We met at Red Desert in Port Edward. There were flowers everywhere! As we meandered, we could hear Tracy shout "Chocolate orchid!". Acrolophia cochlearis was growing just before one enters into the Red Desert area and can easily be overlooked. It certainly is not eye-catching to say the least its drab brown with lips of dull yellow, but when observing it behind a loop one becomes more appreciative of its tiny flowers. This orchid is a robust terrestrial which can grow up to 1m tall.
We spotted a tiny Aristea abyssinica and saw a Drosera natalensis flower peeking up in pretty pink. This is a good indicator that there is seepage in this area. Senecio variabilis caught our attention, it was flowering in mass, the blue so eye-catching. Dorothy pointed out the endangered Oxygonum dregeanum subsp. streyi. This was Cyrtanthus brachyscyphus week, it flowered throughout the reserve. Its coral head catching one’s eye as one walked through the grass.
We passed a flowering Stoebe vulgaris which has recently had a new name change that being Stoebe plumosa.
Senecio adnatus, Helichrysum aureum var.
monocephalum, Helichrysum pallidum, Helichrysum nudifolium var.
oxyphyllum where flowering brightly and one had to be care when
handling Berkheya umbellata as its prickles made one takes away one’s hand
very quickly. This was a flower with attitude and that does not want to
be touched. The white flowers of Dimorphotheca fruticosa
and Callilepis laureola caught one’s eye from far.
Eulophia hians var. hians, Acrolophia cochlearis Eulophia parviflora (short spurred form), Satyrium longicauda, Disa similis and Orthochilus foliosus where the orchids found. Satyrium longicauda was awakening in the moist and open grassland and growing beside it was the pretty pink flowering Ledebouria cooperi. Anne pointed out the Eulophia parviflora growing in the grassland. This orchid is pollinated by the chafer beetles.
It was lovely to walk quietly
and observe all that was flowering in this beautiful reserve.
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| Aristea abyssinica IRIDACEAE |
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Red Desert - Port Edward |
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| Senecio variabilis ASTERACEAE |
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| Heliophila elongata BRASSICACEAE South African endemic |
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| Oxygonum dregeanum subsp. streyi POLYGONACEAE Endangered A2c |
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| Scabiosa columbaria DIPSACACEAE  |
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| Acrolophia cochlearis Synonym: Eulophia cochlearis ORCHIDACEAE South African endemic |
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| Drosera natalensis DROSERACEAE |
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| Cyrtanthus brachyscyphus AMARYLLIDACEAE South African endemic |
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| Stoebe plumosa Synonyms: Stoebe vulgaris ASTERACEAE |
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| Searsia carnosula ANACARDIACEAE South African endemic |
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| Senecio adnatus ASTERACEAE |
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| Helichrysum pallidum ASTERACEAE  |
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| Helichrysum griseum ASTERACEAE |
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| Muraltia lancifolia POLYGALACEAE |
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| Cycnium adonense OROBANCHACEAE  |
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| Berkheya umbellata ASTERACEAE South African endemic |
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| Tritonia gladiolaris IRIDACEAE |
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| Helichrysum aureum var. monocephalum ASTERACEAE |
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| Plectranthus hadiensis Synonyms: Coleus hadiensis LAMIACEAE |
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| Dimorphotheca fruticosa ASTERACEAE South African endemic |
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| Cucumis hirsutus CUCURBITACEAE |
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| Eulophia hians var. hians ORCHIDACEAE |
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| Hebenstretia comosa SCROPHULARIACEAE |
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| Disa similis ORCHIDACEAE |
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| Hypoxis colchicifolia HYPOXIDACEAE South African endemic |
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| Gladiolus inandensis IRIDACEAE South African endemic |
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| Hilliardiella |
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| Hilliardiella elaeagnoides ASTERACEAE |
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| Hilliardiella hirsuta Quilted-leaved Vernonia ASTERACEAE |
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| Dipcadi viride HYACINTHACEAE |
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| Cyperus ascocapensis CYPERACEAE |
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| Ledebouria cooperi HYACINTHACEAE |
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| Satyrium longicauda ORCHIDACEAE |
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| Ornithogalum sp. |
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| Hypoxis argentea HYPOXIDACEAE |
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| Graderia scabra OROBANCHACEAE |
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| Ipomoea crassipes var. crassipes CONVOLVULACEAE |
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| Orthochilus foliosus ORCHIDACEAE |
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| Eriosema kraussianum FABACEAE |
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| Kohautia amatymbica RUBIACEAE |
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| Callilepis laureola ASTERACEAE  |
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| Raphionacme galpinii APOCYNACEAE |
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| Eugenia albanensis MYRTACEAE
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| Erythrina lysistemon Sacred Coral Tree FABACEAE |
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| Eulophia parviflora (short spurred form) ORCHIDACEAE |
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| Pondoland C.R.E.W. Alf Hayter, Mark Getliffe, Gail Bowers-Winters, Dorothy McIntyre, Tracy Taylor & Anne Skelton |
"When one flower blooms, spring awakens everywhere." - John O'Donohue
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