May, 1942 
The Queensland Naturalist 
27 
which close in mid-afternoon and open again next morn- 
ing. 
An inhabitant of the Kalahari Desert of South-west 
Africa is the very curious W elwitschia, or Tumboa , as it 
has frequently been called. This unique plant has a stout 
stem nearly buried in the soil, shaped like a huge turnip 
partly split in two, with two long, flat, leathery leaves 
trailing over the ground. The plant is known to live for 
at least a century, and during all that time the two leaves 
never die, but continue to grow from the base as the ends 
are worn away. 
Some plants make provision for the long, dry periods 
in another way. As the amount of moisture in the soil 
becomes very small the leaves drop off, the small branches 
die away, and sometimes even all the parts which are 
above ground die away, leaving only the base of the plant 
and the roots to remain alive until more favourable con- 
ditions return. In some cases it has been found that even 
some of the roots drop off also. Other plants escape the 
driest conditions altogether by growing only after rain, 
rapidly producing their flowers and seeds, and then dying 
away entirely, leaving their seeds behind to carry on when 
the next rain falls. 
After rain, the desert frequently becomes a garden 
with a great wealth of brilliantly coloured flowers inter- 
spersed with grasses and other plants, many of which, such 
as Sturt’s desert pea, Portulaca, Iceland poppy, saxifrage 
and gentian, are now well known in gardens. 
Of desert animals I dare say little, but it is certainly 
worthwhile to mention a few. The camel is well known 
to everybody, at least in name and repute. Its peculiar 
cushion-like feet, and its capacity for travelling long dis- 
tances between drinks are adaptations for desert life. Some 
animals store up water in a manner somewhat analogous 
to succulent plants, and perhaps the most striking of 
these is a frog from the Australian deserts. This animal 
absorbs water through its skin and can swell to an enor- 
mous size, becoming almost globular. Then, burrowing 
down to some depth it can exist on its stored water during 
unfavourable times. The aboriginals know of this, and 
seek it as an emergency water supply. There is also a 
species of ant known to the aboriginals which stores up a 
sweet fluid in its distended abdomen and is used by them 
