A Year Later Sunday Flower Walk

It's exactly a year since the fire swept through the patch of fynbos we've been monitoring for several years. In places it was particularly 'hot' because of the amount of pine trash lying around after the trees were harvested. On reflection the re-growth has been very different from, say the areas which were burnt just a month ago at the other end of the valley. There, the shrubs are re-sprouting already, ours like the Brachylaena neriifolia seem to be taking a long time.

Those which have most noticeably benefitted by the fire, apart from the Pelargoniums with their enormous leaves, are the Lobelias! We used to get excited about Lobelia jasionoides. Now there are areas carpeted with them!

Lobelia jasionoides

The old faithful blue ones which never seemed to stop flowering seem to have more flowers and the blue seems deeper! L. coronopifolia?

Lobelia coronopifolia (?)

Then the Roellas which had become quite scarce have come back with enormous flowers!

Roella

These look like Psoralea pinnata, although the shrub they're growing on is so much smaller than we're used to. These have grown to about a metre since the fire.

Psoralea pinnata

The Purple Powder-puffs Pseudoselago serrata are really over. Here was about the last bloom we found:

Pseudoselago serrata

What is this, with its Datura-type pods?

Unknown!

We remember where the Leucospermum oleifolium was growing. It had been badly damaged by the tree felling, then burnt. Gardening tips say one must just leave them to grow, so it was with pleasure but not much surprise that we found no less than 14 plants growing up in that immediate area! There are three in a row:

Leucospermum oleifolium

In that immediate area we knew we should also find Liparia splendens. These, too have re-established themselves strongly and are about to flower:

Liparia splendens

I mentioned the Pelargoniums, the leaves are great, the flowers few.

Pelargonium

On the way home, in the gravel road where we always find the Sundews Drosera, their place has been taken by these, not sure what they are!

Unknown

We couldn't go past the dam on the Experimental farm without looking at the Nymphaea nouchali!

Nymphaea nouchali

Some are almost high and dry!

Nymphaea nouchali

:-) A

Roellas are back! Sunday Flower walk

So are we, after a long break, partly caused by the weather being either too hot or too wet, also by a bereavement in the family. Today we went out not expecting to see much, but as usual, once you look carefully, the gems are there!

After not finding Roellas last year at all, it seemed, now we are finding them again, and some of the flowers are huge!

Roella ciliata (?)

There are two types, the flowers as well as the leaves differ. Those with the black patches on the petals have stems with dense leaves We think this is R. ciliata.

View of the whole plant

The pale-flowered one has pointed petals and is possibly R. incurva.

Roella incurva or dregeana?

Or is it R. dregeana?

View from the top

But first, back to the beginning! The dam on the Experimental Farm has two kinds of Nymphaea growing and flowering at the same time. I can't remember this happening before.

Nymphaea indica:

Nymphaea indica

A whole patch far out in the water

And Nymphaea nouchali:

Nymphaea nouchali

There are less of them

Since the fire, now nearly a year ago, the deep blue Lobelia seem darker, with bigger flowers and certainly more of them!

Is this Lobelia coronopifolia?

Could they be L. coronopifolia?

The whole plant

We expected to find all the Agapanthus walshii over and hopefully full of seeds. Here was one still opening!

Agapanthus walshii still opening

There is a good crop of seeds on others:

Plenty of seeds!

We were surprised and very pleased to still find some Watsonia schlechteri in flower, although most have finished flowering:

Watsonia schlechteri

This looks like an Aristea:

An Aristea?

Close by, we found a Tritoniopsis lata, we think:

Tritoniopsis lata (?)

Flower detail

This one is almost swallowed up by an Othonna quinquedentata:

Another one

That is certainly something which has reacted well to the fire, here's another, completely covered by tiny flowers:

Huge Othonna quinquedentata

On the way home we had a look for flowers on the Buchu Agathosma crenulata. Not many, but the offspring growing all around it means that there are lots of seeds around!

Agathosma ciliata flower

In the road we found many of these little yellow flowers:

What is this?

Three petals plus one... another pea?

So, it was a very rewarding walk after all!

:-) A