Monday 30 August 2021

Rossmin - 26 August 2021


Custondians of Rare and Endagnered Wildflowers (CREW) volunteers had met with MSB  Seed collectors, Sibahle, Fergy, Naomi and Ntsakisi, KZN National Botanical Garden HORT Mpho, and Pretora NBG Groundsman Noki, as well as  PHD student  Lloyd to join us on this day of recording the plants we saw at Rossmin.  This is a piece of land that was offered as an offset to the granting of the mine authorisation.  An adjoining farm had put in an application to mine which posed as an extra threat to this area and so in good spirit we set out to explore. 


Road to Rossmin


Volunteers and students and researchers


Field researchers


Field researchers

Alf waist high in thick grass.



Rossmin had recently burnt various areas of the grassland and it was an ideal time to visit in the turn of the season and see what was in flower and what seed could be collected. 

  

Eulophia clitellifera

Eulophia clitellifera


 A bee enjoying the pollen in the Graderia scabra




Nemesia caerulea



Eulophia hians subsp. inequalis


Eulophia hians subsp. inaequalis

Eulophia hians subsp. inaequalis



Eulophia hians subsp. inaequalis

Bulbine capitata



Osteospermum grandidentatum


Pavonia burchellii

 

Gazania krebsiana


Indigofera hedyantha

Dierama igneum

The weather was quite unpredictable and feeling quite nippy in the morning one dressed perhaps a little too warmly and one wasn't sure if it was going to be windy or rainy and, in the end, it turned out to be a sweltering day especially when climbing up steep hill's and one wished one had carried more water but the ice in the flask was quenching and welcoming.

 

Afroaster hispidus

Afroaster hispidus

We headed up the hill along the road that we had driven down and the Erythrina lysistemon was showing its magnificent petal in red.  The Grewia looked as if it were covered in beautiful blossoms and rather oriental in its display.

  

Erythrina lysistemon

Grewia occidentalis

Grewia occidentalis
Grewia occidentalis

Grewia occidentalis

Grewia occidentalis


An old Vachellia robusta had every branch draped in white flowers as if were getting married.  An odd Scadoxus flowered and then as we meandered up the hill one's eye's again fell upon an Aspargus densely packed with minute flowers and giving off the most heavenly scent.  One stood around the plant in display admiring its beauty and the structure of the flowers. 



Vachellia robusta


Vachellia robusta

Scadoxus puniceus



Asparagus macowanii

Asparagus macowanii

The Hypoxis were on show.  How hairy some were and how densely packed were others with bee's busily inspecting each flower and going about their business not worried about all the people looking down at them.   Our eyes caught the pop of a soft orange that delicately came from the Trintonia's and the Gerbera's were en-mass showing our Cape flowers that they could be equally as impressive as the flowers in Namaqualand.  


Hypoxis filliformis

 

Hypoxis filliformis

Hypoxis argentea

Hypoxis hemerocallidea


Gerbera ambigua (please check)

Tritonia gladiolaris

Tritonia gladiolaris


As we edged up the hill and into the forest section, we came across Watsonia seed and the Gymnosporia was heavily ladened with seed.  Dorothy had stayed back with our collectors and researchers and showed them the miniscule red flowers that where on the Gymnosporia rubra.  One could so easily overlook it but not to her trained eagle eye.  The group stayed in the forest for a long time while others meandered out and down the rocky terrain which was full of different flowers to the hill they had just explored.  


Psycotria capensis 

 

Dorothy assisting in the identification of tree's and pointing out the tiny flowers that were growing on Gymnosporia rubra


Gymnosporia rubra

Gymnosporia rubra

Gymnosporia rubra (Gail's finger nail showing how small the flower is).

Here the whisp of the Tulbaghia acutioba grew unobtrusively.  Senecio's brightly waved in the grass and one Kniphofia coddiana was showing its scruffy little head before setting to seed.  Some Boophone had sadly not survived the fire but others were peeking out their leaves, others had set seed whilst some flowered away like pom-poms on the ground.  


Tulbaghia acutiloba

Tulbaghia acutiloba

Please ID

Senecioa albanensis var doroniciflorus

 

Boophone disticha

Kniphofia coddiana

We settled down on on rocks to eat our packed lunches looking at the vast expansion of the quarry engulfing the land, the stone as white as clouds and all that we looked upon destroyed in its blasts.  


Tracy and Buyi
Alf

Cussonia spicata's  flush of new leaves

Once we had settled the grumbly tummies some ventured down the steep embankments to places seldom explored as the climb up is quite taxing and Rossmin can deliver the heat.  Lasiosiphon anthylloides intense yellow hue could be seen from far which looked like the evening star when the moon is rising in the sky.  There was great excitement when coming across an Otholobium and the sight of the unusual looking Trochomeria hookeri left us wondering what we were gazing upon as it had taken on the resemblance of a granadilla.  Notobubon's stood head high on the edge and sadly our eyes came upon a Stangeria erioupus which leaves had been left and seeds lying on the earth on which it was stolen. A freshly debarked Rapanea melaophloes stood naked and exposed.  With fresh cow dung and buzzing fly’s, we had just arrived after this incident which always leaves one unsettled.  It was getting late and as much as we wanted to go further, we had left many at the top who still had a long way to travel and our slow climb began. 


Decent

 

Lasiosiphon anthylloides

Trochomeria hookeri

Lloyd having found Stangeria erioupus on the ground after the bulb was poached.

De-barking of the Rapanea melanophloeos



Otholobium sp.

Notobubon laevigatum


Notobubon laevigatum
Anne

Notobubon laevigatum



Diospyros lycoides subsp nitens

Ziziphus mucronata

Hippobromus pauciflorus

Polygala refracta

Indigofera sp.



Pics of Stangeria seed

The Gymnosporia's were beautiful and delicate in the show of little flowers and the grass ruffled as snake tried to hide and so we didn't step in to inspect the branch that was full.  A Bonatea fat with little people fully flowered and we were lucky to have spotted it.  What a delight this orchid is to gaze upon.  Ocinum obovatum grew amongst the rocks and again we came across yet another Gymonsporia pregnant with seed.

 

Bonatea porrecta

Ocinum obovata

 

Eriosema cordatum


Gymnosporia buxifolia 


Gymnosporia sp.

Gymnosporia buxifolia

Gymnosporia sp.




Gymnosporia sp.

Gymnosporia sp.


Pentanisia prunelloides


Linum thunbergii

Gladiolus longicollis awakening.


Scabiosa columbaria

Scabiosa columbaria

Scabiosa columbaria


Ipomoea crassipes

Hibiscus fuscus


By the time we had reached the car some had had to leave and one could hear a lot of happy banter.  Lovely to have walked with people who put nature first and looking after this earths interest at heart. 


Spring's flush of new leaves on a fig.

Gail, Simon, Dorothy, Tracy, Maggie, Anne, Alf and Buyi
Pondoland C.R.E.W.