We had intended to walk somewhere on the Western Height,s as much as the overcast weather permitted, but on the way found the road blocked by a broken down trailer, so we diverted to walk at Cubica Heights instead.
Not long after setting off, we could hear the sound of the waterfalls and headed in that direction, passing Aspalathus chortophila and Rafnia elliptica on the way. Alongside the forested stream we found Ludwigia octovalvis and Gomphocarpus physocarpus in flower. The first stream we reached cascades through an very narrow slot and unfortunately it is impossible to get a view of its falls from the grassland. We did however get a good view of the main Outeniqua Falls and there was quite a good volume of water flowing over the falls.
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| Aspalathus chortophila |
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| Rafnia elliptica |
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| Ludwigia octovalvis |
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| Gomphocarpus physocarpus |
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| Outeniqua Falls |
On the rocky cliff-edges we found the first many flowering orchids,
Rangaeris muscicola and
Tridactyle bicaudata subsp
rupestris, along with
Euryops brevipapposus and
Pseudoscolopia polyantha.
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| Rangaeris muscicola |
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| Pseudoscolopia polyantha |
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| Tridactyle bicaudata subsp.rupestris |
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| Euryops brevipapposus |
As we walked further we found
Striga bilabiata and clumps of vinaceous-flowered
Tinnea galpinii. Once we reached the next set of rocks we found
Secamone alpinii, Agapanthus campanulatus and
Podocarpus latifolius in flower.
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| Striga bilabiata |
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| Tinnea galpinii |
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| Secamone alpinii |
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| Agapanthus campanulatus |
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| Podocarpus latifolius |
Hugging the rocks were crusts of
Bulbophyllum scaberulum and several were sporting their odd sheath-like inflorescences. Ducking under a
Podocarpus latifolius we climbed down into the forest and entered a wonderland carpeted by
Hypoxis membranaceus, Liparis remota, Stenoglottis macloughlinii, one or two
Ceropegia linearis and a few
Streptocarpus haygarthii. We made this our lunch spot and sat drinking in this floral splendour.
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| Bulbophyllum scaberulum |
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| Hypoxis membranaceus |
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| Stenoglottis macloughlinii |
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| Liparis remota |
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| Streptocarpus haygarthii |
Back out into the grassland, we found
Senecio glanduloso-lanosus hovering over a diminutive
Brachystelma australe. We followed the forest edge finding
Grewia pondoensis, Canthium vanwykii, Putterlickia retrospinosa and
Rhynchosia caribaea flowering and
Rhynchocalyx lawsonoides and
Rothmannia globosa in fruit.
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| Senecio glanduloso-lanosus |
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| Brachystelma australe |
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| Grewia pondoensis |
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| Canthium vanwykii |
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| Putterlickia retrospinosa |
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| Rhynchocalyx lawsonoides fruits |
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| Rhynchosia caribaea |
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| Rothmannia globosa fruits |
Concealed in the grass at the lookout point there were several
Helichrysum mixtum and a damp seep hosted a colony of
Schizochilus zeyheri. After crossing a small dry watercourse we reached some rock-plates and there found some
Craterostigma nanum; these particular plants had flowers which were much more strongly pink that we have seen in past years. Our last find on the way back to the vehicles was a group of
Satyrium sphaerocarpum.
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| Helichrysum mixtum |
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| Schizochilus zeyheri |
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| Craterostigma nanum |
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| Satyrium sphaerocarpum |
Participants: Alf H, Anne S, Dorothy M, Graham G, Kate G, Maggie A, Mark G, Tracy T.
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