As we felt that there were yet more succulents to show our Gauteng visitors, we arranged to take them to a different part of the Western Heights to see what we could find. Right where we parked our vehicles we found a Pachycarpus grandiflorus with its large bell-shaped flowers.
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| Pachycarpus grandiflorus |
Our aim for the day was to explore amongst the rocks on what we call Crassula Kop and so, after a short walk we started looking at the south-facing rock faces. It was not long before we found the first of many Stenoglottis macloughlinii in wet cracks in these rocks.
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| Stenoglottis macloughlinii |
Also dotted amongst these rocks were a several of the Vulnerable endemic Watsonia bachmannii. Nestled in cracks were Cineraria albicans and a single flower on one of our least favourite plants Smilax anceps (also known as "leg ripper"). The hook thorns on this lax creeper are always ready to tear at your legs if you do not take care to avoid the plant.
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| Watsonia bachmannii |
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| Cineraria albicans |
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| Smilax anceps |
When we found our way over the top of Crassula Kop onto the eastern face with a steep drop into the Bulolo River gorge, we came across a rock with a good collection of lithophytes, as well as some Brownleea coerulea flowering in the shade below the rock. On top were several Brachystelma australe (in flower or fruit), and a big cluster of the endemic Tridactyle bicaudata subsp. rupestris with some late flowers.
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| Brownleea coerulea |
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| Brachystelma australe |
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| Tridactyle bicaudata subsp. rupestris |
With a strong cold wind whipping around our ears we sought out a sheltered spot to have lunch, finding Crassula pellucida subsp. brachypetala on the way. A little later, we found another succulent Crassula, C. ericoides with one or two flowers peeking out between the leaves.
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| Crassula pellucida subsp. brachypetala |
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| Crassula ericoides |
At our lunch spot we found a Diospyros scabrida with male flowers, having earlier seen a female also in flower and carrying fruits.
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| Diospyros scabrida |
Out in the open grassland there were several Buchnera dura.
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| Buchnera dura |
We headed back down to a small wetland where the suite of Utricularia livida, U. prehensilis and U. subulata were all flourishing but a short distance away on a wet vertical rock face we found a mass of U. sandersonii in flower. All of these members of the Bladderwort family are interesting, but U. sandersonii is particularly so with a "huge" flower out of all proportion to the tiny leaves and runners.
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| Utricularia sandersonii |
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| A mass of Utricularia sandersonii |
Having clambered up some steep rock faces, we came across Wahlenbergia huttonii, and growing in a patch of tall grass was a clump of Helichrysum panduratum var. panduratum.
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| Wahlenbergia huttonii |
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| Helichrysum panduratum var panduratum |
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The group minus the Gauteng visitors who left early.
On this occasion I only just made it into frame in time. |
Participants: Anne S, Dorothy M, Gerhard S, Graham G, Kate G, Luise G, Maggie A., Uschi T.
