A much reduced group of us set off for known localities of
Habenaria woodii (Vulnerable) to see if it was flowering. When we found the track to Kwazemane still had not been mowed and the grass was about 2 m tall, we opted to go to the Western Heights instead. Fortunately, despite the road not having been used in recent times, there was only a minimum of clearing needed and Gail happily tackled moving one fallen trunk out of the way. We arrived at the Western heights and immediately saw some clusters of
Kniphofia in the distance.
We headed towards the nearest of these clumps but soon found ourselves goose-stepping over tussocks interspersed with puddles. Growing in some of these wet patches Utricularia prehensilis were twining up towards the light, and they were in company with slender stems of Oldenlandia rosulata. We reached the Kniphofia and they turned out to be K. linearifolia. There were several low shrubs draped with clusters of the Data Deficient parasitic Cuscuta gerrardii; this is some distance from the other known population of these plants but in the same wetland.
We staggered back out of the wetland to find a small group of
Brachycorythis inhambanensis.
Here we also found a few small
Aspalathus gerrardii in flower.
 |
| Kniphofia linearifolia |
 |
| Utricularia prehensilis |
 |
| Oldenlandia rosulata |
 |
| Cuscuta gerrardii |
 |
| Brachycorythis inhambanensis |
 |
| Aspalathus gerrardii |
Once back onto even footing and dry ground again we found Buchnera dura and several of the eye-catching Disa polygonoides. In this area we also found a good sub-population of our target plant for the day, Habenaria woodii.
 |
| Buchnera dura |
 |
| Habenaria woodii |
 |
| Disa polygonoides |
We then found a surprisingly robust clump of the Vulnerable
Psoralea abbottii with its needle-like leaves and blue flowers. Scattered in the area were a few
Raphionacme palustris forbs with elongated erect fruits, as well as some tall
Senecio discodregeanus and a few spikes of
Syncolostemon ramulosus.
 |
| Psoralea abbottii |
 |
| Raphionacme palustris fruits |
 |
| Senecio discodregeanus |
 |
| Syncolostemon ramulosus |
We crossed the track and headed down towards another wetland area. On the way we saw several
Tephrosia polystachya and some
Argyrolobium sericosemium.
 |
| Tephrosia polstachya |
 |
| Argyrolobium sericosemium |
We headed towards a big cluster of rocks finding
Cineraria albicans growing on a ledge and beneath that a big colony of
Utricularia sandersonii was growing on the shady, wet vertical surfaces of the rocks. Just below these blue bunny-ear shaped flowers was a small group of yellow-flowered
Utricularia subulata also enjoying these conditions. Within 10 meters of these were several patches of
Utricularia livida and at the edge of a rock plate was a group of
Genlisea hispidula. As all of these are insectivorous plants - growing in these well-leached conditions they need the extra nutrients - the insect population in this area must be having a hard time.
 |
| Cineraria albicans |
 |
| Utricularia livida |
 |
| Utricularia sandersonii |
 |
| Utricularia subululata |
We stopped here in the shade of a tree to enjoy our lunch surrounded by numbers of
Watsonia densiflora and a few
Asclepias praemorsa. We then headed back up to the top of the nearest rocky hill and found a beautifully marked caterpillar which is likely to be a Hawk-moth larva.
 |
| Watsonia densiflora |
 |
| Asclepias praemorsa |
 |
| Hawk moth larva |
We crossed back over the track and found ourselves in a small patch of
Pachycarpus grandiflorus. In a crack in a rock there was a
Psychotria capensis bearing red fruits. We crossed a small water-filled depression and then found a clump of
Psoralea glabra with blue flowers and a few
Pycnostachys reticulata.
 |
| Pachycarpus grandiflorus |
 |
| Psychotria capensis |
 |
| Psoralea glabra |
 |
| Pycnostachys reticulata |
Participants: Dorothy M, Gail B-W, Graham G, Kate G..
