The cool option of the Lourie Trail

With the maximum temperature predicted to reach close to 30 degrees Celsius we elected to walk in the shade of the forest from the Pont entrance of the Umtamvuna Nature Reserve.

Not many of the tree species in the forest were flowering, but we did come across some shade-loving herbs such as the delicate Asystasia varia, and in a more sunny spot, a rather interesting pale lilac (rather than the normal blue flowered form) coloured Commenlina erecta.

Asystasia varia

Commelina erecta

A spotted Oncinotis tenuiloba stem spiraling up a small tree made an interesting composition.

Oncinotis tenuiloba

We came across a population of the invasive sword fern, Nephrolepis cordifolia subsp. cordifolia, which we stopped to uproot. Two methods of crushing the fleshy tubers to prevent regeneration emerged - the finger crush and the foot crush. We hope these efforts will have destroyed this population.

Invasive fern eradication

Crushing tubers by hand

Crushing tubers underfoot

 Later, when we got down near the Umtamvuna River, we saw some Duvernoia adhatodiodes and on the floodplain we came across some bright orange Crocosmia aurea.

Duvernoia adhatodiodes

Crocosmia aurea

On the way home we stopped at the roadside to collect a specimen of the emerging invasive species Desmodium tortuosum.
 

Desmodium tortuosum

Desmodium tortuosum - young inflorescense

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