Visit to the Western Heights

It was great to be able to squeeze in a second outing on the same Thursday. Having completed our visit to Blencathra we had a quick teabreak at Beacon Hill and then set off to the Western Heights - a favourite destination - with the intention of looking for Raphionacme palustris and surveying the population of Watsonia pondoensis, both of which we knew we would find there, hopefully in flower.

We first walked to the edge of the wetland, but before we could find any Raphionacme palustris we found ourselves in an orchid-rich patch. The most vivid of these was Disa caffra, but they were surrounded by Disa versicolor, Satyrium longicauda and Satyrium trinerve. The Raphionacme palustris were where expected and in flower.

Raphionacme palustris

Our timing was also right for the Watsonia pondoensis to be in flower. Despite the very dense aglomerations of bulbs, this species seems to flower rather sparsely.

Watsonia pondoensis

 We then decided to have our lunch in the shade and coolness under the trees of the Swamp Forest. After lunch, Anne and Graham tackled the job of ring-barking five large black wattle trees that had somehow managed to find their way into this indigenous forest patch.

On the fringes of the forest was a large patch of the regal fern, Osmunda regalis, some of which had produced their fertile terminal parts of the fronds. Leaving the forest brought us back into orchid territory with many more of the same species seen earlier. We took the long way back to the vehicle to avoid having to walk over the many tussocks in the wetland, on the way encountering a Searsia pondoensis in flower, a small patch of Dianthus mooiensis, and then came across a large group of the Vulnerable Watsonia inclinata.

Watsonia inclinata

In the midst of many Watsonia inclinata

Participants: Anne S, Dorothy M, Graham G, Kate G, Maggie A, Uschi T.