Field Trip To Arnot Station
Mpumalanga Province, South Africa
By Jacques Gerber - Click images to enlarge

Jacques Gerber is a wetland ecologist, currently studying for his PhD in Botany at the University of Pretoria, South Africa.

	Pan near Arnot Station This picture was taken on a field trip to Mpumalanga Province, to some pans near Arnot Power Station. It's actually closer to the railway station at this point. The pan isn't even on the map and we found it by pure luck. Its surrounded by Mielie (Zea mays) fields, and is invisible from the road. Lagarosiphon sp., Marsilea capensis, and Potamogeton thunbergii grow in the water, while the dark green reeds just outside the water are Schoenoplectus corymbosus, or bullrushes. The short green grass is Leersia hexandra, a common wetland grass. Beyond this is a zone of Persicaria sp. I think it's P. lapathifolia, but is a bit cryptic.
	Pan near Arnot Station This is the same pan. The plants in the immediate foreground are Marsilea capensis, with M. capensis, Lagarosiphon sp, and Potamogeton thunbergii in the water. The bright green on the other side is Marsilea, which is being grazed in by cows in the next image.
	The cattle are grazing one of my releves. That's Marsilea capensis they're eating. Other plants in the picture are Schoenoplectus corymbosus, Potamogeton thunbergii, and a Lagarsiphon species.