It's officially Spring by the date, and Nature thinks so too! There is a carpet next door in the orchard of what we think is Arctotheca acaulis:
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A carpet of Arctotheca acaulis |
In the road, Romulea rosea:
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Romulea rosea |
Oxalis among little Daisies
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Oxalis and Daisies |
Romulea hirsuta var. cuprea:
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Romulea hirsuta var cuprea |
Sour Fig Carpobrotus edulis :
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Sour Fig Carpobrotus edulis |
Drosera, also in the road!
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Drosera |
Here is a large Restio re-growing after the fire with its feathery culms and some of the thick stems starting to come out of the ground.
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Restio re-growing |
We were keen to check up on the flower with the striped bud we had found. What a surprise!
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Spiloxene capensis? |
The stripes are still on the back of the petals:
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Reverse of the petals |
And once we had seen this one open, there were more! These two were growing up inside a bunch of Agapanthus walshii!
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More, growing amongst Agapanthus walshii |
Up close, each petal has a heart-shaped dot in the middle. Are they Spiloxene capensis?:
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There petals have heart-shaped dots at the base |
This Wachendorfia with the sickle-shaped leaves had the most impressive candelabra of flowers!
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Magnificent Wachendorfia |
The Lanaria lanata are pushing up flowers all over!
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Buds on Lanaria lanata, all over the place! |
Can this be a Metalasia? We will be back to check!
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Metalasia? |
Bud detail:
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This is what the bud looks like |
There was a strong Northerly wind, making it very difficult to photograph little flowers!
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What is this? |
Can it be a Geissorhiza? A Romulea flava?
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This is how the plant grows |
'Our' Satyr Orchid is now in full flower:
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Satyr Orchid |
Flower detail:
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Orchid flower up close |
We checked on the Othonna heterophylla but it had been eaten again. We remembered finding another nearby, that was much more photogenic!
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Othonna heterophylla |
One flower had even gone to seed:
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Spent flower of Othonna heterophylla |
More of these which have us stumped!
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What are these? |
A splash of pale pink caught my eye, next to a big rock.
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Gladiolus hirsutus? |
A Gladiolus hirsutus? This is how it's growing, flattened by the wind!
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This is how it's growing, blown flat by the wind! |
Flower detail from the side:
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Flowers and buds, from the side |
At the top we were astonished to find a huge area of recently burned veld completely denuded by a film-shoot!
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Burned veld completely denuded by a film crew! |
It's incredible that this can happen without an Environmental Assessment! Somewhere there was our single Erica longifolia we have been watching for years.... gone! I went across to where the only Phaenocoma prolifera in the whole area we monitor was..... gone too, and the area raked clear! Does money buy anything?
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Everything raked away! |
They even left 'props' behind:
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Props left behind |
Pippa reckoned we needed to check a rocky south-easterly facing slope, her hunch paid off!
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Moraea ochroleuca? |
Moraea ochroleuca? There were many of them, and more to come! They grow at least half a metre tall.
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Flowers from the side |
Re-growing from cracks in rocks, now in flower Teedia (or Oftia?)
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Oftia or Teedia |
Heeria argentea, re-growing nicely from the base!
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Heeria argentea, re-growing |
Then a white Spiloxene (if that's what it is!)
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White Spiloxene? |
.... with the same striped petals underneath.
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The same striped reverse of the petals |
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The whole plant |
I've said before the Pelargoniums benefited from the fire. This one's on steroids!
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Pelargonium on steroids! |
:-) A
