Agapanthus walshii are Out!

In the last few months we have logged every Agapanthus walshii plant or population we have found, recording GPS co-ordinates and giving them a name. Occasionally in my Fire duties in this sector, which is bigger than the area we walk normally, I have found and recorded more.

The most astonishing population is in an area which was completely forested and near a road we have walked on hundreds of times. If the plants had come up, flowers or not, we would have seen them. With the forest cut down and a fire almost two years ago, the population is the strongest we know of, and incidentally, has come into flower earliest!

This is only a part of this population. The exciting thing is that through doing nothing to those plants we know about, besides plotting them, we know they will survive the next 'crop' of pines now planted in this area, over the coming 20 or more years!

Immediately noticeable is how few flowers are in each bud.

In this immediate area we found for the first time a group of tiny Proteas.

Some have a single flower at the tip.

On others, it looks as if we will be treated to a bunch!

The Purple Powder-puff Pseudoselago serrata which we've been watching develop for months now, are in full flower, and will probably go on flowering for some weeks to come. The purple splashes in the veld are difficult to miss!

The 'puff' up close, as usual, with a bug:

We were walking along the dividing road between 'compartments' of new forest we call 'Therianthus', wondering whether the dry conditions will hold them back, and sure enough, we found some!

This particularly bright, and late-flowering Daisy caused me to get up close!

And on the way I found some Mesembryanthemums also still in flower.

Flower and spent flower detail:

The flowers on the Sour Figs Carpobrotus edulis are over, leaving interesting-looking fruit/seed pods:

Some of the pink-centred Helichrysums have turned black already!

A healthy stand of Rush Iris  Bobartia filiformis:

The Star Grass Ficinia have lost their bright yellow colour, but they are still impressive!

In places, there a good crop of berries on the Teedia (or Oftia?) plants!

We are not sure what this is, a Metalasia, perhaps?

Flowers up close:

We seem to have lost the few specimens of the tall Erica obliqua where we plotted them before the fire. Several hundred metres away, we have found several plants, now about to flower, which we hope might be more.

Bud detail:

:-) Andy

Spring Flowers and a Film Shoot :-( Sunday Flower Walk

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:

A carpet of Arctotheca acaulis

In the road, Romulea rosea:

Romulea rosea

Oxalis among little Daisies

Oxalis and Daisies

Romulea hirsuta var. cuprea:

Romulea hirsuta var cuprea

Sour Fig Carpobrotus edulis :

Sour Fig Carpobrotus edulis

Drosera, also in the road!

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.

Restio re-growing

We were keen to check up on the flower with the striped bud we had found. What a surprise!

Spiloxene capensis?

The stripes are still on the back of the petals:

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!

More, growing amongst Agapanthus walshii

Up close, each petal has a heart-shaped dot in the middle. Are they Spiloxene capensis?:

There petals have heart-shaped dots at the base

This Wachendorfia with the sickle-shaped leaves had the most impressive candelabra of flowers!

Magnificent Wachendorfia

The Lanaria lanata are pushing up flowers all over!

Buds on Lanaria lanata, all over the place!

Can this be a Metalasia? We will be back to check!

Metalasia?

Bud detail:

This is what the bud looks like

There was a strong Northerly wind, making it very difficult to photograph little flowers!

What is this? 

Can it be a Geissorhiza? A Romulea flava?

This is how the plant grows

'Our' Satyr Orchid is now in full flower:

Satyr Orchid

Flower detail:

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!

Othonna heterophylla

One flower had even gone to seed:

Spent flower of Othonna heterophylla

More of these which have us stumped!

What are these? 

A splash of pale pink caught my eye, next to a big rock.

Gladiolus hirsutus?

A Gladiolus hirsutus? This is how it's growing, flattened by the wind!

This is how it's growing, blown flat by the wind!

Flower detail from the side:

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!

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?

Everything raked away!

They even left 'props' behind:

Props left behind

Pippa reckoned we needed to check a rocky south-easterly facing slope, her hunch paid off!

Moraea ochroleuca?

Moraea ochroleuca? There were many of them, and more to come! They grow at least half a metre tall.

Flowers from the side

Re-growing from cracks in rocks, now in flower Teedia (or Oftia?)

Oftia or Teedia

Heeria argentea, re-growing nicely from the base!

Heeria argentea, re-growing

Then a white Spiloxene (if that's what it is!)

White Spiloxene?

.... with the same striped petals underneath.

The same striped reverse of the petals

The whole plant

I've said before the Pelargoniums benefited from the fire. This one's on steroids!

Pelargonium on steroids!

:-) A