Really hot Sunday Flower Walk

We should have walked this morning when it was marginally cooler. At least there was a breeze up there, but out of it, it was stifling!

The orange Day Lilies are out at the old Railway cottages:

Day Lilies at the Railway Cottages

Flower detail:

Flower detail

The Acanthus mollis won't look as nice as this for long, their leaves are already untidily lying on the ground:

Acanthus mollis

And the Dorothy Perkins roses still aren't completely finished:

Dorothy Perkins

Luckily, the breeze was blowing the very unpleasant odour of these Helichrysum foetidum away from us!

Helichrusum foetidum

On the red road, we were disappointed to find all these Helichrysums lying around, harvested (not sustainably!) and thrown away!

Helichrysum flowers lying in the road

One of the many completely stripped plants:

Helichrysums stripped of flowers

We checked again on our stocking on what we think is Gladiolus carnea.  There are many more flower stalks to spread seeds naturally. The pods are breaking open now:

Stocking to collect a few seeds of Gladiolus carnea (?)

From there, Pippa spotted a splash of pink! By desctiption of the tallness of the plant, we think that Watsonia borbonica is more likely than W. rogersii.

Watsonia borbonica (?) flower

According to the Plantzafrica website, the styles of the flowers only unfurl later on their second day. See the difference between the top flower and the next in the picture below:

Day-old and older flowers

Also pink, these Vygies Mesembryanthemums are still flowering:

Vygies Mesembryanthemums

No doubt, this Bobartia filiformis will be opening this evening, it being full sun, not one was open!

Bobartia filiformis, closed flower

Each flowering head has one or two ready to open:

Bobartia filiformis plant

The Psoralea pinifolia are in full bloom now:

Psoralea pinifolia plant

The pea-shaped flower is distinctive!

Psoralea pinifolia flowers

Here's a Gnidia anormala:

Gnidia anormala

Always giving a spot of bright violet here and there, Lobelia tomentosa:

Lobelia tomentosa flower

Here's a tall pea-type we haven't seen before, perhaps an Aspalathus?

Unknown pea-type

This is how the Lanaria lanata look now:

Lanaria lanata plant in flower

Up close, the pink florets:

Flower detail

A Brunia, its flowers now turned reddish brown. These also tend to get harvested.

Brunia

Easily overlooked in the damp patches, there are at least two different plants here with flowers, one looking like a Sundew.

Unknown plants in damp patches

The Combflowers Micranthus are starting to open in 'our' area:

Combflower Micranthus

We still haven't pinned down this late Daisy:

Unknown Daisy

All those Arum Lilies Zantedescia aethiopica have now set these bright yellow seed pods:

Seed pod of Arum Lily Zantedescia aethiopica

I stopped to have a good look at these Many Umbrellas Erica multumbellifera flowers. We have often seen them eaten away on the sides as if some insect needs to do that to get in at the nectar and pollen. Patches can be seen already on the sides of these flowers as if the process has begun. Perhaps the open ends are too small for the pollinisers to enter?

Many-Umbrellas Erica multumbellifera flowers 

The flowers are distinctly different from many of the others!

Small Erica multumbellifera plant

In the abandoned orchard on the Experimental farm with many strange varieties, there are indeed some unusual ones! This apple has blossoms as well as fruit about an inch across.

Unknown apple with deep pink blossom as well as fruit

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Dilatris Sunday Flower Walk

We've been watching for Dilatris pillansii up in the place we call 'the Gulley' for years. They seem to flower quickly and they're all over before we get back there next time. Today I happened on two plants in a completely different place, one in full bloom!

Dilatris pillansii

These weren't fully open, but one of them on the second plant was!

Dilatris pillansii flower

Closer.....

Flower detail of Dilatris pillansii

Without the flowers, we forget which plants are D. pillansii, so we noted the leaf carefully. Flat, pointed and about four lines, not ribs, just visible:

Leaf detail of Dilatris pillansii

I had been wandering well off the track while Pippa sketched the red-tipped leaves of a Leucadendron:

Leucadendron with red-tipped leaves

Very close to the Dilatris, Pippa spotted a Stargrass Ficinia radiata, which we last saw in the forest and haven't noticed in the open before:

Stargrass Ficinia radiata

Again in this immediate vicinity, we found tufts of grass (?) with flowers (again!), and we're still not sure whether the flowers belong to the grass, or just use them as a host. There were no similar flowers in any other plants close by:

Unknown grass (?) with flowers

Most of these flowers were partly closed, but we found one flower fully open:

Detail of open flower

Four pointed petals behind, four more rounded ones in front......? So that was three 'finds' within a few square metres!

But I'm ahead of myself, on the way past the Railway cottage ruins, the unpleasant smell of the Helichrysum foetidum is quite strong!

Helichrysum foetidum

It really smells as if something's dead :-( But the flowers are pretty!

Helichrysum foetidum flowers

There are still many flowers out on the Sundews Drosera trinervia (?) and more buds to come behind!

Sundew Drosera trinervia (?)

Watch out, insects!

'Forest' of Sundews Drosera trinervia (?)

Just beginning to open, Sentry in a Box Albuca canadensis:

Albuca canadensis

Flower detail:

Albuca canadensis flower

The seed pods of the Wachendorfia paniculata lower down, which flowered early, are changing colour to their characteristic orange 'turbans':

Wachendorfia paniculata seed pods turning orange

Yesterday, on the way home from the Villiersdorp Agri & Arts Festival, I just had to pull the old truck off the road and take a photo of a whole hillside covered in Wachendorfias! As can be seen, there has been a fire here recently.

Wachendorfia paniculata covering a hillside on Viljoens Pass

This Orchid was worth stopping for:

Orchid spp.

And a magnificent Wachendorfia with a lot of flowering still to do!

Magnificent Wachendorfia paniculata

Here are the white flowers which have got us guessing. The close bunches of flowers from last week have opened up as their stalks have lengthened, so the florets are further apart.

Unknown plant, possibly Pseudoselago ascendens (?)

Flower detail:

Flower detail

Leaf detail:

Leaf detail

And another plant which seems further advanced, showing the stalks and leaves drying up. Dominic has suggested it may be Pseudoselago ascendens 'as a good guess' - also called Selago incisa.

Plant in advanced stage

We'll be watching them as they dry further, to see if they then look like this picture from Missouri Botanical Herbarium, which gives both names:

Specimen with both possible names in Missouri

The Pelargoniums are looking really good in full bloom:

Pelargonium flower

Pelargoniums on hillside

On the way home we stopped for these Sparaxis bulbifera, which are finished on the other side of the railway line. The backs of the petals are distinctive.

Sparaxis bulbifera

More on Yesterday's Show in Villiersdorp: There really was a lot going on, especially with the Arts combined with a Commercial Show. In one of the halls was a display of wild flowers which are in bloom at the moment, all identified by local Maureen Cumming. I was delighted to find an example of the little pink ball-type flower we have found recently and suspected as being a   Helichrysum:

Specimen at Villiersdorp identified as Anaxeton asperum

The leaves are the same as 'ours':

Leaf detail of specimen

The identification was Anaxeton asperum, which is indeed a Helichrysum. There must have been more than 100 flowers on display, this was only a part!

Part of the wild flower display at Villiersdorp Agri & Arts Festival

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