Umtamvuna - The Pont (11 February 2021)

One begins a field trip with urban frenzy and then like a volcano that erupts so does the noise cease after excited banter that occurs when friends meet, and then in the quiet of the forest a peace descends as if one is in a meditation.  One hears the bird’s song, the step of one's foot on padded leaves  and become  acutely aware of the sacredness of  the forest. 

Escaping the heat of February, we sought refuge the forest of the Umtumvuna at The Pont, and our Honory officers took measurements of the area that was required to control with herbicides as the invasive Bramble invaded 35 m x 5 m deep along the hiking path that leads into the reserve.

Dorothy with her passion and knowledge took our newest members under her wing and taught us about trees.  

Our dear Maggie Abbott's walking stick that has a a fork on the end which is
useful when gently pulling a branch down to observe the leaf and flower.

A Stink bug that reminded me of an Aborigine in its distinctive markings.

Lucia Widow dragonfly female

  Colossal majestic rocks that lie protected on the forest floor.

  

A mushroom the size of one's hand nestled behing a giant boulder. 
Perhaps this is where the fairies meet...

Slime mould. 
It reminded me of a chocolate Flakey.

Justicia adhatodoides  (Duvernoia adhatodoides)

Justicia adhatodoides  (Duvernoia adhatodoides)

Commelina diffusa

Aneilema aequinoctiale

Buxus natalensis  

An unusual but unknown fruit/calyx/flower

Suregada procera 

Buxus natalensis 

Celtis gomphophylla

Macaranga capensis - River macaranga 

Drypetes arguta

Laportea peduncularis

Cassipourea gummiflua

The image cannot capture the scale of the enormity of this tree that's having a little lean. 
 It could easily have seen a century go by.

Lloyd listening to the birds song and simply enjoying looking up at the canopy of ancient trees.

Lloyd ascending the steep slabs of rocks, his singing of a lyric left us all humming happily as we slowly  paced ourselves higher up into the forest.  One foot in front of other, Dorothy's wish came true.

Flagellaria guineensis

Lloyd with his cultural knowledge told me of the many uses of Flagellaria guineensis.  The strong supple stems which can grown 10m long are commonly used to make fish-traps, the stems are used in hut-construction, basketry and weaving and are even made into writing pens.  The seeds can be used as porridge.  In East Africa it is said be to resistant to herbicides and is a weed invader in rice-rice fields in Nigeria.

Drypetes arguta

Excoecaria simii 

Anne debarking an enormous Solanum mauritianum (Bug weed). 
Little useful pen knives always come in handy.
  

Margaritaria discoidea 

Maggie told us the little trick of her leaning this tree's name in that it was she saw a Margaret in there. What incredible bark it has.
 

Maggie standing next to an old hollowed out tree that reminded me of Africa's mokoros. 

Tracy feeling kinship with the vibrancy in the hue of a fallen tree trunk.

 

A  towering wall  of Quisqualis parviflora.

Quisqualis parviflora 

Nectaropetalum zuluensis

A humorous photo of our tribe as we relaxed at lunch time. 
Mark looking a little like he was guillotined...

C.R.E.W.  Gail Bowers-Winters, Lloyd, Mark Getliffe, Dorthy McIntyre, Simon, Maggie Abbott
Anne, Tracy Taylor, Anne Skelton and Alf Hayter.

 A special thanks our teachers and and for their dedicated time and sharing their knowledge with those of us who are learning. 

Smedmore Umtamvuna (4 February 2021)

We decided to explore Smedmore as when looking back through records we hadn't gone there for a while and yet it had felt like yesterday that we had.  It's an area where there is both grassland and forest which makes for great botanising as one can dip into both areas with ease.  

It was hot and so we were swayed quite easily into first botanising in the coolth of the forest where moss grows on huge rocks and it's difficult to identify a tree as the trunks lengthen up into the sky as does the tree in  "The Magic Far-away Tree" by Enid Blyton.  The only clue is perhaps finding seeds or flowers that have fallen.  It's the most beautiful area and one does not have to go very far at all on foot as there is so much to see, the only challenge is the steepness.  

