If you are driving in the
Keetmanshoop district of
Namibia you'll see quiver trees on many of the hill sides, but a
short detour to the Quiver Tree Forest that is situated on Farm
Gariganus 157 will make for some excellent photographs of a 'tree
with a difference'.
Simon van der Stel (1639-1712) who served as Governor
of the Cape Colony from 1679 to 1699 was a great explorer and the
first European to record the Quiver Tree whilst
prospecting for copper in Namaqualand, North Western Cape in 1685.
The expedition's artist Hendrik Clauduis made sketches of the tree.
The English artist, explorer, cartographer (John)
Thomas Baines
(1822 - 1875) whilst trekking from
Walvis Bay to Otjimbingwe in
April 1861 made sketches of the Quiver Tree and named it, 'The Great
Aloe Tree Of Damaraland'. He wrote of his first sighting of
the tree, "Indeed, at the risk of incurring
the reader's contempt, I confess I can never quite get over the
feeling that the wonderful products of nature are objects to be
admired, rather than destroyed."
The Quiver Tree is only naturally found in the
North Western Cape and Southern Namibia running up into Damaraland.
The Quiver Tree (Kokerboom in Afrikaans) is not
really a tree, but a plant, being the Aloe dichotoma. The 'trees'
are normally seen standing singly, in very arid and rocky areas, and they are
usually found on rocky north-facing hills. It is quite unusual to
see them grouped 'forest-like' as can be seen on the Farm Gariganus
157.
The Quiver Tree can grow to between 200 and 300 years
old, reach about 9metres in height and have a base diameter of about
1 metre. The Quiver Tree trunk is tapered and covered with a rich
brown yellow patterned bark that flakes off giving a scaly
effect to the trunk. The edges of these scales can be quite sharp,
so be careful if you intend to run your hands over them. The core of
the trunk is mainly fibrous which allows for water storage. Older
Quiver Trees bristle with a profusion of branches that are silver in
appearance. The tree branches exudes fine droplets of a liquid that
when dried leaves behind a silver talcum like powder that helps to
reflect the sharp light. A natural sun-screen that also helps the
tree to keep cooler.
