Western Heights 21 September 2023

Arjun had come down to study the pollinators on specific plants so we met at Beacon Hill and travelled to Western Heights.  Once again to our horror we saw cattle gazing in the nature reserve.  The fence had fallen down and the pristine so with freshly burnt veld the grass as green and delicious.  No matter where one walked one now smelt dung in the air and the spoor was everywhere!   Its most disconcerting for nothing is being done to get rid of the cattle and thought there is said there is communication between the Induna and Parks Board it seems to fall upon deaf ears.

Eye’s focused downwards we came across the beautiful endemic Anemone caffra. Hypoxis angustifolia buchananii grew prolifically, their little yellow heads like a galaxy of yellow stars scattered on the earth.  The Merwilla plumbea were in flower and one could find them growing in the marsh and on rocks.  How adaptable this flower can be.  In the wetlands we found Gladiolus longicollis, Drosera natalensis and Drosera nidiformis.

On the forest edge we found Keetia gueinzii and Ekebergia pterophylla in flower. 

We came across one delicate Rotheca hirsuta.  After lunch we met up with Arjun and Banisha, Tracy and Gail hiked down into forest to see if the Clivia’s and Dietes butcheriana were in flower.  They were not and another trip would have to be done middle of October.  We did come across Anemone(Knowltonia) brevistylis which Banisha had studied and the delicate Geranium flanaganii flowering on the forest edge left us gazing at its beautiful petals.  We meandered back up the hill after  a 9 km botany exploration with our hearts content.  

Anemone caffra
RANUNCULACEAE
South African endemic

CREW scanning the veld for flowers and finding Rotheca hirsuta.
 

Rotheca hirsuta
LAMIACEAE

Helichrysum ecklonis

Xysmalobium involucratum
APOCYNACEAE

Kohautia amatymbica
RUBIACEAE

Hypericum aethiopicum subsp. sonderi
HYPERICACEAE

Acalypha peduncularis
EUPHORBIACEAE

Eriocaulon dregei
ERIOCAULACEAE

Helichrysum ecklonis
ASTERACEAE

Gladiolus longicollis 
IRIDACEAE

Ekebergia pterophylla
MELIACEAE

Keetia gueinzii
RUBIACEAE 

A cool cave in were we enjoyed our lunch and found Genet and Porcupine scats.

Diospyros scabrida 
EBENACEAE
South African endemic

Tracy been snacked upon by a rock monster. Her glasses did not survive after she was spat out.  

Pelargonium luridum 
GERANIACEAE

Anemone (Knowltonia) brevistylis - Forest form

Geranium flanaganii
GERANIACEAE

Polystachya pubescens
ORCHIDACEAE

Hypoxis angustifolia var. buchananii
HYPOXIDACEAE

Pellaea calomelanos var. calomelanos
Hard Fern
PTERIDACEAE

Drosera nidiformis
DROSERACEAE

Drosera natalensis
DROSERACEAE

Pondoland CREW 

Guests: Arjun and Banisha from India
Dorothy, Alf, Anne, Hillary, Maggie, Gail and Tracy.

My wish is to stay always like this, living quietly in a corner of nature." –Claude Monet