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Hairy Stalagmites, A New Biogenic Root Speleothem From Botswana, Gerhard C. Du Preez, Paolo Forti, Gerhard Jacobs, Anine Jordaan, Louwrens Tiedt

International Journal of Speleology

Ngamiland in northwestern Botswana hosts the Gcwihaba Caves which present unique subterranean environments and host speleothems never before recorded. Cave atmospheric conditions can be extreme with temperatures as high as 28°C and relative humidity nearing 99.9%. Within Dimapo and Diviner’s Caves peculiar root speleothems that we named ‘Hairy Stalagmites’ were found. These stalagmites are closely associated with the roots of Namaqua fig (Ficus cordata) trees that enter the cave environment in search of water. Pieces of broken stalagmites were sampled from Dimapo Cave for further investigations. Stereo and electron microscopy revealed that the Hairy Stalagmites consist of multiple …