First Agapanthus walshii Bud! Sunday Flower walk

First, we went to Piketberg yesterday and a magnificent tree in a garden caught my eye.

Orchid Tree Bauhinia variegata

The pods gave it away as a pea, maybe the leaves also:

Petals and leaf, picked up

Bauhinia possibly B. variegata.

Flower detail

Here a Malachite Sunbird was feeding in it:

Malachite Sunbird feeding

We went on to a farm 30km further north and found this which we think might just be a Wahlenbergia:

Wahlenbergia?

Back to today, here's the first strong looking bud on an Agapanthus walshii:

Agapanthus walshii with the first bud!

This was on one of the plants that seems to have been affected by frost since coming up after the fire. It certainly has made a strong recovery. The best is this is in a recently deforested part where we've never seen them before! There were more buds to be found.

The Sundews Drosera in the road have pushed up stems with many flowers on them, not something I have observed before. It was overcast, so they were closed.

Drosera with multiple flower stem

We found more of these pink Daisies, Senecio hastifolius, also on a south-east facing slope:

Senecio hastifolius

Suddenly the yellow Daisies Euryops are past their prime, I had to look for this one:

Yellow Daisy Euryops

Pat and Dominic think these white flowers are Pseudoselago, but on looking up, could they be Disparago, maybe D. anomala?

Could this be a Pseudoselago or a Disparago?

They are to be seen all over, this one was the most impressive!

This one took the Cake!

We've seen Tar Peas Bolusafra bitumenosa before:

Tar Pea Bolusafra bitumenosa

Flower detail:

Flower detail

Here's something interesting, fleshy long leaves:

Another Orchid?

 and the beginnings of a bud?

Bud detail

Satyr Orchid?

Satyr Orchid?

The seed pods on the Wachendorfias with the flat-growing sickle-shaped leaves are turning orange already:

Wachendorfia with seed pods turning orange

..... while the 'normal' W. paniculata are only just beginning to open, and most are still in tight bud stage.

Wachendorfia paniculata

It's difficult to walk past these Star-grass Ficinia Radiata without thinking they're yellow daisies!

Star-grass Ficinia radiata

What is the actual flower?

Flower detail

Is this another pea?

Another pea?

The stems branch at the pairs of leaves with two opposite lateral weaker stems each carrying a further flower.

This shows how it grows with the leaves and branched stem

:-) A

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