing saw in Africa and what Culver grows here in Illinois.

In South Africa, geraniums are a member of Pelargonium plant family and grow in the wild as shrubs.

Another interesting plant that grows in the region is part of the Baobabs family. These large succulent plants grow as tall as trees but then host very large “trunks” for water storage. These plants are often referred to as “plumps” because their trunks or bases are disproportionately larger than the foliage at their tops.

A humorous section of Struebing’s slideshow was the pictures he presented on the stone plants. Struebing explained that the stone plants grow very small and close to the ground on rocky terrain. Walking across such terrain, one can easily miss the fact he or she is walking on and crushing the tiny plants. Great care has to be taken when exploring and seeking out those plants.

Struebing showed some pictures of odd little objects that looked like something out of a science fiction-other-world movie. Then he brought everything into perspective as he noted one tiny little stone plant and said that the favorite nickname for the plant was “baby bottom.” Sure enough, when thinking of that name, one can easily see the “cheeks” of the tiny tot peeking out of a diaper.

One of the perils to plants in South Africa is the wildlife, particularly elephants. Struebing showed photos of trees where that the bark and much of the tree trunk have been completely destroyed. He explained that this is being done by the elephants as they search for food and moisture. He explained that in some parts of the country it is so arid that there is no water and plant life dies quickly. In searching for their nourishment, the elephants eat the trees.

Struebing also talked about the many parks and botanical garden areas throughout South Africa and shared photos of gardens and nature reserves that had been included in the tour. He reported that sadly on the day they visited Table Mountain it was sleeting. The only way to the top of the mountain is via a tram that goes almost straight up. The tram was shut down because of the sleet, so he did not get to make the trip to the top.

Struebing also shared that because South Africa is below the equator, there is a reversal in the seasons. So, while he was there, it was South Africa’s early spring, similar to our late March. There were several chilly days, even icy temperatures and precipitation.

As Struebing concluded his talk, he included a couple of slides showing the “townships” that exist in South Africa. He explained that there is a dramatic separation of races. Though “apartheid” officially no longer exists in South Africa, Struebing said it is still in practice through racial segregation and separation. He noted there are three racial classes – whites, coloreds, and blacks. To differentiate, he said that those called “coloreds” are those of mixed race. Those belonging to the black race are still living in segregated ‘townships’ under deplorable conditions. He noted that the township his group visited held 7,000 people. They lived in small shacks made from discarded lumber, cardboard, old billboards and other scrap materials. There was only walking space between the dwellings, and shared outhouses were their only source of human waste disposal. That particular township he said had a total of ten public water hydrants for the total population.

Struebing said that the “Mandella Houses” (named after Nelson Mandella) that were built to assist these people had been very slow catching on because, while the government had provided a suitable home structure, those who were intended to occupy the structures did not have the furnishings they needed to live in actual homes. Over time, that is changing and the houses are being utilized, but he said there is still much to be done to improve the living conditions of the ‘black’ race in South Africa.

He finished saying that finishing that particular tour and returning to a very nice hotel room overlooking the South Africa coast, which is absolutely beautiful, it was somewhat disturbing to think that just a few miles away people were living in such terrible poverty.

While Struebing could have probably talked longer, and his guests could have listened as intently as they did in the first few minutes, the 45 minute session came to an end, running over by only a couple of minutes. Everyone then moved on to the last hour of the day featuring the keynote speaker Dr. Julia Ossler of Lincoln College.

[Nila Smith]