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By Amy Grundling Portulacaria afra, or otherwise known as the Spekboom, is an indigenous South African succulent plant. It has bright green small, round leaves with a red stem, creating a refreshing appearance. The average Spekboom usually grows 1.5-2m in hight. The natural habitat of the Spekboon is warm, arid and semi-arid areas, especially renown in parts of South Africa such as Ado Elephant Park and the town of Prince Albert. The Spekboom is increasingly drawing attention for its unique characteristics and various uses. One of the most important characteristics is that the succulent is effective in carbon sequestration. By absorbing free carbon for tissue growth, the succulent decreases the amount of pollution caused by the burning of fossil fuels, acting as a carbon sink. Spekbome is an ideal shrub to plant in a water scarce country such as South Africa. The succulent is a drought-resistant plant, which can survive on 250-350mm of water per year. Spekboom is easily propagated, which makes it an ideal plant to plant in your garden without spending money. The following steps will show you how to propagate your own Spekboom: Step 1: What you will need.  You will need the following list of products
Step 2: Select and prepare Spekboom cuttings.  Select a few healthy cuttings from a vigorous Spekboom, preferable in late spring. The ideal cutting should be between 10 and 15 cm in length. Look for vigorous branches with thick and healthy leaves. Make a 45° angle cut and remove the leaves at the end of the cutting. Step 3: Dip the cutting in root growth hormones.  Moisten and dip the end of the cutting in a root growth hormone that will stimulate root growth. This step is not necessary, although it will increase the speed of the cutting’s root growth. Step 4: Prepare a rooting pot.  Prepare a rooting pot that have several drainage holes at the bottom. Fill the pot with succulent potting mix or your own mixture of course and standard potting soil. Insert the Spekboom cutting into the soil and press lightly around the stem. Step 5: Water the cutting.  Lastly, water the cutting and allow the soil to drain thoroughly. Step 6: Watch it grow!  Place the potted cutting in indirect sunlight for at least five hours a day and apply water once a week. Rooting will take place within 14 to 20 days.
For more information, please visit the South African National Biodiversity Institute website: http://pza.sanbi.org/portulacaria-afra.
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By Renée Grundling  World Wetlands Day was celebrated on the 2nd of February, an annual day to celebrate the Ramsar Convention signed at Ramsar, Iran in 1971. South Africa was one of the first countries globally to sign the treaty. This year's theme is 'Wetlands and Biodiversity'. There are currently more than 2300 designated Ramsar Sites, sites of international importance, all across the world. The above photo is one of the newest Ramsar Sites (no.2385), officially declared in September, 2019, and can be found in the Kgaswane Mountain Reserve, Rustenburg, South Africa. This wetland system is situated on a plateau in the Magaliesberg mountain range and has a variety of special characteristics including peat. For more information go to https://whc.unesco.org/en/ramsar/. In the following video, Dr. Piet-Louis Grundling discusses the importance of Wetlands: |
