Today we decided to see what was flowering in the firebreaks leading down to High Forest on the opposite bank of the Bulolo River gorge from the Umtamvuna office block, as this burn took place some weeks back. We saw mainly common herbs flowering in the section over the small rise and then walked down the forested edge of a small stream where we encountered a several Alberta magna in flower. Close by the Helichrysum ecklonis were in bud or had just-opened flowers. In tall, unburned grass we saw Argyrolobium harveyanum. Growing in the stream there was a clump of tall inflorescences of Carpha angustifolia.
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| Alberta magna |
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| Argyrolobium harveyanum |
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| Helichrysum ecklonis |
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| Carpha angustifolia |
Moving further down the valley we came across a rocky outcrop where we could get quite close to the canopy. One of the first things to catch the eye was a couple of Flatid bugs perched on their favourite host plant, Salacia gerrardii. Nearby was a Eugenia which we concluded was Eugenia umtamvunensis - it had no fruit or flowers but a photo is attached nevertheless.
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| Flatid bugs on Salacia gerrardii |
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| Eugenia umtamvunensis |
We could see more interesting grassland and forest edges below us but had to take a detour to where the slope was a little more manageable. On the way we saw a small group of the exquisite orchid, Disa baurii. Another orchid seen on the rocks here was Polystachya pubescens. Some of our party elected to lower their centres-of-gravity on the subsequent descent.
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| Disa baurii |
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| Polystachya pubescens |
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| Gail and Uschi electing to slide down the slope |
Once down on the next plateau we headed back towards the forest edge, passing some flowering Cotyledon orbicularis on the way.
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| Cotyledon orbicularis |
Bashing our way through thick bracken to reach the forest edge, we came across several robust Aspalathus gerrardii, some in flower, some moribund. Adjacent to the forest was a tall (circa 3,5m tall) Aspalathus dahlgrenii - this species was not flowering. Almost hidden in the grass was a bright Aristea torulosa.
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| Aristea torulosa |
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| Aspalathus gerrardii |
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| A tall Aspalathus dahlgrenii |
Despite this being close to the middle of winter, the day was warm and we decided to have our lunch in the shade of the forest. Working our way through the twisted vines, we found a flowering Carissa wyliei - a species which has been sunk into Carissa bispinosa, although with its large leaves, low habit and very small thorns, we have difficulty in accepting this name change.
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| Carissa wyliei |
Posing casually in a beam of sunlight was a very new shoot of Diospyros villosus.
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| Diospyros villosus |
After lunch we made our way out of the forest again and headed upstream along the upper slopes of the Bulolo River gorge.
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| A view down the Bulolo River gorge |
Some elected to return up the bum-slide slope while others decided to head around the buttress to more gradual slopes. On the way we saw a patch of Geranium flanaganii just starting to come into flower. Once back into a firebreak at the top of the slope, we encountered Indigofera rubroglandulosa, Pentanisia angustifolia and in a wetter area, a single Xyris capensis.
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| Geranium flanaganii |
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| Indigofera rubroglandulosa |
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| Pentanisia angustifolia |
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| Xyris capensis |
Participants: Anne S, Dorothy M, Gail B-W, Graham G, Kate G, Phakamani M, Uschi T.
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