Beacon Hill revisited

As the weather was cold and miserable we deferred our planned trip to Oribi Flats and decided instead to walk closer to home. We chose Beacon Hill as we also had some herbarium work to do and could therefore kill two birds with one stone.

We set off into a strong wind and soon saw that the Helichrysum ecklonis had had a new lease on life, probably stimulated by a little rain, as a new set of buds were starting to open.

Helichrysum ecklonis

Nearby there was a small Apodytes abbottii growing on the rocks and was full of flowers.

Apodytes abbottii 

On the slopes heading down to the Raspalia stream, we found the first of the delicate pink Disa stachyoides of this season, while closer to the stream were many Disa similis, a few Disa tripetaloides, unusually growing away from the stream bank, and some early Satyrium longicauda. Also growing in this wet area near the stream were many Eriocaulon dregei and the Merwilla plumbea (Scilla natalensis) made a haze of blue close to the ground. Providing the yellow shades in the area were many Senecio natalicola flowers. On the opposite bank of the stream a number of the somewhat weedy Helichrysum ruderale were starting to flower.

Eriocaulon dregei

We started heading back to our starting point and came across a Boophone disticha bud emerging from its large semi-exposed bulb.

Boophone disticha

By this stage the rain that had been threatening, started coming down so we made haste back to the herbarium. After doing some sorting and cleaning we returned home where the team finished the day by mounting some specimens for the herbariium. 

Participants: Anne S, Dorothy M, Graham G, Kate G, Ushi Teicher