Fungus Sunday Flower Walk

Pippa walked across the paddock next door on Friday afternoon and saw something unusual, a skull-shaped ball of netting. She touched it and found it was slimy and suspected it might be a fungus of some kind, perhaps a Clathrus.

Ileodictyon gracile fungus

I took some pictures that evening and posted them on iSpot. Tony Rebelo identified it as a Smooth Cage Fungus Ileodictyon gracile.

Detail of the fungus

Today, next to the Buchu Agathosma crenulata (in full bloom!) there was a pair of brown mushrooms.

Fungus next to the Agathosma

But walking past a burned stump, I thought someone had painted a pink/orange patch on it!

A patch of paint?

But up close, it is made up of thousands of little spheres:

Is this Lichen, or are they eggs?

Is it a Lichen as it looks at a distance, or are they eggs of some kind? We saw two more examples, one with white fluff below the pink.

Another example

The Agathosma in flower?

Agathosma crenulata in full bloom

We were well pleased to see this re-growing Campylostachys cernua. We remember it was here from before the fire. It's growing quickly!

Campylostachys cernua re-growing

The lowest and worst part of the now-unused 4x4 track has held reasonably well; we had over 60mm of rain in a short time this last week. The diagonal cut-off above it was working.

Repairs are holding!

I had brought a spade and we walked up and repaired the cut-offs which had silted up and let water straight down.

A bit of maintenance on the diagonal cuts

On the way up, we found this Agapanthus walshii, just two metres from the track! Close call!

Agapanthus walshii, right next to the track

The vehicles now do a detour on forestry tracks, but at the top they had driven off the road again! What for?

Wheel marks off the track!

So we packed rocks along the side of the road and alerted the organisers.

Rocks packed to show vehicles should not go off the track!

We are finding good re-growth at the bases of many of the Rhus / Searsias:

Searsia

For some reason there has been damage at the tips of the new growth, could it be frost?

Growing tips

We noticed this 'burn' on other plants, we're not sure what this is with its serrated leaves:

More damage to the new tips

This is another we have yet to identify, but it somehow doesn't look healthy with its blotched leaves.

Unknown shrub, not looking good

The one and only Pink Everlasting Phaenocoma prolifera we know from 'our' patch got badly burned, but the flowers look impressive.

Phaenocoma prolifera flowers on burned plant

Up close:

Burned Phaenocoma prolifera flower

I hope they're all packed with seeds! This Protea escaped the fire:

Protea cynaroides (?)

This one didn't!

Protea cynaroides, burned flower

We're calling this Castle Rock!

Castle Rock!

Yesterday in Viljoen's Pass at Nuweberg I stopped to look at this tall Daisy:

Unknown Daisy

As instructed, I took a picture of the back of the flower (and it shows the textured leaves):

Flower detail

Any ideas?

:-) A

Agapanthus walshii Recovery Sunday Flower Walk

Certainly, the re-emergence of Agapanthus walshii plants was the highlight of our walk. No chance of flowers for a long time yet, but it was good to see those we know of coming back strongly. In one place where we knew they were and can't find them, we're still hoping they'll come up again. Yet in another where we didn't know they were, close to a road we use often, we found a stand over several square metres and it was easy to count to 33 individual plants!

No less than 33 Agapanthus walshii plants in this small area!

In another place where we knew of one or two, there was a whole row. Considering their rarity, this is all good news and interesting to see that they seem to have benefited from the fire which was now about eight weeks ago. Their status in 2004 was described thus: 'Known from a restricted range (35 km²) in the Elgin valley, recorded from less than five locations with continuing decline of the largest subpopulation occurring as a result of informal settlement expansion.'

A whole row of Agapanthus walshii where there was one or two

Elsewhere, sprouting at the base of shrubs was pleasing, like this fairly large Brachylaena neriifolia:

Sprouting from the base of a Brachylaena neriifolia

This Fire Asparagus Asparagus lignosus seems to be past its best now, with lower branches dying back. The ground underneath is strewn with spent flowers or seeds.

Fire Asparagus Asparagus lignosus, past its best

Another one is less far advanced, with flowers still out:

A younger Asparagus lignosus

The flowers are tiny and delicate:

Asparagus lignosus flowers, leaves and thorns!

This Palmiet is recovering nicely:

Palmiet, recovering

We're waiting to see what will happen to this Pagoda Flower Mimetes cucullatus; nothing yet!

Mimetes cucullatus, nothing happening yet

This is what the burned flower looks like:

Mimetes cucullatus, burned flower

Again, there was very little colour, a splash of yellow here and there from this Oxalis (luteola?):

Yellow Oxalis (luteola?)

