The Bulb!

Over the past few days, we took a break from our above-ground vegetation measurements to pursue a below-ground side project. In the corner of one of our vegetation plots, Professor Thoralf pointed out two small vines and suggested that we dig out their root. 

The vines belong to the Marama Bean (Tylosema esculentum). This species is found across the Kalahari desert and develops a large underground root, known as a tuber or bulb. These tubers have been known to grow up to 300 kilograms in size (!), and we quickly found out that excavating the root would be more of an undertaking than the small vines suggested.

The tuber of the Marama Bean has been found to contain approximately 80% water by weight, providing an important source of water for ungulates (hoofed animals) of the dry Kalahari. We plan to weigh our tuber tomorrow and will report back here. 

On our way to unearth the tuber.

The small vines of the Marama bean were hiding a lot underground.

While digging we found a centipede in our pit. Our guide Daryl carefully removed it and placed it on the other side of our plot.

 Taking a well-deserved break around the tuber.

After several mornings of digging, Mike, Jack, and Alec finally hoist the bulb out of the ground.

The bulb is now proudly displayed in our campground (soccer ball for scale).