A Unique Species: Fairy Elephant's Feet
There are quite a few interesting and unique species that exist in this vast world of ours, and some of these intriguing individuals are rarely noticed and often missed; hidden gems.
One such species is the Fairy Elephant's Feet, scientifically known as the Frithia humilis. This extraordinary plant is only found at a few places on Earth, and is one of the rare beauties hidden on the surface of our planet. This plant likes to grow in isolated rocky areas on hillsides where there aren’t really any grasses growing in between them.
These unique plants grow very close to the surface of the ground and do not have stems above ground. They bloom in the summer seasons, displaying beautiful white and yellow flowers just above the soil. During the winter months the Fairy Elephant's Feet retract underground lying dormant on the surface. These plants grow in congregations in a specific area, and are situated not too far apart from one another as they have the same habitat requirements that are only found in that particular area. When the plants are not flowering but slowly becoming active they appear to be a small bud greyish in colour on the rock outcrop's surface.
These plants are easily missed, and people often think they are part of the rock, as they all grow in close proximity. This results in people that enter the area stepping on them without any notice, and unfortunately killing the plant. When the plants are flowering they are easily identified on the surface as they are quite unique with their beautiful flower heads.
The Fairy Elephant’s Feet plant population is very important as the plant is rare and endangered. Therefore it is of utmost importance to monitor plant populations of this species. Long term monitoring is important for all endangered species since it allows scientists to pick up problems and make conservation decisions quickly in case the problem threatens to wipe out the species. The monitoring also shows the success rate of the plant in the area and the associated habitat in which it has established itself.
Did You know? The Frithia humilis is an endangered species and thus it falls under the Endangered Species Act. The Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973 (as amended in 1988). There are only a few places in the world where these plants occur and one such place is the protected site on Ezemvelo Nature Reserve just outside Bronkhorstspruit in Gauteng. The monitoring of this particular plant population is important because it is the largest and healthiest Frithia humilis population that is known of.
