Sunday 25 January 2015

Butterspoon Sunday Flower Walk

There was a fresh northwester blowing on what would have been a scorcher, so we stayed in the wind.
But first, during the week, I took a short cut through the farms and saw two Blue Cranes strutting down the road in front. I switched the engine off and coasted down, because, between their legs, something else caught my eye, a baby! They struggled to walk through the undergrowth, but the baby had no problem. Down to the water, and away they went. I'm told the babies can swim straight out of the egg!

Mom, Dad and baby Blue Crane

Back to today, the Nymphaea nouchali take their time to open! It looks as though the dragonfly is prying it open!

Nymphaea nouchali and dragonfly

Erica longifolia, spent flowers under the new ones:

Erica longifolia

We followed our patterans to find the little Erica similis, and as expected, the flowers are finished. 

Erica similis

What is this bush with the green berries, turning now to red?

Unknown shrub with berries

Erica pulchella are all over, vividly pink.

Erica pulchella

Erica coccinea in its yellow form

Erica coccinea

This is a different Erica, the pink is lighter, but the flowers are more dense.

Unknown Erica

Also all over, these Lobelia tomentosa make splashes of violet in the veld.

Lobelia tomentosa

The Star-grass Ficinia radiata are turning brown:

Ficinia radiata

The Watsonia schlechteri stand out in the veld like British soldiers in the Boer War!

Watsonia schlechteri

Another Roella incurva!

Roella incurva flower

Jenny says the name comes from the leaves which curve inwards:

Roella incurva stalk

And what is this shrub? There are lots of them. We thought they were Wild Almond Brabejum stellatifolium but the flowers are wrong!

Unknown bush

We did our check of the Agapanthus walshii, all look well. Close to the plant with two flowers picked, I noticed that the Helichrysum bushes had been stripped of flowers, so I suspect it was human activity :-( A bee was busy on these.  

Agapanthus walshii

I found a third Erica obluqua very close to the other two we've found, but combed the area and found no more.

Erica obliqua

Pippa stopped to sketch another pair of A. walshiis, these are much paler than the others. Last year this was forest.

Pippa and Blondie sketching Agapanthus walshii

Meanwhile I went off to check on the Fire lily Cyrtanthus ventricosa in the cycle track. The leaves look fine and the rock we put there is protecting them, but we'll have to wait for their striking flowers yet!

Cyrtanthus ventricosa leaves

The wind was making this bush show the undersides of its leaves, which looked out of place. It was quite far off the road, but it seemed worth going to look:

Butterspoon, Rooi Els, Cunonia capensis

The 'Butterspoon' gave it away immediately! Cunonia capensis! We've seen them growing next to a river, but here in the middle of a dry patch is unusual. It must be about 600mm (2') tall now, and it's surprising we haven't noticed it before.

Detail of the underside of the leaves and spoon-shaped stipule

It has some growing to do to reach the five or ten metres it can grow to!
The dogs were ready for a swim by the time we got back!
:-) A





Sunday 18 January 2015

Another Saturday Sunday Flower Walk

A Vintage Engine display at the Classic Car & Bike Show at Timour Hall on Sunday, meant a walk on Saturday.
In the week, I just had to stop and take a photo of these four Blue Cranes in Paul Wallace's vineyard:

Four Blue Cranes

I have had trouble picking up the detail in the flowers of the Prickly Pear Opuntia, so I used my own shadow. This is the first of a new flush of flowers:

Opuntia flower detail

We've got to the time of year we see the Stoebe flowers open. This is the one with the round yellowish flowers and grey leaves.

Stoebe in flower, but which one? 

Hanging on for dear life, this Roella incurva is in danger of being washed away. There were many more further up along the road, either they have been washed away or the grader caught them.

Roella incurva on a bank about to be washed away

There are others, further from the road which are well established:

Roella incurva in a safer place!

Is this why it's called 'incurva'?

Flower detail

There are still some enormous Purple Powder Puff Pseudoselago serrata flowers open!

Purple Powder Puff Pseudoselago serrata flower

I have included close-ups of the Erica pulchella in the past. This is how they grow, not densely packed with flowers like some, but still vivid splashes of pink in the undergrowth.

Erica pulchella plant

We were delighted to spot the first Liparia splendens flowers open!

