The books tell us there are four Wachendorfias found in our area, named after a Botanist from Utrecht. To find three of them on successive days this last week is somewhat surprising! They are noticeable by their pleated leaves and yellow flowers, but they differ in detail.
On our walks in the patch of ex-forest we are monitoring for the return of the fynbos after 100 years of monoculture, we find many of what we think is Wachendorfia paniculata. The leaves are dagger shaped and curved, hairy and quite stiff.
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Wachendorfia paniculata ? |
The flowers have compact stamens and the yellow patch in the middle has a dark border.
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Flower detail |
On a farm I visited in the week I found a different one, the leaves shaped like wide spear-heads, although still pleated, smooth and floppy.
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Wachendorfia multiflora or W. brachyandra ? |
On the flowers, the darker patch is less distinct, and the stamens spread widely.
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Flower detail |
This might be Wachendorfia multiflora or possibly W. brachyandra. Imagine my surprise driving along a stream on a farm the next day and noticing pleated leaves, but much longer!
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Wachendorfia thyrsiflora |
Yes, those buds will produce yellow flowers, they told me, so that makes them Wachendorfia thyrsiflora! Three in three days, a hat-trick!
Today near the ruined railway cottages, I spotted these violet flowers from a bulb. We looked for them later, they must have closed for the night! Not yet sure what they are.
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Unknown bulb |
We're still waiting for the flowers to open on the Sundews Drosera. I did find one white bud later, but the flower wasn't open yet.
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Sundew Drosera with buds |
There was a single flower on the 'new' tall erica we found a week or two ago, still not sure what it is.
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Flower detail of recently-found Erica |
The Lobelia tomentosa are particularly deep in colour at the moment. They have not stopped flowering since we first found them years back. Sometimes they're less impressive, but now they're vividly violet!
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Lobelia tomentosa |
We checked on one of the 'new' plants we've found recently. Only one flower is open on a stem.
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Unknown plant, Drimia? flower and buds |
This picture shows an assortment, two flower stalks of this unknown plant, a Wachendorfia on the left and perhaps some Combflower Micranthus buds (?).
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Unknown plant with Wachendorfia and Micranthus (?) |
Close by we found a poor example of the pink pea-type flower we found two examples of recently, some distance away.
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Another example of the pea-type flower found elsewhere |
All the time we were noticing the strange cloud formations! The lines seemed to radiate from the Kogelberg.
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Strange cloud formation! |
Now is the time for the pink buds of the Everlastings Helichrysums. We previously thought they were different, but once open, they become white.
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Helichrysum with pink buds which turn white |
The daisies we think are Euryops are at their best at the moment. Up till now, only one flower has been open per plant.
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Daisies are out, but which are they? |
Here and there are examples of this delicate, deep pink Erica. There are small clusters of flowers like this, a short way back from the tips. Not sure of the name.
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Erica flower |
Pippa had to lift a cut pine tree off our single Muraltia heisteria specimen. We've never found another on our searches!
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Muraltia heisteria flower detail |
We get the impression the plant is getting bigger.
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Muraltia heisteria plant |
In that area there are many Aristea africana. We found only one with a flower. They close around midday.
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Aristea africana bud and spent flower |
We found another China Flower Adenandra bush!
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China Flower Adenandra |
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Flower detail |
These Everlastings are white from the beginning!
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Helichrysum |
On a farm in the Greyton area this morning, two other pea-types:
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Another pea family flower |
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And another! |
There was also a plantation of yellowwoods! Yesterday in the full sunlight, there were carpets of these deep pink mesembs, growing close to the ground:
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Mesembryanthemums |
It was pleasing to see a skein of more than twenty Blue Cranes fly over!
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Blue Cranes Anthropoides paradiseus, South Sfrica's National Bird |
:-) A
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