Agapanthus walshii Recovery Sunday Flower Walk

Certainly, the re-emergence of Agapanthus walshii plants was the highlight of our walk. No chance of flowers for a long time yet, but it was good to see those we know of coming back strongly. In one place where we knew they were and can't find them, we're still hoping they'll come up again. Yet in another where we didn't know they were, close to a road we use often, we found a stand over several square metres and it was easy to count to 33 individual plants!

No less than 33 Agapanthus walshii plants in this small area!

In another place where we knew of one or two, there was a whole row. Considering their rarity, this is all good news and interesting to see that they seem to have benefited from the fire which was now about eight weeks ago. Their status in 2004 was described thus: 'Known from a restricted range (35 km²) in the Elgin valley, recorded from less than five locations with continuing decline of the largest subpopulation occurring as a result of informal settlement expansion.'

A whole row of Agapanthus walshii where there was one or two

Elsewhere, sprouting at the base of shrubs was pleasing, like this fairly large Brachylaena neriifolia:

Sprouting from the base of a Brachylaena neriifolia

This Fire Asparagus Asparagus lignosus seems to be past its best now, with lower branches dying back. The ground underneath is strewn with spent flowers or seeds.

Fire Asparagus Asparagus lignosus, past its best

Another one is less far advanced, with flowers still out:

A younger Asparagus lignosus

The flowers are tiny and delicate:

Asparagus lignosus flowers, leaves and thorns!

This Palmiet is recovering nicely:

Palmiet, recovering

We're waiting to see what will happen to this Pagoda Flower Mimetes cucullatus; nothing yet!

Mimetes cucullatus, nothing happening yet

This is what the burned flower looks like:

Mimetes cucullatus, burned flower

Again, there was very little colour, a splash of yellow here and there from this Oxalis (luteola?):

Yellow Oxalis (luteola?)

.... and pink from these:

Pink Oxalis (hirta?)

Also pink, this Tritoniopsis (lata?) which was the only one we spied!

Our only Tritoniopsis (lata?) sighting today

It was interesting to see a bare flower stem growing from one hole and a single leaf from another!

This is how it was growing

Flower detail:

With the long upper tepal, is this Tritoniopsis lata? 

Growing in the middle of the road, we're amazed always that this Campylostachys cernua survives. Burned, but spared the worst of the fire, it's shooting from the base:

Campylostachys cernua, in the middle of the road, burned, but recovering!

But it was very pleasing to find what we think is another one, growing about 10 metres away, safely away from the road:

Another one, a short distance away?

Using our markers, mostly stones packed on the side of the road, we are able to trace where we remember plants were growing before the fire. In this case, Dilatris pillansii, recovering well.

Recovering Dilatris pillansii

Working from another stone marker, and in relation to a Lanaria lanata which has recovered well, we were delighted to find this which we're pretty sure is the big stand of Gladiolus carneus we found. It was right at the edge of the fire and seems to be coming up again strongly:

Gladiolus carneus coming up again? 

We have marked it with sticks along with the Lanaria lanata:

Marked with sticks

:-) A