Plants of the Week

Dryopteridaceae

Common names: wood fern family

Family: Dryopteridaceae

The Dryopteridaceae is a large and diverse fern family with a near cosmopolitan distribution. Arachniodes (East Indian holly fern), Cyrtomium (net-veined...

09 / 02 / 2004 | Koos Roux | Compton Herbarium

Drosanthemum longipes

Common names: Biedouw drosanthemum (Eng.); biedouw-rankvygie (Afr.)

Family: Aizoaceae

A remarkable, summer dormant, scrambling, leaf succulent, with magenta-pink flowers in winter, re-sprouting annually in autumn, producing many stems from...

18 / 02 / 2019 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG

Duvernoia adhatodoides

Common names: pistol bush (Eng.); pistoolbos (Afr.); ihlwalane, isepheka, ihlwehlwe (Xhosa); uthabe, lothabe (Zulu)

Family: Acanthaceae

Duvernoia adhatodoides is now Justicia adhatodoides ...

02 / 03 / 2015 | | Kirstenbosch NBG

Dymondia margaretae

Common names: carpet daisy, silver carpet (Eng.); tapytmadeliefie (Afr.)

Family: Asteraceae

Dymondia margaretae is a one-of-a-kind, hardy, carpet-forming groundcover with a compact, neat habit and stunning blue-grey foliage. It is perfect for...

02 / 11 / 2009 | Norma Lucas | Kirstenbosch NBG

Diascia mollis

Common names: trailing Transkei twinspur (Eng.); horingkies (Afr.)

Family: Scrophulariaceae

Sweet, rewarding, ground covering herbaceous perennial for both light-sunny and semi-shaded areas, adding bright colour to the garden and hanging baskets...

31 / 05 / 2021 | Cherise Viljoen | Kirstenbosch NBG

Dicerocaryum eriocarpum

Common names: devil’s thorn (Eng.); beesdubbeltjie, duiwelsdoring, seepbos (Afr.); intekelane (Ndebele); makanagwe (Tswana)

Family: Pedaliaceae

Dicerocaryum eriocarpum is now known as Sesamum eriocarpum ...

21 / 09 / 2023 | | Kirstenbosch NBG

Dicerocaryum senecioides

Common names: devil’s thorn, boot protectors, stud plant (Eng.); elandsdoring (Afr.); museto (Tshivenda)

Family: Pedaliaceae

Dicerocaryum senecioides is now known as Sesamum senecioides ...

21 / 09 / 2023 | | Kirstenbosch NBG

Diospyros natalensis

Common names: acorn jackal-berry, acorn diospyros, small-leaved jackal-berry (Eng.); akkerjakkalsbessie, fynblaar jakkalsbessie, smalblaarjakkasbessie (Afr); umhlay

Family: Ebenaceae

A beautiful, densely branched, evergreen shrub or small tree, with attractive, glossy, dark green leaves, small white flowers in spring and yellowish to...

14 / 06 / 2021 | Winfred Velephi Ngwenya | Lowveld NBG

Dovyalis longispina

Common names: Coast Kei-apple (Eng), Kuskei-appel, Natalappelkoos (Afr.), umNyusa (isiZulu), imQokolo (isiXhoza)

Family: Salicaceae

‘The Dovyalis with the long spines’, that is how one can make sense of its botanical name. With its bright orange-red, edible fruits and very...

21 / 06 / 2021 | Mpho Mathalauga | KwaZulu-Natal NBG

Dicerothamnus rhinocerotis

Mature adult bush with many upright branches

Common names: rhinoceros bush, rhenoster bush (Eng.); renosterbos, rhenosterbos (Afr.)

Family: Asteraceae

Although renosterbos is not showy or beautiful, it is an interesting and important component of our indigenous flora. It is the dominant member and the...

25 / 09 / 2006 | Nicola Bergh | Compton Herbarium

Dyschoriste rogersii

Common names: bushveld ribbon flower (Eng.); blou-bosklapper (Afr.)

Family: Acanthaceae

A small, evergreen shrub with a very long flowering season, best in semi-shade and with very few natural enemies....

01 / 04 / 2019 | Tumelo Mofokeng | Pretoria NBG

Desmodium setigerum

Common names: bristly tick-clover

Family: Fabaceae

See Grona setigera...

08 / 11 / 2023 | | Pretoria NBG

Diastella thymelaeoides subsp. meridiana

Common names: Hangklip silkypuff (Eng.)

Family: Proteaceae

The Hangklip silkypuff is a rare gem, endemic to the Kogelberg, Hangklip and Betty’s Bay area. Its pretty star-like flowers, present for most...

07 / 07 / 2015 | Victoria Wilman | Kirstenbosch NBG

Desmodium repandum

Common names: orange tick-clover

Family: Fabaceae

See Hylodesmum repandum...

08 / 11 / 2023 | | Kirstenbosch NBG

Diastella parilis

Common names: Worcester silkypuff

Family: Proteaceae

A rounded, fynbos shrublet, with pleasant pink flowers for more than six months, that is suitable for cultivation in containers....

06 / 02 / 2017 | Mashudu Nndanduleni | Kirstenbosch NBG

Disperis woodii

Common names: horned kappie, Wood’s disperis (Eng.); horingmoederkappie (Afr.)

Family: Orchidaceae

Disperis woodii is a tiny terrestrial orchid, with a cluster of leaves at the base and just one stem that produces a single flower with a long pointed...

04 / 12 / 2023 | Monde Zulu | KwaZulu-Natal NBG

Dumasia villosa var. villosa

Common names: black bean (Eng.); ukhalimele (isiZulu)

Family: Fabaceae

The beautiful blue seeds of dumasia are what caught my eyes and immediately I thought people should know about this beautiful plant. Also, its linear,...

03 / 08 / 2015 | Tandiwe Nkonki | National Herbarium Pretoria

Dietes flavida

Common names: wood iris, wild iris (Eng.)

Family: Iridaceae

An irid with attractive leaves that is a rewarding garden plant. It has fans of long, narrow and very erect, bluish-green leaves and occasional flowers...

27 / 02 / 2017 | Nomama Mei | Kirstenbosch NBG

Disa nivea

Common names: snow disa

Family: Orchidaceae

Its common name may suggest the pure white colour of the flowers, the red spots, however, carries the mystery for its survival, where it occurs in the...

10 / 06 / 2019 | Vathiswa Zikishe | CREW

Drimia loedolffiae

Common names: Kei drimia (Eng.); dassiekweek (Afr.)

Family: Hyacinthaceae

A small bulb which grows in dense clusters on riverine cliffs in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Easily grown from division and great for hanging baskets...

17 / 04 / 2017 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG

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