Aloe knersvlakensis may form a large, dense clump of rosettes, as this successful plant (or plants?) can boast on its (their) stony slope. Many short branches end in consistently large leaf rosettes.

The dead leaves below sag but stay on the stems. They form a brown curtain over private quarters used in time-share or space-share fashion by a variety of Knersvlakte mammals, reptiles, arachnoids and insects that cohabit in peace or tear each other to pieces when hungry or angry.

Even bird nests may come and go over the years in favoured nooks of this rare piece of real estate. But whoever “buys” a home here heeds the caveat emptor reminder that one takes responsibility for what one buys. And one has to stay alert, or the price of the choice may suddenly increase to the level of one’s life... or one’s eggs or offspring (www.cabdirect.org).