We were fortunate to have Graham and Kate Grieve join us on Thursday and we met at the Gogosa Outpost in the Umtumvuna Nature Reserve.
It good to see the Encephalortos ghellinckii growing on the grassy slopes. One gets two forms of this species. The highland or "giant form" which occurs at altitudes of 1 100- 1 800 m in KwaZulu-Natal in the Drakensberg, and the lowland or "dwarf" form which is found at lower altitudes. Both forms grow on the steep, grassy slopes on rocky outcrops in full sun. This cycad prefers growing on the east-facing slopes. The stems of this form are thinner and reclining and rarely grow taller than 1m and have a diameter of 250-350 mm. The crown produces sequences of bracts that are covered with soft, fine hairs and there is no golden-brown wool. The leaves are straight or inward curving and up to 1 m long. New leaves are covered with white wool, which disappears as the leaf matures.
According to the Red List of South African plants this species is assessed as Vulnerable (VU). Subpopulations of the "lowland" form are more threatened and may be on the brink of extinction because of poaching. The bark and stems are used in traditional medicine and traded at muthi markets in Durban and Gauteng.
Encephalartos ghellinckii is one of the slowest growing and most difficult to re-establish. It can take up to 5 years before producing a new set of leaves and plants in cultivation rarely produce cones. Fire plays a very important role in the formation of cones and new leaves.
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Encephalartos ghellinckii (VU).
 | | Anne, Kate and Graham exploring the grass-lands. |
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Rachel Jarvis had joined her mum Gail on this excursion and Anne showed her how to make a little ball using the sticky Senecio rhychalaenus leaves by rolling them in her hands which brought a great amount of joy as she threw it up into the air to catch it and then after playing made a flower posy.
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Anne teaching Rachel how to make a ball out of Senecio rhychalaenus leaves.
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| Rachel having fun with the ball she made. |
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| A posy. |
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| Eriosemopsis subanisophylla (VU) |
The Eriosemopsis subanisophylla is vulnerable and fewer than 10 locations remain. It continues to decline due to ongoing habitat loss and degradation as a result of coastal development, subsistence agriculture, overgrazing and too frequent fires.
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| Senecio erubescens var. incisus (endemic to area) |
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| Cucumis zeyheri |
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| Satyrium longicauda |
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| Aspalathus gerrardii |
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Sisyranthus virgatus
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Sisyranthus imberbis
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| Tephrosia sp |
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| Crotalaria globifera |
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| Crotalaria globifera |
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Pondoland CR.E.W.
Graham, Kate, Anne, Dorothy, Rachel, Simon, Tracy and Gail
"Wildflowers are the loveliest of all because they grow in uncultivated soil, in the hard, rugged places where no one expects them to flourish." - Micheline Ryckman
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