Rennies 28 November 2024

It was day where one preferred to stay at home and do other things as the weather was most unpleasant to say the least.  A few day days before the floors were wet with humidity and it was hot.  We hadn’t had a winter and now it was this time of year.  August winds pressed pause and December was upon us and the winds still howled.  Lightening had stuck and the heavens definitely sounded like there was a relocation.  Farmlands in the Umtamvuna were left for days without power.  One set out with phone’s only being charged in the car and battery packs flashed “Change”.

Xysmalobium involucratum
Hongersnoodbossie
APOCYNACEAE

Asclepias albens
Cartwheels
APOCYNACEAE

Bracing the all the elements of the day for the love of plants.

Uschi focused and passionate about plants.  This is a great teacher.

Maggie out there and soldiering on.

Dorothy had suggested we botanize at Rennie’s.  In the winds a forest would be more protected but out we went in slow pace as the area where we botanizing in was near the ocean and can be unsafe.  The grass rolled.  Birds battled to fly.  We battled to walk forward.  Today all plants got the name “inclanta” which means “inclined to lean” The wind made everything including us and plants lean to one side.  How one was going to take a sharp image was going to be interesting.  Perhaps it would be an abstract art day in the flowers.

The Hugh Nicholson's Thursday Group.

In the swamp area Watsonia pillansii flowered in mass.  We were at the end as some were going to seed.  The colour was a coral orange.  Just beautiful as were stems that were about to burst into magic.

Watsonia pillansii 
IRIDACEAE
South African endemic

Intermingled in the Watsonia pillansii were Eulophia angolensis. They like children hadn’t reached their full height but were flowering and still reaching for the sun.  On the outskirts of this wetland an abundant mass of Satyrium sphaerocarpum flowered.   We’d never seen such a mass of  these orchids flowering everywhere. 

Satyrium sphaerocarpum
ORCHIDACEAE

Walking amongst the Satyrium sphaerocarpum

 

Eulophia angolensis

Acrolophia cochlearis

ORCHIDACEAE

On this day the flowers that took charge of the day where Watsonia pillansii, Satyrium sphaerocarpum, and Eriosema dregei.  99 percent of the Eriosma’s had set seed or gone over.  It must have  been quite a picture.

Alf amongst the field of Watsonia pillansii

Eriosema dregei
FABACEAE
Vulnerable A2c; B1ab(ii,iii)+2ab(iii)
South African endemic

Uschi looking behind the leaf for bumps.

Delosperma carterae
Bumpy Sheepfig
AIZOACEAE
South African endemic

The name “Delosperma” is derived from the Greek words “delos,” meaning clear, and “sperma,” meaning seed, potentially referencing the plant’s transparent seeds. The species name “carterae” honors a person associated with its discovery or classification, further emphasizing the human connection to the natural world.

The leaves are bumpy and fleshy, often described as looking like small, green pebbles. This unique leaf structure helps the plant retain moisture, a critical adaptation for survival in arid climates. When in bloom, the plant produces an abundance of vibrant yellow or white flowers that resemble lively little stars, creating a stunning visual display that attracts various pollinators.

Selago tarachodes 
SCROPHULARIACEAE
South African endemic

Aspilia natalensis
 Wild Creeping Sunflower 
ASTERACEAE

Bottoms up.  Heads down.  What's this?

Convolvulus natalensis 
CONVOLVULACEAE

Gall's on Rhoicissus tridentata

Bushman's Grape

VITACEAE

In nature one never knows where to go.  It’s like chasing butterflies.  Blink at its gone.  One just has to be at the right time and the right place with a lot of luck.

The Hugh Nicholson's Thursday Group / Pondoland C.R.E.W.
Gail, Dorothy, Maggie, Tracy, Uschi, Alf and Anne.

“He that plants trees loves others besides himself.” – Thomas Fuller