Plants of the Week

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E.g., 10/09/2024
E.g., 10/09/2024

Disa cardinalis

Disa cardinalis
Family: Orchidaceae

Disa cardinalis,  found in the Western Cape, South Africa, is an attractive orchid with brilliant red flowers. The species is not often seen in nature...

02 / 02 / 2004 | H Kurzweil | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Disa tripetaloides

Disa tripetaloides
Family: Orchidaceae

Disa tripetaloides is a terrestrial evergreen orchid with beautiful white flowers. It grows along perennial mountain streams and on damp mountain slopes...

03 / 12 / 2007 | Norma Jodamus | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Disa uniflora

Disa uniflora
Common names: pride of Table Mountain, red disa (Eng.), rooidisa (Afr.)
Family: Orchidaceae

This famous red orchid, emblem of the Western Cape, is strictly protected....

12 / 02 / 2001 | Norma Jodamus | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Disparago anomala

Flowering in the fynbos
Family: Asteraceae

Disparago plants are very common in the fynbos vegetation but they are often not noticed until they flower. Even then, they are not large and showy but...

19 / 03 / 2007 | Marinda Koekemoer | National Herbarium Pretoria
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Dissotis canescens

Dissotis canescens
Common names: pink wild tibouchina, pink marsh dissotis, ordeal bean (Eng); kalverbossie (Afr); imfeyesele (Zulu)
Family: Melastomataceae

This pretty shrub looks remarkably like a dwarf version of the related South American tibouchina trees (Tibouchina spp.) which are grown in the more...

02 / 04 / 2001 | Alice Aubrey | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Dissotis princeps

Dissotis princeps
Common names: purple dissotis, royal dissotis, wild tibouchina, purple wild tibouchina (Eng.); kalwerbossie (Afr.); sichobochobo, umpongamponga (Swazi)
Family: Melastomataceae

Dissotis princeps is an outstanding garden plant with magnificent flowers and decorative foliage. It is easy to grow, and is ideal for the water or vlei...

20 / 02 / 2006 | Alice Notten | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Dodonaea viscosa var. angustifolia

Dodonaea viscosa var. angustifolia
Common names: sand olive (Eng.); sandolien, ysterbos (Afr.); mutata-vhana (Venda); mutepipuma (Shona)
Family: Sapindaceae

This well known, drought and wind resistant, indigenous plant can grow into a shrub as it is usually multi-stemmed, or a small tree when the lower branches...

27 / 02 / 2012 | Shireen Harris | Karoo Desert NBG
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Dombeya tiliacea

Dombeya tiliacea
Common names: forest wild pear, forest dombeya, little-dog-rose (Eng.); bosblompeer, bosdrolpeer (Afr.), ibunda (isiZulu), utyibo (isiXhosa)
Family: Malvaceae

A pretty shrub or small tree, with white flowers in late summer to autumn, suitable for sun or semi-shade....

06 / 08 / 2018 | Alice Notten | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Dombeya autumnalis

Dombeya autumnalis
Common names: autumn dombeya, autumn wild pear (English); rotsdrolpeer (Afrikaans)
Family: Malvaceae

This is another attractive shrub for the garden....

28 / 05 / 2001 | Alice Aubrey | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Dombeya burgessiae

Dombeya burgessiae
Common names: pink wild pear, pink dombeya, persdrolpeer (Afrikaans), ibunda (Zulu)
Family: Malvaceae

The pink wild pear is a garden favourite used by many gardeners and landscapers for its profusion of pink to white flowers borne in dense clusters which...

07 / 05 / 2001 | Andrew Hankey | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Dombeya pulchra

Dombeya pulchra
Common names: silver white pear (Eng.); blombos (Afr.)
Family: Malvaceae

The silver white pear is a beautiful shrub or small tree ideal for the wooded or semi-shaded areas of your garden....

15 / 08 / 2005 | K Behr | Pretoria NBG
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Dombeya rotundifolia

Blossom of Dombeya rotundifolia
Common names: wild pear (English); drolpeer (Afrikaans); iNhliziyonkhulu (Zulu); mohlabaphala (N. Sotho); motubane (Tswana); nsihaphukuma (Tsonga)
Family: Malvaceae

This lovely tree gets its English common name, wild pear, from the masses of white blooms which appear before the leaves in early spring. It bears a resemblance...

17 / 09 / 2001 | Alice Aubrey | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Dorotheanthus bellidiformis

Common names: Buckbay-vygie, Livingstone Bokbayfig, Livingstone Daisy (Eng.); bokbaaivygie, sandvygie, skilpadkos, ysplant (Afr.)
Family: Aizoaceae

 See Cleretum bellidiforme ...

29 / 07 / 2002 | | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Dovyalis rhamnoides

Dovyalis rhamnoides showing spines and male flowers
Common names: common sourberry (Eng.); gewone suurbessie (Afr.); ukhamgwindi (Zulu); umqaqoba (Xhosa)
Family: Salicaceae

This is a spiny, evergreen shrub or tree bearing edible fruit. It is easily cultivated and attracts birds to the garden....

08 / 10 / 2012 | C Mudau | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Dovyalis zeyheri

Cythna Letty illustration in Flowering Plants of Africa.
Common names: wild apricot (E), wilde-appelkoos (A), umNyazuma (Z), umQokokolo (X), morethema (NS)
Family: Salicaceae

This is a tree with a most unusual and apparently unexplained feature. At certain times of the year the leaves emit a smell resembling that of carrion....

22 / 04 / 2002 | Alice Aubrey | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Dioscorea sylvatica

Dioscorea sylvatica caudex
Common names: forest elephant’s foot, forest tortoise plant, elephant’s foot yam, wild yam (Eng.); olifantsvoet, skilpadknol (Afr.); nakaa, usikolipati (isiXhos
Family: Dioscoreaceae

Dioscorea sylvatica, commonly known by the name of wild yam, is a slow-growing, caudiciform plant that has an interesting structure which gives it great...

07 / 08 / 2023 | Lufuno Nenungwi | Free State NBG
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Dovyalis caffra

Dovyalis caffra. Photo Geoff Nichols
Common names: Kei-apple (Eng.); Kei-appel (Afr.); motlhono (North Sotho); umqokolo (Zulu); amaqokolo (Ndebele); mukokolo (Shona)
Family: Salicaceae

Dovyalis caffra is a lovely evergreen fruit tree or shrub. It is one of the three Dovyalis species, together with D. zeyheri (wild...

12 / 05 / 2003 | Avhurengwi Phillemon Ndou | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Dracaena aletriformis

Dracaena aletriformis
Common names: large-leaved dragon tree; grootblaardrakeboom (Afr.)  
Family: Ruscaceae

The large-leaved dragon tree is a wonderful, showy foliage plant with large strap-shaped leaves in rosettes at the tips of the branches, ideal for shady...

10 / 02 / 2003 | Cherise Viljoen | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Dracosciadium italae

Insect on D.italae
Family: Apiaceae

This little-known member of the carrot family from KwaZulu-Natal makes an unusual and interesting addition to indigenous gardens....

27 / 01 / 2003 | Isabel Johnson | KwaZulu-Natal NBG
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Dimorphotheca fruticosa

Dimorphotheca fruticosa growing on the KwaZulu-Natal coast. Photo Geoff Nichols
Common names: trailing daisy (Eng.); rankmagriet, rankbietou (Afr.)
Family: Asteraceae

Growing along the South African coastline, intermingled with a variety of species, Dimorphotheca fruticosa can be found displaying a beautiful carpet of...

21 / 08 / 2023 | Karen Wall | Kirstenbosch NBG
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