Maggie joined us for tea - a last chance before her hip-replacement operation - in the parking area at the Red Desert Nature Reserve before we said good luck to her and set off on our walk. We headed in the opposite direction to our last excursion here, heading eastwards to another management burn.
We started seeing Gerbera natalensis in small groups and then found a small cluster of Ledebouria revoluta. Helichrysum nudifolium var pillosellum were starting to push up buds and Hypoxis argentea and Gazania krebsiana made splashes of yellow against the blackened background.
We reached a wetland area where there were several
Dissotis canescens and, in a patch of longer grass, some
Hibiscus divaricatus. A few
Polygala hottentotta waved their long fronds above the grass and a shy
Drimia calcarata looked skywards. There was a single, robust
Othonna natalensis showing starkly against the ash.
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| Dissotis canescens |
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| Hibiscus divaricatus |
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| Polygala hottentotta |
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| Drimia calcarata |
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| Othonna natalensis |
A few
Pycnostachys reticulata still flowered in a wetland and there was a clump of
Syncolostemon rotundifolius near a rock outcrop. Growing out of a crack in a rock was a small, bare,
Vangueria infausta carrying two of last season's fruits.
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| Pycnostachys reticulata |
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| Syncolostemon rotundifolius |
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| Vangueria infausta fruits |
We crossed the small stream and walked next to a newly planted field of macadamias to the top of the ridge where we found
Ursinia tenuiloba and
Senecio variabilis. Emerging from unburned grass were the pink flowers of
Agathosma ovata. After enjoying our lunch in the mild winter sun we set off to see if the
Watsonia pillansii population in a wetland below us was showing any signs of life but they were still dormant.
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| Ursinia tenuiloba |
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| Senecio variabilis |
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| Crossing what is normally a wetland |
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| In a dormant population of Watsonia pillansii |
Heading back towards the vehicles we found some
Tulbaghia acutiloba and odd patches of
Helichrysum aureum var
monocephalum and
Helichrysum herbaceum.
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| Tulbaghia acutiloba |
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| Helichrysum aureum var monocephalum |
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| Helichrysum herbaceum |
Participants: Anne S, Dorothy M, Gil B-W, Graham G, Kate G, Mark G, Tracy T.
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