Upcoming long-term (succulent !) project in South Africa

[FlorentG]

Hello everyone,

I'm about to leave for South-Africa for a duration of five months, for an exciting new (long-term) project on south-african succulents !
There, I will spend most of my time doing fieldwork focused on succulent plants, for both science and popular-science purposes.

What is it all about ?

First, I will conduct research focusing on succulent plant species (among others : Pelargoniums and Conophytums), to study how interactions between plants and their pollinators can lead to the evolution of floral traits (such as flower color, shape, flowering time, etc.). This project is a preparation to my PhD studies which will begin in just one year.

Second, I will carry out a popular-science project which will eventually lead to the publication of a book, tentatively entitled "Secrets of Cape Succulents", which will be released in August 2016. It is aimed at recounting interesting aspects of the life of south-african succulents, such as survival and reproductive strategies. I will give more details about the book soon, as I am planning to launch pre-sales soon.

If you want to follow me on my adventure, I will give regular reports on my progress on a specially-created bilingual Facebook page : https://www.facebook.com/cap.succulentes?fref=ts

You can also follow me on this twitter account :
@Cap_Succulentes

I will also launch a dedicated website, and I'll let you know as soon as its ready.

Cheers !

Florent

And while I'm here, a few photos.


Conophytum comptonii


Euphorbia aff. pseudoglobosa


Conophytum pagae


Tritoniopsis sp.


The Rosyntjiesberg mountain range, viewed from the Oemsberg !

[JaneO]

Hi,
How exciting! What a wonderful adventure to combine something you love with educational background. Have fun and look forward to updates as you travel. I love South Africa, except the Mosquitos. I hate the flies. Good luck.

[FlorentG]

Well, my pollination project involves blood-sucking flies !

[AnTTun]

Good luck with projects Florent. And stay away from 'Gangsta's paradise' down there

[FlorentG]

Western Cape and Namaqualand are pretty quiet parts of the country

[BrianMc]

I wish you every success and look forward to regular reports

[Apicra]

Yes, good luck with your ambitious projects. It would be really good to have a book about the ecology of succulents. Perhaps with some of the content of the text-book Wilert et al. but with the coffee-table presentation of Cowling & Pierce's Namaqualand book. It should say something about stem-succulent cacti as well, since that is what interests most growers across Europe.

Best wishes,
Derek Tribble

[FlorentG]

Thank you Derek,

Yes, that's the idea, although the Von Willerts book seems to be very focused on interactions between plants and their abiotic environment (lots of ecophysiology, climate). I think that biotic interactions (pollination, herbivory, parasitism, deception, etc.) should receive more attention and I am planning to dwell quite a bit on these considerations.

What is more fabulous and appealing than a Haworthia being assaulted by a couple of nectar-thirsty fuzzy flies ?

[iann]

Looks like a fascinating prospect. It always fascinates me to see huge English bumblebees dangling from those insignificant Haworthia flowers. There must be something special in there

[Apicra]

Yes, superb photo! Were you extremely patient and lucky, or did you use a camera motion-sensor?

Derek