A trip to Terraces and Dissotis Dawdle

With 28mm of overnight rain to boost our spirits, a small group of us braved the cold and windy conditions to see what the area adjacent to the Umtamvuna NR we call the Terraces had to offer other than its impressive scenery. After fighting our way through an old sugar-cane land we came across the unexpected sight of a number of Erica aspalathifolia var aspalathifolia (Declining) flowering in the tall grass of the old cultivated field.

Erica aspalathifolia var aspalathifolia

A short distance further and we were on flat rock pavements of Msikaba sandstone, the parent rock type that forms the basis of the Pondoland Centre of Endemism. There we found Lampranthus fugitans flowering shyly in the overcast conditions.

 

Lampranthus fugitans

We were happy to find several Craterostigma sp. nov. flowering on these rock plates too, and were able to collect some flowers to use to measure and finish off the illustration for a species description for this plant.
 

Craterostigma sp. nov. 

Once we encountered the open and undisturbed grassland over the Reserve boundary we were struck by the many showy Aspalathus chortophylla and Aspalathus spinosa.
 

Anne and Kate in amongst the Aspalathus chortophylla

How big?

We worked our way along the clifftops and across a crevasse in which we saw two species of Streptocarpus, S. formosus and one other still to be identified, as well as a small population of Hypoxis membranaceus. Rangaeris muscicola and Tridactyle bicaudata were also flowering well on the rocks along the cliff edges. Here we also were lucky to find a very colourful adult Flatid Bug, the nymphs of which feed on Salacia gerrardii in the forest. A short distance further we came across some Aspalathus dahlgrenii (ined.), the first of this species we have yet found inside the reserve.

Adult Flatid Bug

After having lunch in the lee of some large rocks while sitting under an extremely old and gnarled Erythrina humeana, we made our way back to the vehicle and then on to our second stop of the day at a rocky outcrop which we decided to name Dissotis Dawdle after the bright display of Dissotis canescens in a depression.

Seed capsules of Erythrina humeana

A number of Moraea inclinata had decided the sun was bright enough and had opened. We were also gratified to find a small group of Aspalathus gerrardii. There is also an interesting looking forest patch here which might warrant a  special trip in future.

Moraea inclinata

Participants: Anne S, Graham G, Kate G, Uschi T.