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