I know the tone is a little dark, but the acorn had weevils.

Given that the other members of the section Calpidisca mainly occur in Africa (U. arenaria is also present in Asia), it seems reasonable to me that U. livida probably originated in Africa as well. Oddly, U. pubescens (section Lloydia) has a similar range.

I am not aware of any genetic studies, past or present, to confirm the origin and timing of a likely dispersal event.

In Peter Taylor’s monograph, he states, “This distribution is, of course, of very great interest and I have failed to discover any other plant species with a similar range” (Taylor, 1989).

This individual does not yet have peltate leaves, but it seems to be nearly there.

Due (mainly) to poaching, in addition to droughts and wildfires, existing populations of N. clipeata are under immense pressure. There are currently both in situ and ex situ conservation projects to protect this sp.

It’s always a special treat when they do. I still haven’t figured out how to persuade them to flower reliably.