Liparia splendens

The veld is dotted with these which we think are Watsonia schlechteri, sometimes singly, often in clusters like this:

Watsonia schlechteri (?)

We wanted to check the area we call the ravine, particularly for the two Agapanthus walshii we know of there. We were pleased to spot a third we have never seen before, with two flowers on it this year, even though they're a bit sparse:

Two weak flowers on an Agapanthus walshii we have not seen before

At the top we were rewarded by finding the Mimetes cucullatus in full flower

Mimetes cucullatus flower

It's a magnificent specimen!

Mimetes cucullatus plant

At last! A picture of the Gnidia anormala in focus!

Gnidia anomala

The Leucospermum oleifolium next to the cycle track is doing well despite being badly damaged by the felling. It's now in the open and we look forward to some flowers!

Leucospermum oleifolium

Also damaged; in fact we had to uncover the plant, was this Liparia splendens. We knew there was an Agapanthus under it, but we've never seen it flower. There's another bud in the foreground:

Liparia splendens and Agapanthus

On the way back we checked on the 'new' Erica obliqua we found last week and were pleased to find another, growing up through other plants:

Another Erica obliqua!

And that brought us to the place where we saw the 11 Agapanthus walshii flowers on one plant, looking their best now!

Eleven Agapanthus walshii flowers on one plant!

:-) A





Sunday 11 January 2015

A New Erica Sunday Flower Walk

It was hot today so we stayed where the Southeasterly breeze fanned us! We wanted to check on the new area of Agapanthus walshii we had found, and we weren't disappointed!
But on the way I thought there were people with bright clothing some way off..... until I realised it was the stand of Watsonias we've been watching! They really are at their best now:

Watsonia schlechteri (?)

The nearest we get to identifying them is Watsonia schlechteri, named, I see after one Rudolf Schlechter, 1872 to 1925, from Berlin.

Flower detail

The Lobelia which we think is L. tomentosa, is all over and particularly vivid at the moment:

Lobelia tomentosa (?)

We were being watched at this stage by a Jackal Buzzard which obligingly flew right overhead, close enough for me to catch it with my point-and-shoot!

Jackal Buzzard

To the Agapanthus walshii, and a bit of a disappointment to see two flowers broken (eaten?) off on the first plant. 
There was no trace of the flowers:

Agapanthus walshii, minus two flowers

Not taken off at the base, but both, half-way up:

Broken or eaten off stalk

OK, there are four other flowers, but we know how few seeds they make and how they get eaten, as can be seen here:

Eaten flower of Agapanthus walshii

Six on this plant.....

Six Agapanthus walshii flowers

.... and no less than 11 on this one!

Eleven Agapanthus walshii flowers!

Pippa's sharp eyes spotted some pink waving around in the wind and called me over:

What's this? 

About 1.5m tall, woody leafless stems until the last 200mm where dense needle-like leaves begin, ending in a bunch of waxy pink very rounded Erica-type flowers on the end of red stems.

Erica obliqua (?)

Our books weren't much help, but while looking up some near-misses from the books on the internet, I spotted a flower lower down on the page, Erica obliqua. That's the closest we get.

Flower and leaf detail

The Therianthus are getting to the end of their flowering time

Therianthus, nearly over!

Likewise, the Lanaria lanata, where the tiny pink flowers in all the white fluff are turning brown:

Lanaria lanata

Growing out of the stump of a felled tree what is possibly a pair of spent Disa conferta:

Disa conferta (?)

The veld is dotted with the bright pink of these Erica pulchella:

Erica pulchella

I was pleased to spot a single Roella incurva, which we haven't seen for a while. Two years ago, we knew where to find them, but they got washed away.

Roella incurva

Flower detail:

Flower detail

I was keen to checkon the little Campylostachys cernua in the middle of the road. It had one flower before, now there were several. Campylo- means bent over, so the best way to photograph it is lying down under it!

Campylostachys cernua flower

Notoriously difficult to photograph is the Five Toothed Baboon Cabbage, Othonna quinquedentata with its tiny yellow daisy flowers:

Othonna quinquedentata

The Purple Powder Puff Pseudoselago serrata are getting past their best, but some are still in full flower:

Pseudoselago serrata

As usual there was a lot more, a Gnidia anomala which defied the auto-focus as usual and, and, and.....
:-) A