Semper Aliquid Novi Sunday Flower Walk

Always something new! Today was no exception. In fact, we have more questions than answers!

Snow on the high peaks!

But first, back to yesterday, going over to Franschhoek in my old Austin Lorry I was compelled to stop on the Pass by a brightly coloured flower on the side of the road.

Muraltia heisteria on Franschhoek Pass

Only when it was in the viewfinder did I recognise the flower itself as a Muraltia. However, this one grows differently from the single example we have found on our walks. Here the flower is more prominent and the plant more scraggly. It has us guessing whether we're correct with the identity of 'our' one as M. heisteria. The one on the Pass looks like that on the Fernkloof  website as M. heisteria. There's a M. stokoei and a M. bolusii which is listed as 'endangered'. There were many of these on the Pass!

Growing pattern, Muraltia heisteria

The rainwater channel had many Drosera growing in it, with buds almost ready to open, but my photos didn't come out. These are from today on our walk:

Sundew Drosera

Last week, on the way home on the Experimental Farm next door, we spotted a white Erica. It was difficult to get to, so this week we cut through the brambles and clambered across a ditch to get up close:

Erica lutea or E. daphniflora?

We think it might be Erica lutea, but it might also be a white version of E. daphniflora. In the pictures on the web and in the books, the leaves aren't shown very well. I bent this branch down to show what these look like:

Erica lutea or E. daphniflora?

We found the single purple bulb we spotted last week and Pippa held the stem to show what the whole plant looks like. It was growing in and held up by a tuft of grass:

Geissorhiza aspera?

Flower and bud detail, what is it? Geissorhiza aspera?

Geissorhiza aspera flower detail?

Close by was something else, a white bulb

White flower bulb, Hesperantha?

Flower detail, possibly a Hesperantha?

Flower detail, Hesperantha (?)

Another one, with flower not fully open:

Opening flower, Hesperantha (?)

We were disappointed to find this Skaapsteker dead in the road, apparently driven over:

Skaapsteker Psammophylax rhombeatus dead

Psammophylax rhombeatus (Spotted skaapsteker, Rhombic skaapsteker, Spotted grass snake). A few hundred metres away, we found one very much alive. More scared of me than I was of it. We just had to keep the dogs away:

Skaapsteker Psammophylax rhombeatus alive!

The Wachendorfias lower down are flowering and in some cases have spent flowers and the beginning of their characteristic turban-shaped seed pods forming, yet a few hundred metres further up the hill, hardly a bud is coming up!

Wachendorfia paniculata

This grey-green furry-leafed plant had no flowers last week. Now some of the bright yellow pea-type flowers are out:

Liparia vestita?

There are plenty of buds to open still. The closest we get to identifying it is Liparia vestita:

Liparia vestita?

These Everlastings Helichrysum which had pink buds last week are now more open and snow-white:

Everlasting Helichrysum

Here's a 'new' one! The centre flowers are open, surrounded by buds-in-waiting!

Unknown flower and buds

This is how the plant grows:

Unknown plant and flowers

Detail of the sparse leaves. What could it be?

Unknown flower head

The wonders of Nature! How can this Daisy (Euryops?) survive and thrive in this crack in a rock?

Daisy Euryops (?) in crack in rock!

Where before we had one flower per plant open, for many weeks, they're in full bloom now!

Daisy Euryops (?) in road

We had some difficulty finding our single example of what we think is Erica longifolia. The Daisy plants are getting thicker and taller around it.

Erica longifolia (?)

Then I spotted another 'new' plant!

What is this plant?

Flower detail. The petals look papery, and the leaves reminded me of chameleon paws in shape and texture. What might it be?

Flower detail

These flowers look white but are pink, so that should make them Teedias

Teedia with flowers

Here and there a Pelargonium flower is out.

Pelargonium flower

We have been seeing these Gladiolus debilis for a few weeks now. This one is growing in a stand of large Restios:

Gladiolus debilis flower

In one area there is a sea of China Flowers Adenandra uniflora. There are still many buds waiting!

Adenandras!

Flower detail:

Adenandra uniflora flower

Something else 'new'! I found myself almost standing on this plant, covered in buds. Leaves are sparse, short and close to the stem and the flower clusters are at the ends of each branch:

Unknown plant and flowers

Some of the buds are opening as white flowers

Flower / bud detail

Branching detail of flowers

Always worth a detour into the veld, Saltera sarcocolla:

Saltera sarcocolla

The strange plant growing out of corms again, which never seems to do anything! Maybe we'll get a pleasant surprise yet!

Unknown plant growing from corms

This picture shows the size of the Lobelia tomentosa flowers which colour the veld throughout the year, it seems!

Lobelia tomentosa

Finally, this episode is dedicated to Gay Prevôst who passed away in this last week. She was an avid follower of these reports and had opened files for the different plants. We shall miss her!

Andy

Three Wachendorfias Sunday Flower Walk

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.

Wachendorfia paniculata ?

The flowers have compact stamens and the yellow patch in the middle has a dark border.

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.

Wachendorfia multiflora or W. brachyandra ?

On the flowers, the darker patch is less distinct, and the stamens spread widely.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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!

Lobelia tomentosa

We checked on one of the 'new' plants we've found recently. Only one flower is open on a stem.

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 (?).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Erica flower

Pippa had to lift a cut pine tree off our single Muraltia heisteria specimen. We've never found another on our searches!

Muraltia heisteria flower detail

We get the impression the plant is getting bigger.

Muraltia heisteria plant

In that area there are many Aristea africana. We found only one with a flower. They close around midday.

Aristea africana bud and spent flower

We found another China Flower Adenandra bush!

China Flower Adenandra

Flower detail

These Everlastings are white from the beginning!

Helichrysum

On a farm in the Greyton area this morning, two other pea-types: 

Another pea family flower

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:

Mesembryanthemums

It was pleasing to see a skein of more than twenty Blue Cranes fly over!

Blue Cranes Anthropoides paradiseus, South Sfrica's National Bird

:-) A