It
was Wednesday and we went botanizing. Anne and Yvie had to have a site meeting
at Rossmin and they left in the morning leaving left Gail, Alf and Tracy to
venture out onto the rolling hills on their own.
We had decided to go and check on the Nervilia kotschyi var. purpurata which were flowering. Tracy had discovered this orchid a year ago and there was much excitement around its discovery. The second site of these orchids that we found had not shown signs of erupting out of the ground as yet.
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Nervilia kotschyi var. purpurata
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The
hillside was still beautiful with all that was in flower. Hypoxis
rigidula took the stage in its bold presence. The leaves so
bold, upright and hairy, the silver incredibly eye catching.
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| Hypoxis rigidula |
Eulophia
ovalis were
flowering and so very eye-catching. The caterpillars had found some and
had eaten away their bonnets. The third orchid we had found was Acrolophia
cochlearis. A little dreary looking.
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Eulophia ovalis
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Tracy
pointed out the Acalypha villicaulis that had both the male
and female flowers on one plant.
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| Acalypha villicaulis |
It's
always interesting to observe the various stages of the Berkheya
umbellata in flower.
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| Berkheya umbellata |
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Berkheya umbellata leaves
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Lotus
discolor, Freesia laxa laxa, Silene burchellii subsp.
pilosellifolia and Nemesia denticulata were
found close to the forest's edge. Following the path minuscule coral
red flowers could be seen flowering on Gymnosporia
rubra.
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| Lotus discolor - Coral plant |
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| Lotus discolor |
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| Silene burchellii subsp. pilosellifolia |
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Stachys nigricans
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It was hot and humid and we sat down amongst flowers to eat
our lunch and we could barely see each other. It was quite beautiful to
be lost in a field of flowers and the grasses where heavy with pollen and their
seed heads hung heavily. As we meandered back Tracy spotted
one Kniphofia coddiana "Yellow" on the steep
hillside. It was wonderful to reach the top of the hill and feel the
breeze. Gail had melted. Eriosema salignum and Eriosema cordatum flowered
on the hill’s crescent.
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A field of flowers
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| Kniphofia coddiana "yellow" |
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Tracy finding the Kniphofia coddiana "yellow" in the slopey grasslands.
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As much as we wanted to botanize further, the heat herded us back to the car, past the Gerbera's that seed head now looked like dandelions heads. One blow and a wish was made.
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| Ophrestia oblongifolia leaves |
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| Ophrestia oblongifolia |
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| Pentanisia prunelloides |
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| Pentanisia prunelloides |
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| Pentanisia prunelloides |
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| Berkheya insignis |
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| Wahlenbergia sp. |
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| Wahlenbergia sp. leaves |
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| Scabiosa columbaria back of flower |
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| Scabiosa columbaria leaves |
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| Scabiosa columbaria |
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| Gerbera wishes in the heat of the day. |
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| Gail, Alf and Tracy Pondoland C.R.E.W. |
