Updates from Sachin’s fieldwork

Sachin proving once again that fieldwork-shaggy is the new cool. [cropped picture from here]

Sachin is doing fieldwork in the Cape and the Swartland Botanics aficionados did not miss it. Here is what they wrote on their Facebook page:

Some fascinating research being conducted in our very special Swartland renosterveld remnants at the moment: University of KwaZulu-Natal Masters student Sachin Doarsamy is studying the genus Wurmbea (Colchicaceae family). This is an interesting genus of geophytic plants, with 21 species distributed from the Western Cape up into KZN, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and further north into Africa. Sachin visited a patch of Critically Endangered Swartland Shale Renosterveld near Riebeek-West and set up some apparatus to collect the scent emitted from a population of Wurmbea elongata. The plants were bagged, and a pump which was attached to a tube sucked the scent out of the air inside the bag as it was released by the flowers. The scent was then stored and taken back to the lab where its chemistry will be analysed. Sachin is doing this for all 21 species and the various floral forms that exist within each species. This study will reveal how simple or complex the scent chemistry is, and validate claims in the literature (which seem to be false) that the flowers often emit an unpleasant odour. Sachin is also doing pollination experiments to see if they cross- or self-pollinate. We look forward to seeing the results as they emerge! #Renosterveld #Swartland #Wurmbea #Science #Pollination