Pondoland C.R.E.W. Blog: Beacon Hill - Umtumvunae

We were to meet at Beacon Hill and all running on time we received a phone call from Anne. She'd made a stop with Simon and found her car to be overheating. Gail, Dorothy and Tracy already at the Port Edward robots had chosen not to turn back as they were almost at their destination and Anne made an S.O.S. call and managed to arrive after a vehicle swop looking a little ruffled. With a hot drink to calm down nerves we then made a decision as were to botanize for we had received a lot of rain and the roads that were challenging at the best of times and not maintained left us feeling that we didn't need extra obstacles and not to cause any more stress to the day.

Dorothy, Tracy and Gail had spent the previous day hiking and botanizing up in the Ngeli Forest and felt a little taxed and with the Umtumvunae having been burnt we looked down onto the hillside that was filled in a swarth of flowers and decided that this was the spot.

A field of Helichrysum ecklonis

The first little pink flowers we saw was the Watsonia mtamvunae and then a mass of Helichrysum ecklonis stood flowering iridescent white and some were still in ballerina pink. Bee's buzzed and were so busy burring themselves into flower heads that if they did have any aggression, they were too happy pollinating to see that we stood gazing at them and their flowers and did no harm. Now there's a honey to be eaten...

Ocinum obovata

Leobordea pulchra

Cyanotis speciosa

Lotononis bachmanniana

Thesium natalensis

Eriosema umtamvunense

Eriosema umtamvunense seed head

Oxalis smithiana leaves

Oxalis smithiana

Callilepis laureola

Schizogloussum atropurpureum subsp. virens

The Hypoxis have been impressive. Hypoxis linearis leaves were need like compared to that of Hypoxis rigidula which we so strong and sturdy, the leaves hairy almost if it required a shave. Hypoxis hemerocallidea amused the elders in Gail's awful pronunciation of this medicinal plant.

Hypoxis filiformis needle like leaves and bud.

It ended up being a day of learning about Berkeya's. There's a lot to learn. It can be a bit overwhelming and daunting. The yellow of the petal's simply make one's heart happy, it's a cheerful colour and butterflies skipped from one flower to another. The earth was still mushy from all the days of rain we had received earlier in the week and it felt like one was walking on a sponge.

Berkheya rhapontica forming a seed head

Berkheya rhapontica

Berkheya rhapontica

The leaf is white at the back. Flowers go all the way up the stalk and the stalk is spiney.
There's five subspecies of Berkheya rhapontica.

Berkheya speciosa

Berkeya speciosa

Helichrysum pallidum's new buds

Simon, Tracy and Dorothy.

Berkeya umbellata

Berkeya umbellata - various stages

Berkeya umbellata

Senecio cf heliopsis

Senecio cf coronatus

Senecio sp

The Hypoxis have been impressive. Hypoxis filiformis leaves were needle-like compared to that of Hypoxis rigidula which we so strong and sturdy, the leaves very hairy. Hypoxis hemerocallidea amused the elders in Gail's awful pronunciation of this medicinal plant.

Hypoxis filiformis

Hypoxis rigidula

Hypoxis hemerocallidea

As we scoped the land, we came across many Pelargonium luridum's that were in flower, delicate clusters of pink and their only consistency was with their flower heads as there was none with their leaves. How variable they are perhaps a bit like people. It can be a very confusing plant when first learning as it will trick you each time you see it as some leaves are narrow and others in odd shapes. This is a plant not to put in a box as with life.

Pelargonium luridum

Variable leaves of the Pelargonium luridum

Pelargonium luridum

The Ledebouria revoluta were flowering, their petal's shining like an oyster shell. Their leaves fat and spotty. The Euphorbia striata looked as if its flowers were served on plates. Dipacadi virde's little green flowers hung droopily and delicately. Easily overlooked. There's was an Ornithogalum sp that flowered on mass and some had set seed, their strong stems quite rigid and leafless. They looked like miniature white stars in the grass and left us confused to what we were looking at. One looks upon the Acalypha penduncularis noticing their various colours of red, loving the male and female form, with the males looking like thin strawberries and the females as paint brushes.