On the forests edge we saw Tritonia disticha both in white and its usual orange flame colour.  Graham had told me that the white form which I had spotted two weeks up in Oribi Gorge was mainly found in the Eastern Cape.  It goes by the same name regardless of colour.  

It was lovely to see the Crocosmia aurea flowering in dappled shade, it's so delicate and whimsical and it's a flower that always brings me joy when seeing it.  I spotted the tiny Polygala macowaniana growing in a little lush bed of compost between rocks.  Dorothy pointed out how to identify it easily depending on if it had a "boat" or not.  

Disperis anthoceros grew in the shade and Peperomia retusa clung onto rock edges.  We had to take out our magnifying glasses to see flowers/seed. It was minuscule.  

We had to narrowly miss a Kite spider who dangled in front of faces as we didn't want to disturb her web that she had so carefully crafted. 

Streptocarphus formosus were on show and flowering away and we then found Steptocarphus haygarthii a little higher up when we exited the forest floor.  Liparis bowkeri, Hypoxis membranaceus, Stenoglottis macloughnii and Stenoglottis fimbriata were nestled deeply on the cliff's edge where if one wasn't sure footed one could accidentally fall stories below and probably never to be found.  It was a risk worth taking as to find and see these wonders that grow where man does not tread is such a joy.  

We had cautiously crawled out of the forest on all fours and saw Cryptolepis capensis and Faurea macnaughtonii in flower.  As soon as we reached the grasslands, we were devoured by scurrying large ants which raced in every direction like rush-hour traffic leaving us smearing our legs and boots with Vicks hoping that it would deter them from crawling up into our clothes.  We all looked like we where doing the gum-boot dance.  They ended up being the game changer as they were such a menace that we decided to call it a day, we had seen wonderful things and headed peacefully home.

Cryptolepis capensis 

Faurea macnaughtonii 

Monsonia natalensis 

Crassula pellucida subsp brachypetala

Tritonia disticha in white

Tritonia disticha

Crocosmia aurea 

Dorothy - The photo was taken from within a cave.

A Kite spider

Rachel looking down at the wonders below from great heights.

A mock absail holding onto roots decending.

Peperomia retusa

Thunbergia pupurata 

Streptocarpus haygarthii 

Dorothy photographing Streptocarpus haygarthii. 

Streptocarpus formosus

Stenoglottis macloughlinii

Stenoglottis fimbriata 

Liparis remota 

Hypoxis membranaceus 

Pachycarpus grandiflorus subsp. grandiflorus 

Inspecting for pollination of the Pachycarpus grandiflorus subsp. grandiflorus 

A huge fruit capsule of a Pachycarpus species.

Pachycarpus coronarius 

Monanthotaxis caffra 

Anne was telling Simon who joined us that the way the Southbroom Conservancy taught the staff when observing this tree was in turning over its leaf and seeing that it was blue like money and that one needed it to catch a taxi.  It's small things like this that one remembers the plants name by.

Polygala macowaniana 

Indigastrum fastigiatum

Aloe maculata

Aloe maculata 

Maggie cautiously entering a cave.

Maggie at rest after our having our lunch high up the
canopy of trees and looking down into the forest below.

Cissampelos torulosa 

Rachel sitting amongst orchids.

C.R.E.W. exploring the slopes with sheer drops off the edge.  There's no room for error.

Schizoglossum  bidens subsp bidens

Isoglossa cooperi

Justicia tubulosa (was Siphonoglossa leptantha)

Colpoon compressum

Gnidia coriacea

Aspalathus dalhgrenii

Helichrysum nudifolium

Flagellaria guineensis

Disperis anthoceros

Heading home on and treading quickly as the earth was riddled
in large ants that could carry us away if we walked too slowly.

Rachel Jarvis, Gail Bowers-Winters, Simon, Maggie Abbott,
 Dorothy McIntyre, Anne Skelton and Alf Hayter.

It is with the greatest respect to our elders in their teaching and example.

Thank you to all of the above including Kate and Graham Grieve

in assisting me in the idenfication process to make this blog possible.