[imagesource: Haakdoorn Nursery]

We all want to do our bit for the environment, which is why the ‘Spekboom Challenge’ took off earlier in the year.

The plant is said to be great at offsetting carbon emissions, as well as a number of other environmental benefits, but it’s important that some factors are considered by those looking to make a difference.

Elzanne Singels, a PhD candidate at the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Archaeology Department, drew attention to a few of these in a Facebook post earlier in the week, when she spoke about ‘Spekboom Mayhem’

You can read the Facebook post in full here, but we’ll pop a screenshot below:

The Facebook post references this picture:

As Singels points out, planting spekboom where appropriate is a good thing, but it’s not going to solve the larger issues in play by itself.

After her post was widely shared, the PhD candidate spoke with CapeTalk’s Lester Kiewit, and answered a few pressing questions.

Here’s that interview:

If you’re pressed for time, some quotes:

“In its natural habitat, under drought stress, it is better than most plants to take carbon out of the atmosphere… [but] you would have to plant rugby- and rugby- and rugby-fields just to off-set one person’s carbon footprint.

Additionally, nursery stock has been bred into different strains, so there are about four or five different strains available in nurseries. That stock is not identical to wild populations, and not all wild populations are identical.

I was so glad when the challenge started; I’m just very disheartened at seeing possible genetic pollution and even invasion.”

In other words, as Singels says towards the bottom of her Facebook post, plant spekboom in your garden by all means, but do not plant it in natural veld, because you could endanger our fragile Cape Floral Kingdom.

Now you know.

[sources:facebook&capetalk]