Cry of the Kokerboom

Notes from my journey into the Quiver Tree Forest of Namibia.

Left: Map of the northern Cape of S. Africa and southern Namibia. We drove from the border crossing at Vioolsdrift through the quiver tree forest into the Namib desert. Our route traced the Orange river which separates the two countries. Right: Photo of a sole Kokerboom Tree, also known as the Quiver Tree.

Two continents, four countries, three weeks. I’m nearing the end of my latest work trip. It began with a trip to Brussels, Belgium, where I have served as chair of the MED1 scientific grant review panel for the FWO (Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek – Vlaanderen) for the past six years. This round was the last of my term and it was bittersweet to wrap up this international service opportunity. After the panel in Brussels, I made the long journey to the very southern tip of Africa for the joint meeting of the 23rd International Congress of the International Society for Ethnopharmacology & the 2nd International Congress of the African Phytomedicine Scientific Society (ISE-APSS 2024) in Cape Town, South Africa, where I gave two presentations: one on science communication in the career development workshop and one lecture on the latest findings on innovative solutions for antimicrobial resistance from the Quave Research Group. While I’m away, my Emory Food, Health and Society class students have had the benefit of an incredible lineup of guest lectures, including experts from the Georgia Mushroom Club, Atlanta Botanical Garden, Atlanta Food Bank, author of their assigned book “Big Chicken”, and a local foraging expert.

After the conference, my son Donato, my best friend Mandy and I loaded up an SUV to drive north into the country of Namibia, where I plan to develop a new series of projects on wildcrafted medicinal plants. I’ll be sharing some highlights from this expedition in the coming weeks—from features on Rooibos to Devil’s Claw, and the lessons learned from our time with the San people of the Kalahari.

At present, I’m writing this piece from the international airport in Cape Town, awaiting my flight north to Saarbrücken, Germany, where I will be in meetings this week as a member of the Editorial Board of Royal Society of Chemistry journal Natural Product Reports. For any readers in the region, the board will also be giving scientific talks during a special symposium to be held at Technical University of Dresden and Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland, Germany in building E1.5 from 8:40 AM - 7 PM. All are welcome!

Now, on to the Kokerboom’s cry…

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Donato walking down the road in the Aussenkehr Nature Park where one can find Kokerboom trees. Very few roads in Namibia are paved, instead made of gravel and sand, requiring a sturdy vehicle and a spare tire. We had to navigate our trip through the country with a physical map made by “Tracks Africa'“ as there was no cell service in the regions we traveled.

The desert’s silence is absolute. The only sounds those of my son walking in the distance, the soft crunch of his sneakers in course red sand echoing across the valley with stunning clarity.

A vast plain of red and brown parched earth extends as far as the eye can see, with only the jagged mountains in the distance breaking this monotony. The sky is clear and of a blue so deep as to seem to call one to the oceans, becoming lighter and softer in hue as the sky meets the land.

We are in the Quiver Tree forest, though objectively there isn’t much of a forest to be seen. Instead the terrain is starkly bare with a spattering of small, short shrubs, vivid yellow asters, and pinkish stinky blooms that sparingly decorate the landscape.

Wild plants seen in the Aussenkehr Nature Park.

The Quiver Tree, also known as the Kokerboom, was once classified as an Aloe (former scientific name of Aloe dichotoma). Today, its scientific name is Aloidendron dichotomum, a member of the Asphodelaceae family. It is a tall, branching succulent plant found in parts of the Northern Cape of South Africa and Southern Namibia. It is unsurprising, in some ways, to find such a fascinating succulent here. After all, this region is the center of diversity in the world for aloe species. Besides A. dichotomum, which is listed by the IUCN as vulnerable, two other sister species found in this area—A. pillansii and A. ramossisimum—are listed as critically endangered and endangered, respectively.

Aloidendron dichotomum in its natural environment.

The Quiver Tree Forest is one of just a few locations where this plant can be found in the wild. It, along with its sister species, are under threat due to pressures from climate change. The name “Quiver Tree” refers to the traditional use of the branches, which are hollowed out, to serve as a quiver for holding arrows used in hunting by the San people of this region.

While it imperiled in the wild, A. dichotomum has been successfully cultivated and is an expensive addition to landscaping in arid environments around the world.

An Approach to Extinction

While I was exploring the Quiver Tree Forest, a group of 1,000 scientists with expertise in conservation gathered in Cali, Colombia for the United Nations Biodiversity Summit, COP16. The news coming from this landmark summit is alarming: more than one-third of species are facing extinction in the wild.

The number of threatened trees now outweighs all threatened birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians put together, according to the latest update to the official extinction red list. - BBC News

Some of the biggest threats include land clearing for farming and logging, as well as the growing threat of pests and disease tied to a changing climate. Without protecting species in the wild, we will also see a cascade of changes influencing more than just Earth’s trees. Protected areas like Aussenkehr Nature Park have never been more important to saving species in the wild.

Reflection

How loud is the cry of the kokerboom? Unfortunately, it is silent, much like the desert where it struggles to maintain a foothold. I count myself incredibly fortunate to have seen this marvelous species in the wild, and my son as well. But, without adding our voices to its cry, the world remains mute to its plight, along with the plight of so many other imperiled species scattered across this planet. Will my grandchildren someday delight in this species or will it, with many others, remain just an echo in the memory of their elders?

Yours in health, Dr. Quave

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Cassandra L. Quave, Ph.D. is a Guggenheim Fellow, CNN Champion for Change, Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, recipient of The National Academies Award for Excellence in Science Communication, and award-winning author of The Plant Hunter. Her day job is as professor and herbarium curator at Emory University School of Medicine, where she leads a group of research scientists studying medicinal plants to find new life-saving drugs from nature. She hosts the Foodie Pharmacology podcast and writes the Nature’s Pharmacy newsletter to share the science behind natural medicines. To support her effort, consider a paid or founding subscription or donation to her lab research.

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