We gathered in a small group this Thursday and
decided to take a slow stroll through the veld going in what ever direction we
found our feet to be pointing and as one does when one goes slowly and with passion
one finds all interesting things. It’s
always incredible to pick up one’s magnifying glass to look at the intricate detail
of a flower that the eye doesn’t pick up without this powerful aid. Anne pointed out the Exochaenium sp. nov
bravely growing in the lawn all short and stout and then we saw it again all
long and strangely trying to peek its flower head out of all the wild grass
that should be burnt shortly. In pure magnificence
Disa baurii was flowering with it powder-blue bonnets it’s an orchid
that simply stops one in one’s tracks.
It’s so delicate and beautiful. Anne
pointed out the Vulnerable D2 scraggly and unimpressive Syncolostemon
ramulosus and we left scratching our heads thinking what Euryops
leiocarpus’s name was. Plants names
can challenge one. Disa tripetaloides
grew in the marsh and one Gladiolus longicollis subsp. longicollis waved
its beautiful head at us. Anne pointed out the difference between the Alsophila dregei and the Todea barbara ferns. To the amateur they may look the same but once one’s learnt the difference in the leaf structure, they are very different. The Alberta magna is certainly the Magnificent-flame
and a tree that has a long flowering period and is Near Threatened. How terrible it would be not to see this
magnificent tree one day. With grumbling tummies’ our botanising came to
a pause and we found ourselves sitting on rocks with a stream running past us
and cascading down. This stream would
take one to Ingrid Fall’s if one bravely descended the hill. We ate our lunch looking up at the Putterlickia
retrospinosa admiring its spine’s and its inconsistent leaves that are both
big and small all on the same branch. What a common name this plant has. It’s called a Large-leaved Bastard
Spike-thorn. Well, I never… I’m sure that plant would like a name change. We
pottered in the riverine, carefully climbing over huge boulders and admiring
ancient trees that had gorgeous moss growing on the trunks. The stream could be heard and then the sound
silenced and then returned further down where we found the most gorgeous pool to
sit in and place our feet on one of the summer scorching days. As the day grew to a close, we saw the
spectacular Brunia trigna which is critically endangered growing on the
bank in a mass of white flowers. It was
quite breath taking and one had to pull one self away knowing we still had a
steep hill to climb. Rhipsalis
baccifera subsp. mauritiana our only indigenous cactus looked us with its
watchful octopus like fruit-eye and lucky for the plant its fruit was not quite
ripe and so we didn’t pop one into our mouths as a treat. On the rocks Anne found the seed capsule which
looked like it had the horns of the Ankole cow coming off the Brachystelma australe. It’s quite funny to think how huge that seed
capsule is when considering how small the flower is. It’s a seed capsule on steroids. Give it horns! Having said our good-bye’s Dorothy had seen Bonatea
speciosa growing in Trafalgar and so we found the car indicating right and
navigating us towards this orchid with its little people in their dresses having
a party on the plant. They had had a
near-death experience as alien bush cutters had left them with a narrow escape. A lovely day as usual but always our absent
friend are missed.  |
| Brunia trigyna BRUNIACEAE Pondo Ghost-bush Critically Endangered B1ab(v)+2ab(v); C2a(i); D |
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| Brunia trigyna BRUNIACEAE Pondo Ghost-bush Critically Endangered B1ab(v)+2ab(v); C2a(i); D |
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| Brunia trigyna BRUNIACEAE Pondo Ghost-bush Critically Endangered B1ab(v)+2ab(v); C2a(i); D
|
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| Alberta magna Magnificent-flame RUBIACEAE Near Threatened B2ab(ii,iii,v) |
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| Dyschoriste burchellii ACANTHACEAE |
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| Genlisea hispidula Lentibulariaceae |
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| Dyschoriste burchellii ACANTHACEAE |
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| C.R.E.W. admiring the colossal seed head of the Brachystelma australe. What great horns it had. |
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| Brachystelma australe - Seed capsule APOCYNACEAE |
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| Brachystelma australe - Seed capsule APOCYNACEAE |
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| Disa baurii Bloumoederkappie ORCHIDACEAE |
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| Debbie capturing the beauty of the Disa baurii |
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| Diospyros lycioides EBENACEAE |
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| Rabdosiella calycina Upland Fly Bush LAMIACEAE |
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| Rabdosiella calycina Upland Fly Bush LAMIACEAE |
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| Rhoicissus digitata Baboon Grape VITACEAE |
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| Ficus ingens Red-leaved Rock Fig MORACEAE |
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| Rhipsalis baccifera subsp. mauritiana Mistletoe Cactus CACTACEAE |
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| Syzygium cordatum subsp. cordatum Water Berry MYRTACEAE |
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| Nuxia floribunda Forest Elder STILBACEAE |
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| Alf |
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| Memecylon bachmannii Pondo Rose-apple MEMECYLACEAE |
