Tubers and bulbs as an adaptive strategy in the Kalahari

Abstract

Many plant groups which grow as shrubs, vines and trees elsewhere appear as geophytes in Botswana. This is an adaptation to the Kalahari which has deep sands, little surface water and periodic wildfires. This adaptation is found in numerous unrelated plant families, e.g. in the Cucurbitaceae, Passifloraceae, Vitaceae, Pedaliaceae, Leguminosae, Apocynaceae