It was my first participation in a tree outings organized by the Tree Enthusiast Working Group, and I didn’t quite know what to expect. I am glad to let you know that I found it a resounding success! The trees in KZN North are often considered very difficult to identify, partly due to the enormous variety of species we get here, and partly because of the fact that many of them are the almost non-descript single leaf species. Now what is the best way to learn trees? No, it is not going out with a good tree book yourself… Yes, it is true that any tree fully keyed out by yourself is likely to get stuck in your memory, but this process is just too time consuming and for that reason alone few people/guides even try. And how often do you key out a tree and then come to the conclusion that you are ‘not sure’ if you keyed it out correctly? No, a better way to learn trees is to get taught by an expert, and then go over those newly learned trees over and over again. You avoid the risk of memorizing mis-identified trees, it is much quicker and if you do if with a group of people it is a lot more fun too. And this is exactly what how the tree outings are conducted. Dr. Du Randt is a true tree expert, not only able to identify every tree on sight, but also able to explain and point out WHY it is that tree. In other words, being able to explain where to look for to come to a definitive conclusion as to what tree it is. Another great aspect of his teaching is that he works toward a genus first, and then suggests you look in a book to work out which individual species it is. You see a tree/shrub that looks a bit like a Croton? Just check if it has two small glands where the petiole joins the leaf, and you know it for certain. Then just check in the book which one of the 7 Crotons it is. Oh, you see 4 winged pods? Check whether the leaves are alternate and whether the veins below are prominent and you can be pretty sure you are looking at a Combretum. Now just look in the book again to see which one you are looking at. Being able to work with trees in such a way is much quicker than to key a plant out from the beginning.
Dr. Du Randt likes repetition, and throughout the 2 hours excursions he keeps on asking the things he taught that day before, to ensure it gets stuck in your head. He also ‘only’ does about 20-25 trees at a day, as he realizes that that is about the maximum you can learn and process in a day. Then you get a month or so to practice these before the next tree outing.
All in all, I found it a fun and very valuable learning experience, and will definitely attend again. And I would advise any guide in the region that wants to know his/her trees a bit better to come and join us next time. Just look at the agenda for dates/places.
An overview of trees we did on the 9th of April.
1. Grewia microthyrsa Sand raisin
2. Croton steenkampianus Maputaland croton
3. Hymenocardia ulmoides Red heart tree
4. Pteleopsis myrtifolia Stink bushwillow
5. Cleistanthus schlechteri False Tamboti
6. Newtonia hilderbrandtii Lebombo wattle
7. Rhipsalis baccifera Epiphyte
8. Albizia adianthifolia Flat crown albizia
9. Vangueria randii Coast wild medlar
10. Strelitzia nicolai Natal Wild banana
11. Ficus tremula Tremble leaf fig
12. Trichilia emetica Natal mahogany
13. Tabernaemontana elegans Toad tree
14. Haplocoelum foliolosum Galla plum
15. Trema orientalis Pigeonwood
16. Vitex ferruginea Plum finger leaf
17. Combretum mkuzense Maputoland bushwillow
18. Strychnos henningsii Natal Teak
19. Acacia sieberiana Paperbark thorn
20. Cereus jamacaru Queen of the night
21. Brachylaena discolor Coast silver oak
22. Antidesma venosum Tassel-berry
23. Sclerocroton integerrimum Duiker-berry
24. Vangueria infausta Velvet wild-medlar
It was a great productive outing…we added 9 new species to the accumulative list collected since starting the dendrologists outings in 2010.
