We met at Beacon Hill and decided to meander down the hill in search of Disa baurii and Disa similis as Arjun and Steve from the UKZN lab are interested in orchid pollination. We stomped around with our eyes scanning the area for any signs of orchids but only found one Eulophia parviflora.
It's lovely with the change of seasons and the grass burnt in the Umtamvuna Nature Reserve to see the wildflowers beginning to emerge. Cyrtanthus breviflorus is always the first flower to erupt out of the earth 3 days after the burn, followed by Gerbera ambigua and Indigofera rubroglandulosa . The Helicrysums were all beginning to show their beautiful yellow heads, they are always a confusing flower to try and identify.
A little up the hill we found cheerful Senecio speciosus in its purple show. Ursinia tenuiloba had already set seed and if one didn't know better one would think that the seed head was a flower. Our vulnerable South African endemic mtamvunae was flowering, the petals a gently pink. These are always the first Watsonia to flower. The baboons love Watsonia densiflorus and we came across plenty bulbs lying abandoned on the floor.
We came across the most gorgeous cluster of Polystachya pubescens growing on a rock under the shade of a tree and decided to eat our lunch quietly there before heading on down the hill to see fields of Gerbera ambigua growing in the bog, not a place for people walking without wellies.
Another happy day enjoyed by Pondoland C.R.E.W.
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| Cyrtanthus breviflorus Yellow Fire Lily |
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| Chlorophytum sp. |
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| Gerbera ambigua |
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| Polystachya pubescens |
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| Watsonia mtamvunae Vulnerable D2 South African endemic |
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| Hebenstretia dura |
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| Helichrysum ecklonis |
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| Senecio speciosus |
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| Hypoxis argentea |
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| Thunbergia atriplicifolia |
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| Helichrysum nudifolium var. pilosellum |
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| Helichrysum aureum |
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| Ocimum obovatum subsp. obovatum Cat's Whiskers |
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| Cyrtanthus brachyscyphus Orange Ifafa Lily |
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| Thesium natalense |
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| Gazania krebsiana |
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| Graderia scabra Pink Ground-bells |
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| Oxalis smithiana |
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| Indigofera rubroglandulosa South African endemic |
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Ledebouria revoluta |
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| Ursinia tenuiloba |
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| Podalyria burchellii Hairy Blossom-pea |
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| Utricularia prehensilis |
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Genlisea hispidula |
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| Disa tripetaloides South African endemic |
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| Drosera natalensis |
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| Schizoglossum atropurpureum subsp. virens South African endemic |
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| Helichrysum pannosum Endangered A2c |
Pondoland C.R.E.W.
Alf Hayter, Maggie Abbott, Anne Skelton, Hilary Henderson, Gail Bowers-Winters & Tracy Taylor
"When you realize there is nothing lacking,
the world world belongs to you." Lao Tzu
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