African Wildlife & Environment Issue 78

FAUNA, FLORA & WILDLIFE

There is also a series of SAPPI Tree Spotting guides that adopted a unique approach to tree identification to assist enthusiasts to identify the most common trees regionally. For the purists, there are the increasing number of volumes in the Flora of

range in focus and depth from simple ones aimed at children, to massive tomes that are as comprehensive as possible (some are in several editions, each one larger than the last!). We also have books dedicated to one genus, to one geographic region, and others

This large specimen of what is now Vachellia erioloba (old name Acacia erioloba), the Camelthorn with a Social weaver’s nest is an iconic Kalahari tree.

South Africa compiled by specialists, either employed by SANBI or from other botanical research institutes such as our own universities, Kew, Missouri Botanical Gardens, or Germany, who bring the taxonomy of our flora up to date in very turgid scientific terms. Finally, there is an international group of plant scientists that have come together and published updates on the relationships of the world’s flora, called the Angiosperm Phylogenetic Group or

that endeavour to include all the trees, shrubs and climbers in South Africa. Today there are also a number of Tree Apps, and you can also identify trees and other plants using Google - by taking a photograph of the tree, or part of the tree, and then comparing this to available data bases, and of course there is an excellent Facebook site Trees in Africa (TiA) and even iNaturalist.

19 | African Wildlife & Environment | Issue 78 (2021)