Clouds

The umbrella acacia (Vachellia tortilis), previously known as Acacia tortilis, was named due to the shape of the crown, which is often broad and curved like an umbrella. It is a very widespread and common tree, to 20 m tall, distributed in the entire northern Africa, southwards to Senegal and Chad, and in a broad belt from Egypt southwards through eastern Africa to South Africa and southern Namibia. It also occurs in the Middle East, from Syria southwards through the entire Arabian Peninsula.

Previously, it was thought that 4 acacia species occurred in this vast area, but research has shown that they are all subspecies of V. tortilis. (Source: fao.org/3/Q2934E)

Other species of acacia are described on the page In praise of the colour yellow.

The umbrella acacia is very common on the East African savanna. These pictures are from Serengeti National Park, Tanzania (upper 3), and Masai Mara National Park, Kenya. (Photos copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Euphorbia candelabrum is a succulent, tree-like species of spurge, usually growing to about 10 m tall, occasionally to 20 m. It is endemic to eastern Africa around the African Horn and along the Great Rift Valley, growing in dry wooded grasslands and on rocky slopes up to an elevation of about 2,200 m.

The specific name alludes to its shape, which resembles a candelabrum, giving rise to the popular name candelabra tree.

A close-up of this plant is shown on the page Silhouettes.

Strange cloud formation around the peak of Machhapuchhare (6993 m), seen from the Modi Khola Valley, Annapurna, Nepal. The tree is a Nepalese alder (Alnus nepalensis). (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Kopjes are isolated rocky outcrops, which, somewhat wantonly, pierce the African savanna here and there. Incidentally, they are the remains of ancient, eroded mountains. To the Boer, when they migrated to southern Africa in the 1700s, these outcrops resembled bald heads, so they named them kopjes (‘heads’ in Dutch).

A snow-white stupa is dimmed by evaporating morning clouds, near Haputale, Sri Lanka. Stupas and other aspects of Buddhism are described in depth on the page Religion: Buddhism. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Adam’s Peak (2243 m) is a mountain in south-western Sri Lanka, sacred to followers of three religions. In a rock on the summit is a depression, shaped like a footprint. Christians and Muslims alike maintain that Adam made this footprint, when he and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden after The Fall. Buddhists claim that the Buddha made the footprint when he, according to legend, visited Sri Lanka.

The place of origin of the coconut palm (Cocos nucifera) is unknown, and today it is found everywhere along tropical coasts, in some areas also inland. This species is utilized for countless purposes. Oil from the nuts, and also dried copra, is used in cooking and in lamps. Mats, weaved from the leaves, are used as walls and roofs in houses, and mats and rope are produced from the fibres in the husk. Charcoal is made from the shells, and the trunk is utilized as timber and firewood.

Schrenk’s spruce (Picea schrenkiana) can grow to a large tree, to 50 m tall and with a trunk diameter up to 2 m. It is restricted to the Tien Shan Mountains in Xinjiang, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, usually forming pure forests at altitudes between 1,200 and 3,500 m. Two subspecies are found, schrenkiana in Kazakhstan and Xinjiang, and tianshanica in Kyrgyzstan.

It was named in honour of Baltic-German naturalist Alexander von Schrenk (1816-1876), known for his expeditions to Central Asia and northern Russia, and author of Reise nach dem Nordosten des europäischen Rußlands, durch die Tundren der Samojeden, zum arktischen Uralgebirge (1848).

Monsoon clouds in a coniferous forest with blue pine (Pinus wallichiana), Himalayan cedar (Cedrus deodara), and a species of fir (Abies), Manali, Himachal Pradesh, India. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Evening clouds around Mount Kinabalu (4095 m), Sabah, Borneo, the tallest mountain in Malaysia. It is described in depth on the page Travel episodes – Borneo 1985: A hike up Gunung Kinabalu. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)