.... and pink from these:

Pink Oxalis (hirta?)

Also pink, this Tritoniopsis (lata?) which was the only one we spied!

Our only Tritoniopsis (lata?) sighting today

It was interesting to see a bare flower stem growing from one hole and a single leaf from another!

This is how it was growing

Flower detail:

With the long upper tepal, is this Tritoniopsis lata? 

Growing in the middle of the road, we're amazed always that this Campylostachys cernua survives. Burned, but spared the worst of the fire, it's shooting from the base:

Campylostachys cernua, in the middle of the road, burned, but recovering!

But it was very pleasing to find what we think is another one, growing about 10 metres away, safely away from the road:

Another one, a short distance away?

Using our markers, mostly stones packed on the side of the road, we are able to trace where we remember plants were growing before the fire. In this case, Dilatris pillansii, recovering well.

Recovering Dilatris pillansii

Working from another stone marker, and in relation to a Lanaria lanata which has recovered well, we were delighted to find this which we're pretty sure is the big stand of Gladiolus carneus we found. It was right at the edge of the fire and seems to be coming up again strongly:

Gladiolus carneus coming up again? 

We have marked it with sticks along with the Lanaria lanata:

Marked with sticks

:-) A

Noisome Sunday Flower Walk

Yes, noisone because we couldn't seem to get away from the stench that the southeaster was bringing from the stinky dam of Oude Molen Distillery!

The smell was even stronger than these Helichrysum foetidum, which thankfully are nearly over. They are well named!

Helichrysum foetidum. Hold your nose!

The water level of the dam on the Experimental Farm is dropping, making it easier to get to the Nymphaea nouchali:

Nymphaea nouchali

Here the difference between them and the smaller-leaved yellow-flowered Nymphoides indica can be seen:

Nymphaea nouchali left and Nymphoides indica right

The Buchu Agathosma betulina flowers are shy, just about three on one branch on quite a big bush. However, seeds must be spreading because there are about eight or ten small plants doing well around it.

Buchu Agathosma betulina flower

We have recorded six healthy Roella incurva plants, far away enough from the ones in danger of being washed away.

Roella incurva, a safe distance from the wash-away

We had another look at the Butterspoon, Rooi Els Cunonia capensis we found last week. The new growth looks vigorous and healthy.

Butterspoon Cunonia capensis Rooi Els

The 'spoon' is slightly hollow on one side and the other is veined like this. The next two are forming in the axils on each side.

Detail of the back of the 'spoon'

This year's flowers are forming on the Brunias, last year's are turning brown.

Brunia, new flowers and old

All year we've been watching for this Erica to flower. It has us stumped.

Unknown Erica

Another view:

Unknown Erica

The flowers are like E. coccinea, but the leaves are not, as can be seen from this one growing close by. Its leaves grow distinctly in tufts and the new flowers are not so advanced:

Erica coccinea

Another large Campylostachys cernua we haven't seen before:

Campylostachys cernua

Pity we didn't find it before, it must have been impressive covered in flowers. There were just a few left. Campylo means bent over, that must refer to the flowers, but stachys means grain, as in wheat:

Campylostachys cernua flowers

Looking up from that, I saw a mass of blue! No less than 22 flowers on this group of Agapanthus walshii!

22 Agapanthus walshii flowers!

One might wonder why they're so rare, but look at this, it seems that there is only one viable seed on each flower, the rest don't seem to have formed, or are completely missing.

.... but very few seeds!

We were on a road we haven't checked for many weeks. The pink Ericas there form large patches of colour in the veld.

Pink Ericas colouring the veld

What is this, with its long bare stalks and tiny five-petalled flowers?

What is this?

Flower detail from the top:

Flower detail

... and from the side, and a spent flower:

Flower and spent flower from the side

Another happy-looking bunch of Agapanthus walshii, with eight flowers. I remember this one from before, it may have had one or two flowers maximum.

Eight Agapanthus walshii flowers

The Watsonia schlechteri are past their best now, we seem to have missed the peak flowering season in this area, while we were concentrating on them on the other side.

Watsonia schlechteri

Flower on the tip:

Flower detail

This Erica pulchella was worth stopping for!

Erica pulchella

Another healthy looking group of Agapanthus walshii, on the way down in an area we haven't seen them flowering before.

More Agapanthus walshii!

From yesterday, on the way to the Water-Mill in Bot River, on Houw Hoek Pass, the Aulax umbellata are in flower!

Aulax umbellata in Houw Hoek Pass

Detail of the male flower:

Male Aulax umbellata flower

:-) A

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