Sunday 31 August 2014

Four 'New' Flowers Sunday Flower Walk

After all last week's hype over Spring being here, we had a windy, wet, very cold week, but it's cleared now and the promises are for fine weather this week, so with the Apples beginning to move, from tomorrow the spray machines will be out in earnest! A Sundowner bud below, just beginning to show some green!

Malus domestica Sundowner bud

We were Milling at Compagnesdrift yesterday and the succulent garden below the Mill Stream is at its best. Is this Aloe reynoldsii?

Aloe reynoldsii?

Flower detail:

Flower detail Aloe reynoldsii ?

Is this Cotyledon pendens?

Cotyledon pendens ?

Flower detail:

Flower detail of Cotyledon pendens ?

The Chasmanthes aren't over yet!

Chasmanthe

There was a strong smell from the Lobster Plant Plectranthus neochilus planted in a wide band next to the stream as it flows down past the Mill:

Plectranthus neochilus

Today we had a peek at the stunning Clivias in Steen's garden on the way out:

Clivia miniata

Down at the dam on the Experimental Farm, the Waterblommetjies Aponogeton distachyos are all vying for space in the sun!

Waterblommetjies Apongeton distachyos

This unfortunate Daisy flower was overwhelmed by Monkey Beetles!

Daisy covered in Monkey Beetles

This poor photo is of New Flower No 1, an Erica, close to the road we always use but we have never noticed it before. The leaves are quite long and not tufted, the flowers were pink, so which one is it? Erica plukenetii?

Erica plukenetii ?

We think we now have a name for the plant I have described before as having Cedar-like stems and Brunia-type round white flowers. Raspalia microphylla seems to fit the description; there's an iSpot submission from our area. It is of the Brunia family, and its common name is False Cedar! We're finding more and more of it.

Raspalia microphylla ?

The next 'new' plant was growing close to the Erica above, it has long oval-section leaves, growing about 30cm long straight out of the ground. What makes it interesting now are the branched deep red / brown flower stems which are also growing out of the ground. A branched stem can be seen growing out to the right in the picture below:

Unknown plant

Bud detail, before branching out:

Flower detail

Some of the flower stems were particularly thick, like this one below, others had branched out candelabra-style. We found three plants in a small area and no more. What might they be? We'll be back to see what the flowers look like!

Flower stem detail

Only a few Wachendorfia paniculata are out, but there are many plants waiting!

Wachendorfia paniculata

A third 'new' plant has hairy leaves and tiny pink flowers, the plant growing close to the ground. It has us guessing! How does one describe what is growing behind the flower?

Unknown plant flower detail

This is how the plant grows:

Unknown plant growing pattern

From the top it was good to see an Optimist out on the water, close to the Country Club!

Optimist on Eikenhof Dam

Here's an interesting Restio, short, with the sun catching the yellow of the flowers! The photo isn't detailed enough for Anina to identify it, but it was striking!

Unknown Restio

Another pair with culms which looked like porcupine quills!

Elegia deustum ?

Anina says this is possibly Elegia deustum.

Elegia deustum ?

We haven't seen a Sunbird in this particular spot before, here seen holding on to a Ceratocaryum argenteum male flower: 

Sunbird on Ceratocaryum argenteum male

White flowers make this an Oftia:

White buds on Oftia

... and this with pink flowers, a Teedia! For the rest of the year, we can't tell them apart!

Pink flowers on Teedia

Our fourth 'new' plant was growing right next to the track, two lilac flowers on an otherwise bare, but branched stem:

Gladiolus blommesteinii ?

The closest we get is Gladiolus blommesteinii, but we're far from sure!

Gladiolus blommesteinii ?

This is how far advanced the flowers are on the original single Phaenocoma prolifera which we found a couple of years ago, and as the name suggests, it's covered in them!

Phaenocoma prolifera

We stopped at the China Flowers Adenandra uniflora we saw last week, to verify the green petals (?) in the middle. What we found is that when the four petals are fully open, the last five   leaves (or are they sepals?) on the stem are exposed:

Adenandra uniflora

We wondered what had happened to all the ladybirds we found in the hollows in the rock a few weeks back:

Ladybird on spent Erica

This was close to the Penaea cneorum our 'new' flower of last week, now looking slightly redder at the base of the flowers:

Penaea cneorum ?

On the way home I just had to stop for this shot of a bright pink Erica. The dam was like a mirror!

Pink Erica and reflection

:-) A

Sunday 24 August 2014

First Wachendorfia Sunday Flower Walk!

Apart from a second sighting of a Yellow Billed Kite this week, what can be a surer sign of Spring than the first Wachendorfia paniculata flower?

