Dilatris pillansii Sunday Flower Walk

We found this Dilatris pillansii in a place which had not been burnt, but near a burnt area. We have never seen it here before, right next to one of the 'red roads' so we would surely have seen them in the past. Maybe some of the thousands of substances which we are told are to be found in Fynbos smoke have caused them to burst into flower?

Dilatris pillansii

Flower detail (there's a strong northwester blowing):

Flower detail

Flowers up close? This is the best week for Dorothy Perkins roses! These are in our driveway:

Dorothy Perkins roses

The Salsify Tragopogon which popped up in a pot in our garden is interesting to watch. This morning, two of the flowers decided to open, just for a few hours. Late morning, they closed again, despite being in full sun. I didn't notice any bird or insect activity.

Salsify Tragopogon flower

Just these two opened today, others will choose their time!

Only two flowers were open

We'll be watching for when those two re-open as seed heads!

Back to our walk, the Prickly Pear Opuntia at the Railway cottage ruins seems set for a bumper crop of flowers and fruit!

Prickly Pear Opuntia with many buds!

Close by, I had to hold the stem of this Helichrysum foetida to hold it in the wind, and I'm regretting it, I just can't get the smell off my hands! The whole area here has a very 'dead' smell at some times of the year.

Helichrysum foetida

This little blue flower..........

Could this be a kind of Borage?

.... turns into a seed pod like this:

Spent flowers

The Ericas in the burnt areas seem to be the last to recover, but this was in an unburnt area, and it reminded us how much colour they normally give the veld. This is Many Umbrellas, E. multumbellifera, and we've never seen it flower like this before!

Many Umbrellas Erica multumbellifera

Flowers up close:

Flowers up close

It's Pea flower time of year, so it's no surprise to see Psoralea pinnata looking its best!

Psoralea pinnata

Another Pea, Bolusafra bitumenosa or Tar Pea. We found lots more, not flowering yet, though.

Tar Pea Bolusafra bitumenosa

We have really missed the flowering of the Aristea africanus, these flowers are spent.

Aristea africanus with spent flowers

Some white Helichrysums are now open!

Helichrysums, open at last!

Lobelia jasionoides seems to thrive on the barren rocky hilltops:

Lobelia jasionoides

We are now fairly sure that this is Pseudoselago spuria. Now we have the name, they have passed their prime. There are areas particularly of burnt veld where the ground is carpeted with these!

Pseudoselago spuria

While they are getting less spectacular, the purple ones Pseudoselago serrata are just starting to flower, and there are many of them too!

Pseudoselago serrata, just coming into bloom

Flower detail, Purple Powder Puff:

Purple Powder Puff Pseudoselago serrata flowers

In another place we were disappointed to find that new growth at the bases of Protea cynaroides has withered. There seem to be spots of white fungus growing on the burnt wood.

Withered re-growth at the base of yet another Protea cynaroides

Despite marking the place last week, we had difficulty finding this which we have since identified as a fern called Cockscomb or Curlygrass Schizaea pectinata:

Curlyleaf, Cockscomb fern Schizaea pectinata

We needn't have bothered searching, because on the way down we found several more examples! Here are the 'croziers' which give it one of its names!

Croziers on Schizaea pectinata

We found lost more of these spready little pink pea flowers which we haven't pinned down yet.

Unidentified pink Pea

Here is the very first Agapanthus walshii we have found to be opening. We live in hope of finding a white example, but so far they have all been blue.

First Agapanthus walshii to open!

We're going to have to wait longer for these taller ones to open!

More to come!

The Sour Figs Carpobrotus edulis were hit badly by the fire, but we're finding them all over, first a couple of fleshy leaves, then four, and more. This one is the best developed one we have found so far.

Sour Figs Carpobrotus edulis recovering nine months after the fire

This is the spent remains of the single Orchid we've been watching for months. Maybe there will be more here next year?

The remains of our single Orchid

It was early evening by the time we came down, one advantage being that the Bobartia filiformis were nicely open!

Bobartia filiformis flower

And the late sun picked this Wachendorfia's candelabra of seed pods nicely:

Wachendorfia in the late afternoon sun

:-) A