One has to remember that time has passed, there was a hard lock down year on 2020 and we've been waiting for the season of flowers. With the dormancy of the brain it has to be awakened and gently reminded. The consistency in botanizing regularly assists with mental memory where the names are in a foreign Latin language. Perhaps our lessons at school should have been learning about flowers and trees and what to plant and what not to have taking over our land to make this a whole lot easier.

Ledebouria revoluta

Euphorbia natalensis

Euphorbia striata

Dipcade virde

Acalypha penduncularis males

Acalypha penduncularis male

Acalypha penduncularis female

Ornithogalum sp

Ornithogalum sp. sturdy stem with no leaves. Seed heads.

Kohautia amatymbica

The orchids we came across Cyrtorchis arcuata growing sturdily in the rocks with its white structured flowers. Disa similis and Eulophia hians var. hians flowered in their purple hue's.

Cyrtorchis arcuata

Eulophia hians var. hians

Disa similis

We found lovely rocks to sit on to eat our lunch and gazed up Senecio natalicola, the at Merwilla plumbea that had set seed and we were sad to have missed them flowering. One chases flowers in all directions and sometimes we miss them. After lunch we walked across the flowing stream and with a Macadamia nut farmer right on the reserves boundary. Plastic bags that had been used to cover bananas and nursery bags lay wrapped around plants, not many but the one's that got away been carried downstream when it rained hard. Along this steam we found invasives and tackled it with all our might where we could. Invasives can be managed if controlled early on.

Senecio natalicola

Anne and Senecio natalicola

Senecio natalicola

We enjoyed our lunch whilst sitting amongst the delicate pale yellow Senecio natalicola's.

Morea stricta - absent of leaves

Morea stricta

Merwilla plumbea seeds

The last of the Merwilla plumbea flowering.

Gladiolus inandensis

Gladiolus longicollis

Eye-flower mantis

Anne taught Gail the difference between the Todea barbara (False Tree Fern) and Alsophila dregei (Tree Fern) and the difference in their leaves.

Anne destroying Wild Ginger (alien invasive)

Simon helping Maggie across a stream. It looked like a Waltz.

Todea barbara

Alsophila dregei

Alsophila dregei and Todea barbara

Tracy tackling the Wild Ginger (alien invasive).

Zantedeschia aethiopica with Napier fodder (alien invasive).

Helichrysum griseum

Hilliardiella hirsuta - Quilted-leaved Vernonia

Indigofera rubroglandulosa

Ursinia tenuiloba seed bracetea. Paper like.

Ursinia tenuiloba

Dimorphotheca fruticosa

Dorothy and Simon.

Simon was telling Dorothy she had OCD when it came to taking photo's of flowers.
Gail sympathized completely.

Tracy and Maggie having a conversation of the Podalyria burchellii

Anne tackling invasives

Dorothy had been attacked by a Smilax anceps which left her leg red and with a couple of tissues and wet wipes and plasters we set off again where she was excitedly called to identify a tree that was full of mulberry coloured seed which looked good enough to eat, it was the Ilex mitis!

An attack from the "Leg ripper!" Anne tending to Dorothy's poor leg. It can be a war out there.

Podalyria burchellii - Hairy blossom pea

Trying to get a "takkie" of the Ilex mitis for identification.

Ilex mitis

As we made our way back to the vehicles, we saw Rothmannia globosa who's flowers were about to burst open releasing the most magnificent scent into the air. Tricalysia capenis's bush was full of sweetly scented white flowers and the Alberta magna counter-balanced all the white with it's red. Both Cyrtanthus brachysyphus and contractus flowered in their fire-engine red. We had had the most beautiful and gentle day amongst the flowers and with friends. Our last lesson was about gall's on the Ochna and the gall's on the Ochna natalitia are closed and open on Ochna serrulata. The gall can be so conniving that it often is mistaken for a flower!