The management of the Red Desert Nature Reserve had planned to commence with trials to remove stands of invasive Grevillea banksii and Hakea sericea in parts of the reserve, but an arson fire (an unfortunately common event) swept through some of these stands so the trials were delayed. However, once it was seen that the main stands had been unaffected by the fire, the contractor was given the go-ahead. We decided to visit the reserve, both to inspect the areas which had been burned and to assess the work done on the invasive stands.
Apart from a firebreak adjacent to the houses on the inland boundary of the reserve, there was no sign of the fire as we walked towards the Umtamvuna River. There were a few Gazania krebsiana flowering in the firebreak, and Lobelia tomentosa and Agathosma ovata in the unburned grassland.
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| Gazania krebsiana |
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| Agathosma ovata |
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| Lobelia tomentosa |
In a small gully we found a Cassine peragua in flower and fruit.
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| Cassine peragua |
Following along the cliff line we came across this wonderfully gnarled Ficus burtt-davyi growing in a crevice in the rock.
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| Ficus burtt-davyi |
From here we could see down into the gorge where a population of red mangroves, Rhizophora mucronata grows together with Barringtonia racemosa on the south bank of the river.
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| Mangroves along the south bank of the Umtamvuna river |
Turning eastwards we soon came across the burnt area. Despite the recent rain, it appears that the soil moisture conditions are still too low to get most plants going, apart from a display of Cyrtanthus breviflorus and two bright orange Cyrtanthus contractus - both pyrophytes. Adjacent to the burnt section was an area of felled Grevillea banksii, evidence of the contractor's work.
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| Lopholaena dregeana |
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