Fire Lily Sunday Flower Walk

We were warned by Pat that we'd only have to wait two weeks after the fire for the Fire Lilies Cyrtanthus ventricosa to come up. Well it's only a week and a half and they're out, literally all over!

Fire Lily Cyrtanthus ventricosa

This below is the group next to the cycle path which we've known about for several years. I've moved the path away from them gradually over the years, but now that a stump opposite them has burned away, I've been able to kick away at the upper bank and pack more stones around these on the lower edge to protect them. There was no sign of these this time last week, I looked!

The group of Cyrtanthus ventricosa we've been protecting for years!

But this one is right in the middle of the cycle-path a short distance away!

Lone Cyrtanthus ventricosa in the middle of the cycle track!

Not surprisingly, the other one we have known about and had marked with a ring of stones, has also come up:

This is the other one we knew about and marked with a ring of stones

The fire is not out yet..... fanned by a brisk South-easter.

Fire still burning after a week and a half.

These burning stumps can throw up burning embers in this brisk South-easter and spread into unburned areas. But they are being watched by the tireless Working on Fire staff!

Working on Fire staff still on duty!

Otherwise, the regeneration is spectacularly quick in some cases as with this Restio:

Restio recovering quickly!

Another Restio was interesting, possibly an Elegia persistens. It had partly burned and fallen flat on the ground:

Elegia persistens (?) collapsed but spreading seeds

Yet all around, seed-heads had been blown into the now nutrient-rich holes of burned-out stumps:

Seed in hole from burned stump

... and:

Another....

.... and:

And another!

The Ways of Nature! At about this stage, we were treated to an aerial display of Formation Flying by two raptors, too far away for us to identify, and not looking like our normal Yellow-billed Kites or Jackal Buzzards. I captured a few seconds of their flight on this link: http://youtu.be/GOmIAgvuizs

I went to look at the remains of the Leucospermum oleifolium which we found recently.

Burned-out Leucospermum oleifolium

A bit sad to see, yet the flowers were interesting. There had been many spent flowers lying under the bush which I commented on, those are dispersed or burned, but those still on the bush look as if they will set seeds and disperse them. Comments, please!

But look at the flower!

This is the burned-out Cape Rockwood Heeria argentea we found at the same time. We will be watching it, but this shows it growing in rocks as Dominic said he normally finds them!

Burned out Cape Rockwood Heeria argentea

We walked on beyond the burned area.......

The far edge of the fire

The first unburned beauty we found was a Protea cynaroides, in bud now.

King Protea Protea cynaroides in bud

We crossed a stream, still just flowing at this time of the year completely overgrown with the shrub which Jennetta kindly identified, Water White Alder Brachylaena neriifolia, all in flower. They are said to like river valleys, these do!

Water White Alder Brachylaena neriifolia growing happily in a ravine

On the other side, we were treated to a completely different mix of Ericas from our normal stamping ground, yet we were only 500 metres beyond!

Unknown Erica

Flower detail:

Flower detail

Another:

Another unknown Erica

The flower looks like Erica pulchella, but the rest of the plant doesn't!

Its flowers

This one with round urn-shaped flowers:

Another 'new' Erica

Closer up:

Flower detail

This one has longer flowers:

Another unknown pink Erica with longer flowers

Flower detail:

Flower detail

On the way back, we recognised the burned out pink 'Helichrysum' Phaenocoma prolifera, even like this, it's impressive. Even burned, it's beautiful!

Burned out Phaenocoma prolifera

We walk back through the Experimental Farm. Not sure what Experiments they are doing besides perhaps seeing how many Codling Moths can live in one apple, but it's grossly unfair that this can be found on a Government Institution, next to a commercial orchard!

Codling Moth on Golden Delicious on Experimental Farm

Back at home, the March Lilies are looking splendid! There are more coming up!

March Lilies Amaryllis belladonna

:-) A

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Yellow and Pink Sunday Flower Walk

We always walk past the ruins of the Railway Cottages. These must have been home to keen gardeners in the past, because although the houses are broken down, the garden survives, with deep blue Agapanthus, Amaryllis belladonna, Pelargoniums, many different kinds of fruit tree, and more, like these Acanthus mollis:

Acanthus mollis at the Railway cottages

Dorothy Perkins:

Dorothy Perkins roses at their best

Prickly Pear Opuntia:

Prickly Pear Opuntia

Beyond, a splash of colour along the road came from a fresh flush of flowers on a Many Umbrellas Erica multumbellifera:

Many Umbrellas Erica multumbellifera

We'll watch these flowers, normally they get bored through from the side, perhaps by some insect?

We made our way to the stand of what we think are Gladiolus carnea we found a few weeks ago. At the request of Jessie Walton, we're trying to capture a few seeds.

Seed pods of Gladiolus carnea (?)

Only one stem had turned brown, but that had been kinked. We put that and a still-green one into a stocking:

Stocking to catch seeds

In this area we're normally followed by a Stone Chat or two. I don't have the kind of camera to catch them, but this is the closest I could get:

Stone Chat watching our every move!

Other birds we saw were African Harrier Hawk or Gymnogene as we knew it, doing aerobatics in one small area directly above us, a Jackal Buzzard and another buzzard type with mottled colours which did two flypasts.

The tiny pink flowers are now starting to appear amongst the white fluff on the Lanaria lanata:

Tiny pink flowers on Lanaria lanata

Across the road, 'the other pink Gladiolus', possibly G. pappei is still flowering.

Gladiolus pappei (?)

Flower detail

For years now, we've been watching these Iris type plants. Normally we miss them flowering and find spent blooms and the previous year's dried up flowers. Today we were lucky and found many flowering. This is how the plants grow, and Pippa's hand gives an idea of size:

Bobartia filiformis (?)

It looks like a Moraea, but which one? No! Pat says it's a Bobartia, probably B. filiformis, and adds that the reason we haven't seen them in flower before is that they close in sunny weather! They were open today because it was cloudy!

Flower detail

.... with buds in various stages:

Flower open (it was cloudy)

I was pleased to spot a smaller example of the round-leafed, almost succulent, pea-type we saw last week:

Small pea-type with round almost succulent leaves

More peas, Psoralea pinnata:

Psoralea pinnata

There are still lots of Restios around, Anina says this could be Elegia persistens:

Elegia persistens (?)

We haven't seen Gnydias for quite a while:

Gnidia

Growing in the road, a plant which has us intrigued:

This has us guessing

Is this the same, a short distance away?

The same?

I don't think I'd risk eating this!

Unknown fungus

Some animal has displaced this stone and eaten the bulbs:

Bulbs eaten by animal

Another pink Erica, this one with longer flowers:

Erica

It's a bit late for the 'normal' Mesembryanthemums, this one still has plenty of open flowers:

Mesembryanthemum

We came across several of these Orchids/Disas, every time near the stumps of felled pines:

Orchid / Disa

Most of the Dilatris pillansii are over, this is what the individual flower looks like:

Dilatris pillansii flower

On the way home we found another specimen of what we think is Gladiolus pappei, but the darker pink diamond looks different from the one in the picture above:

Gladiolus

Back home, growing well on the compost heap is Goosefoot Chenopodium or Lambs' Quarters, which Pippa cooked as spinach last week and had me fooled!

Goosefoot Chenopodium

:-) A

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