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| Alf, Debbie and Tracy |
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| Hypoestes forskaolii |
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| Putterlickia retrospinosa Pondo False Spike-thorn or Large-leaved Bastard Spike-thorn CELASTRACEAE |
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| Putterlickia retrospinosa Pondo False Spike-thorn or Large-leaved Bastard Spike-thorn CELASTRACEAE |
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| Putterlickia retrospinosa with seed capsule. Pondo False Spike-thorn or Large-leaved Bastard Spike-thorn CELASTRACEAE |
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| Please ID. Tiny. Parsley like leaves. Grows in dampish area. |
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| Alsophila dregei (Cyathea dregei) Grassland Tree Fern CYATHEACEAE |
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| Alsophila dregei Grassland Tree Fern CYATHEACEAE |
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| Alsophila dregei Grassland Tree Fern CYATHEACEAE |
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| Alsophila dregei Grassland Tree Fern CYATHEACEAE |
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| Podalyria burchellii FABACEAE Hairy Blossom-pea |
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| Podalyria burchellii FABACEAE Hairy Blossom-pea |
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| Podalyria burchellii FABACEAE Hairy Blossom-pea
|
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| Todea barbara King Fern OSMUNDACEAE |
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| Todea barbara King Fern OSMUNDACEAE |
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| Euryops leiocarpus ASTERACEAE |
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| Euryops leiocarpus ASTERACEAE |
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| Euryops leiocarpus ASTERACEAE |
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| Euryops leiocarpus ASTERACEAE |
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| Dissotis canescens Pink Wild Tibouchina MELASTOMATACEAE |
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| Psoralea arborea Mountain Fountain-bush FABACEAE |
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| Psoralea arborea Mountain Fountain-bush FABACEAE |
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| Gymnanthemum corymbosum ASTERACEAE |
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| Gymnanthemum corymbosum ASTERACEAE |
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| Gymnanthemum corymbosum ASTERACEAE |
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| Watsonia pillansii IRIDACEAE |
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| Disa tripetaloides ORCHIDACEAE |
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| Disa tripetaloides ORCHIDACEAE |
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| Western Heights |
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| Gladiolus longicollis subsp. longicollis Honey-flower IRIDACEAE |
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| Gladiolus longicollis subsp. longicollis Honey-flower IRIDACEAE |
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| Pycnostachys reticulata Blue Soldier LAMIACEAE |
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| Ocimum obovatum subsp. obovatum Cat's Whiskers LAMIACEAE |
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| Berkheya umbellata ASTERACEAE |
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| Berkheya umbellata ASTERACEAE |
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| Berkheya umbellata ASTERACEAE |
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| Helichrysum appendiculatum Sheep's Ears Everlasting ASTERACEAE |
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| Helichrysum appendiculatum Sheep's Ears Everlasting ASTERACEAE |
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| Gerbera ambigua Botterblom ASTERACEAE |
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| Gerbera ambigua Botterblom ASTERACEAE |
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| Gerbera ambigua Botterblom ASTERACEAE |
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| Gerbera ambigua Botterblom ASTERACEAE |
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| Oxalis smithiana Star-leaved Sorrel OXALIDACEAE |
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| Thesium natalense SANTALACEAE |
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| Thesium natalense SANTALACEAE |
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| Helichrysum pallidum |
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| Helichrysum pallidum |
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| Helichrysum pallidum |
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| Utricularia livida Bladderwort LENTIBULARIACEAE
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| Maesa lanceolata False Assegaai MAESACEAE |
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| Maesa lanceolata False Assegaai MAESACEAE |
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| Tridactyle bicaudata subsp. rupestris seed capsule Stelzen Orchid Monocotyledons ORCHIDACEAE |
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| Tridactyle bicaudata subsp. rupestris Stelzen Orchid Monocotyledons ORCHIDACEAE |
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| Homeward bound. |
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Tracy making wishes. |
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| Bonatea speciosa ORCHIDACEAE
|
 Pondoland C.R.E.W. |
| Debbie King, Alf Hayter, Gail Bowers-Winters, Anne Skelton and Tracy Taylor |
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