Wachendorfia paniculata, first flower observed!

There are lots more plants, but this was the only one we found in flower. There's another big bud coming out of the same plant just behind and to the left. The pleated leaves set this apart from all the other sword-leaved plants.
Another good sign is this pair of Jackal Buzzards getting very cosy at the top of the tallest pine on our farm!

Jackal Buzzard pair

In the orchard next door, Pippa spotted this big Boletus possibly B. radicans. Not edible:

Boletus radicans?

We didn't have to go far to find our first Sundews Drosera, where we found the first ones last year, right on the driving surface of the track!

Sundew Drosera

The spectacles behind this one shows how minute they are!

Sundew Drosera with spectacles for size comparison

And this picture to show how they have spread since last year!

Many Sundews Drosera !

We are still seeing the occasional Sour Fig Carpobrotus edulis flowers:

Sour Fig Carpobrotus edulis flower

The Brunias are in full bloom and stand out in the veld.

Brunia in flower

It looks as if every single one of the 'baubles' is in flower!

Every bud in flower!

Sometimes the male & female Restios are some distance apart, not often right up close like these:

Hypodiscus argenteus male and female growing together

Male & female Hypodiscus argenteus together.

Flower detail of male and female together

We're keeping an eye on this single specimen we've found which we think is Campylostachys cernua. It's on the middelmannetjie of the track, so we're hopeful for its survival, at least until it flowers next year. We were worried during the tree-felling because the foresters were using a 3-wheel Bell logger and it did get damaged. Today I pruned out the dead shoots and was pleased to see new growth from the breaks.

Campylostachys cernua

The new growth at the tips is encouraging!

Detail of Campylostachys cernua 

We were lucky to find the Wild Violet Viola decumbens when they were in full flower a few weeks back, in just this one spot. There are only a few last flowers:

Wild Violet Viola decumbens, last flowers

We're checking on our previously-flowering Agapanthus walshii plants all the time. It looks as if they need to be growing in a dense stand like this to flower. We are always finding more plants in 'our' patch, two more today!

Agapanthus walshii, waiting for flowers!

This Palmiet has one drooping flower stalk. As I held it to take a picture of the flower, a cloud of pollen drifted away in the wind!

Palmiet with single flower stalk

Flower detail:

Palmiet flower

This Daisy Euryops (?) flower is playing host to two monkey-beetles and many more smaller insects!

Daisy Euryops (?) with insects

One gulley we walk in is home to many of these Lobelia pinifolia:

Lobelia pinifolia

We walked for a change on the East side of the ridge making up this gulley, and found several Saltera sarcocolla, not looking their very best at the moment, but still making bright pink splashes in the veld:

Saltera sarcocolla

Flower detail:

Saltera sarcocolla flower detail

Close to them, Pippa spotted our New Flower of the Day:

Penaea mucronata or P. cneorum ?

Closely related to the Saltera above, also in the Penaea family, we think it's a Penaea mucronata, but it might be P. cneorum. Here is the flower up close:

Penaea flower detail

We read that the bracts will redden in time. The plant was about half a metre tall, probably too small for the P. cneorum option.
The reason for going up that side of the ridge was to see if the Adenandra were in flower. They were! Buds and flowers!

Adenandra Uniflora or A. villosa?

We think it's the China Flower Adenandra uniflora, but it might be A. villosa. The green centre in my photo above doesn't show up in any of the books, nor on Ispot and only maybe on the Fernkloof pictures on the web, so it has us guessing!
This is what the whole plant looks like. We haven't found them anywhere else.

Adenandra bush

Intrigued by Anina's comments last week about the flowers of the female Elegia persistens, I bent over the head of a stalk to show what the flower does look like! The males have long since lost their 'hoods', so presumably the pollination is well past. Anina confirms that those are seeds forming!

Elegia persistens female flower with seeds forming

Not over yet! This King Protea Protea cynaroides was completely hemmed in by pines until recently, so maybe it was late in developing flowers? I pruned away the young pines seen growing up amongst it.

King Protea Protea cynaroides

There are still striking pink Ericas to be seen!

Pink Erica

We knew where to look for this impressive Struthiola which we think is S. ciliata:

Struthiola ciliata (?)

And finally, visitors to our garden on the Ribbon-bush, which had us guessing, till Andre du Toit came up with the answer! 'Yellow Bishop birds, Euplectes Capensis, the male (black) will shortly get his yellow breeding plumage':

Yellow Bishop Euplectes capensis, waiting for breeding plumage

Female Yellow Bishop Euplectes capensis

:-) A