It was an
exciting day as we had not been to Western Heights for a very long time and
with the rural road that is not maintained it can be quite hairy to get stuck
in one of the dips with no-one around to tow another vehicle out. With the road being dry we arranged with Simon to use his vehicle as
back-up. Alf and Gail climbed into the back of the bakkie and we found ourselves as
youthful as children and happily with the breeze blowing through our hair, we
chattered merrily all the way and surprisingly we had no Eucalyptus trees to
drag off the road and with no hiccups we arrived at Western Heights full of
cheer.
We first explored the Protea Forest and
meandered around all the rocks finding what grew there. Gail found Psoralea abbotii, the Vulnerable
B1ab (I, ii, iii, iv, v) growing fragile in the grass. We came across two Erica’s in this area, Erica
cubica and Erica aspalathifolia var. aspalathifolia which grew prolifically amongst
the rocks. Sadly, we had missed this
white Erica in its full magnificence flowering and had one to look at to
confirm its colour. The Aloe arborescens
were in full flower and quite the show stopper.
Time was ticking and we drove on as our destination was The Iron
Crown. We came across Erica
cerinthoides. It’s not called the Fire
heath for nothing. The coral-red colour is just too beautiful for words.
We sat
on the rocks looking at the rolling hills on the Transkei side that looked velvety
in the light and Simon had brought us desert!
It was the honey comb that his bees had made which he shared amongst us
and we savoured it. This was food for
the Gods. Suddenly the wind picked up,
it huffed and it puffed and blew some of us down into the forest’s edge where
we were protected from the gale that blew. Simon pointed out the difference between the Strychnos mitis when holding up the leaf that has 3-5 veined from the base, compared to the identical leaf of the Memecylon bachmannii which margin rolls under. The Memecylon bachmannii is very similiar to Eugenia natalitia who's leaves have a secretory cavities. We saw these three tree's together and confusing was an understatement to a beginner.
On the rocky ledge Gail found the endangered Tephrosia pondoensis. (B1ab(iii,v); C2a(i) an endemic to the area and growing on the slopes was Eulophia parvilfora. The wind was so awful that when Gail, Simon
and Alf returned we found the rest of the group tucked up in the cars waiting
to go. We had had a feast of a day with
special plants in this pristine reserve and set off home.
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Psoralea abbottii
Pondo Fountain-bush
FABACEAE
Vulnerable B1ab(i,ii,iii,iv,v)
|
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Psoralea abbottii
Pondo Fountain-bush
FABACEAE
Vulnerable B1ab(i,ii,iii,iv,v)
|
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| Delosperma sp. |
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| Delosperma sp. |
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Genus: Delosperma
AIZOACEAE
|
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Eulophia parviflora
ORCHIDACEAE |
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Eulophia parviflora
ORCHIDACEAE
|
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Clutia sp. nov
EUPHORBIACEAE |
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Clutia sp. nov
EUPHORBIACEAE |
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Clutia sp. nov
EUPHORBIACEAE |
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Athrixia phylicoides
Bush tea
ASTERACEAE |
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Simon handing Alf his takkies to take back to Dorothy for ID's
before dipping into the forest's edge. |
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Senecio deltoideus
Canary Creeper
ASTERACEAE |
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Searsia pondoensis
Many-veined Currant
ANACARDIACEAE
|
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Searsia pondoensis
Many-veined Currant
ANACARDIACEAE
|
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| Alf on top of the koppie where the wind howled. |
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Zanthoxylum davyi
Forest Knobwood
RUTACEAE |
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Zanthoxylum davyi
Forest Knobwood
RUTACEAE |
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Zanthoxylum davyi
Forest Knobwood
RUTACEAE |
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Ekebergia capensis
Cape Ash
MELIACEAE |
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Ficus ingens
Red-leaved Rock Fig
MORACEAE
|
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Psydrax obovata subsp. obovata
Coastal Pioneer Quar
RUBIACEAE |
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| Simon about to get blown off the rock. |
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| Debbie getting ready to fly with the vultures. |
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| The pet rock standing on it's perch wanting protecting its territory from the other side. |
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| Maggie walking in the gale. |
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| Wahlenbergia capillacea subsp. capillacea |
CAMPANULACEAE
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| Wahlenbergia capillacea subsp. capillacea |
CAMPANULACEAE
|
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Erica cerinthoides
Fire Heath
ERICACEAE
|
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| C.R.E.W. looking at the beautiful Erica cerinthoides. |
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Blue Fluff-bush ASTERACEAE |
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| Lopholaena dregeana |
Blue Fluff-bush
ASTERACEAE
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Exochaenium grande
GENTIANACEAE |
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| The winding road leading to The Iron Crown. |
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Phymaspermum acerosum
GeelblombosASTERACEAE |
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Aloe arborescens
Kranz Aloe
ASPHODELACEAE |
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| Anne waiting for all her students to re-group before heading on. |
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| Dorothy always patient and willing to help with ID's. |
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| Moss growing between the rocks. |
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Carissa bispinosa var. bispinosaForest Num-NumAPOCYNACEAE |
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Helichrysum populifolium
ASTERACEAE |
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| Erica aspalathifolia var. aspalathifolia |
ERICACEAE |
| Erica aspalathifolia var. aspalathifolia |
ERICACEAE |
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Oldenlandia tenella
RUBIACEAE |
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Gerbera ambigua
ASTERACEAE |
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Crassula pellucida subsp. brachypetala
CRASSULACEAE |
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Crassula pellucida subsp. brachypetala
CRASSULACEAE |
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Bulbine latifolia
Water Glass
ASPHODELACEAE |
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The tiny little flower that's caused some confusion as to what it is.
It's possibly a Jamesbrittenia sp. |
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Euryops leiocarpus
ASTERACEAE |
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| Diospyros scabrida var. scabrida |
Coastal Bladder-nut
EBENACEAE
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Maesa lanceolata
False Assegai
MAESACEAE |
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Maesa lanceolata
False Assegai
MAESACEAE
 | Alepidea peduncularis
APIACEAE |
|
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Alepidea peduncularis leaves
APIACEAE |
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Alepidea peduncularis leaves
APIACEAE |
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| Aspalathus chortophila |
Tea Bush
FABACEAE
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Maggie taking notes and Dorothy our teacher
with a memory like an elephant. |
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Cineraria albicans
ASTERACEAE
|
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Cineraria albicans
ASTERACEAE |
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| Alf with an eagle view looking down into the valley below. |
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| Places to explore |
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| Simon descending and going to explore the other side way down below. |
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Erica cubica
ERICACEAE
|
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Exochaenium grande
GENTIANACEAE |
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Exochaenium sp. nov
GENTIANACEAE |
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Inulanthera leucoclada
ASTERACEAE |
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Inulanthera leucoclada
ASTERACEAE
|
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Lotononis eriocarpa
FABACEAE |
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Lotononis eriocarpa
FABACEAE
|
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Alepidea peduncularis
APIACEAE
Memecylon bachmannii
Pondo Rose-apple
MEMECYLACEAE
.JPG) | Memecylon bachmannii
Pondo Rose-apple
MEMECYLACEAE
|
 | Strychnos mitis
Yellow Bitterberry
LOGANIACEAE
(3 veins) |
 Eugenia natalitia Forest Myrtle MYRTACEAE
|
Pondoland C.R.E.W.
|
| Gail Bowers-Winters, Simon Hicks, Maggie Abbott, Dorothy McIntyre, Debbie King, Alf Hayter, Anne Skelton and Tracy Taylor. |
.JPG)
.JPG)
