When we think of tree, we always picture them as above-ground plants, with roots below ground. As a National Geographic Expeditions survey shows, however, trees take many forms.
Two new tree species were discovered in the sandy soil of the Kalahari desert of Angola, in Southwest Africa. One in particular, Cochlospermum adjanyae, belongs to a genus of around 16 different types of trees.
In this instance, the yellow-flowered tree lives almost entirely underground, with just small leaves and flowers above ground. That means nearly the entire woody structure is located under the surface.
Named after Adjany Costa, who is an Angolan biologist and conservationist who won the UN Young Champions of the Earth Africa in 2019.
Learn more on IFL Science.
Images © Steve Boyes and © David Goyder.
While it looks like a flowering shrub, it’s fascinating to think of this flower being ‘the tip of the iceberg’ for the tree, which safely lives below the hot, sandy surface of the ground.
Just discovered and classified in 2023, it proves we’re still learning about amazing plants and animals on earth all the time.
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