AQUATIC AND WETLAND PLANTS OF BOTSWANA

Book excerpt: An anthology of aquatic plants is an excellent collection of knowledge about anything in fresh, marine, or polluted waters. This pictorial guide deals with aquatic and wetland plants from the Okavango to the transboundary rivers to the rainwater ponds and dams. Organized and written in a way that will make information easily accessible to specialists and non-specialists alike. The guide/book highlights the diversity and vital ecological importance of the group of plants, providing descriptions and identification keys for emergent, floating-leaved, and submerged aquatic plants found in Botswana. They serve as a source of food and shelter for the aquatic fauna, thus forming the basis of aquatic wildlife conservation practices. They are economically useful in providing medicinal and aesthetic value. Aquatic plants prevent and maintain erosion, water turbidity, and the source of oxygen in the water. Information on invasive plants, such as Kariba/salvinia weed, water lettuce, and water hyacinth that threaten Botswana's aquatic ecosystems, is briefly described. In total, 194 plant species are presented in the guide. All technical terms are explained in a comprehensive glossary. This is the first such flora to cover aquatic and wetland plants for the entire geographical area, excluding grasses and sedges. It will suit a large age range, from little ones who want to look at the pictures to primary school children. If you have an explorer's spirit and a thirst for finding something new, then aquatic life will never disappoint. The physical book itself is stunning, with a handsome cover with common water lily that makes it pretty enough to sit on the coffee table but entertaining enough to keep kids glued to the pages. When the two characters from a different native, who rose in the same city of Aizawl, meet and fall in love during PUC, his jealous gay friend circles a rumor and tries to interfere in their affairs. Her love sadly feels unrequited due to his shy and reclusive nature followed by some tragic incidents that make all her attempts go in vain. She also doesn’t understand his gesture of acceptance and things remain in a state of oblivion for a long time. Her sedulousness doesn’t allow giving up on him even after they part ways to pursue their higher studies. But her naiveness again fails her in catching his clues before he turns into a severe hophead after his mother’s demise. A lot changes in their lives by the time he comes close to expressing his hidden love for her and is about to propose for marriage. Despite both being settled in the South, every time some divine energy would stop them from meeting in one place. Unease in his mind, he starts revealing his feelings and relevant secrets after his marriage and comes to a point when she learns how life had been unkind to both of them and they begin expressing their regrets. It is a tragic love story that starts with love and ends with friendship. After reading the book, you might wonder whether they will remain just as incomplete stories that are waiting to be completed like how they called themselves.