Plants of the Week

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E.g., 12/09/2024
E.g., 12/09/2024

Lachenalia neilii

Close up of flower
Common names: kleuterviooltjie (Afr.)
Family: Hyacinthaceae

Lachenalia neilii is a bulb endemic to the Bokkeveld Plateau and grows in heavy doleritic clay....

15 / 10 / 2012 | Eugene Marinus | Hantam NBG
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Lachnospermum umbellatum

Lachnospermum umbellatum
Common names: rooiblombossie (Afr.)
Family: Asteraceae

This little-known species from the extreme southwestern corner of the country thrives in the wet fynbos of the Cape Fold Mountains near the coast. Its...

14 / 03 / 2016 | Nicola Bergh | Compton Herbarium
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Lachenalia pygmaea

PLant in flower
Common names: none recorded; suggested name: pygmy hyacinth
Family: Hyacinthaceae

This tiny lachenalia with pale, almond-scented flowers belongs to subgenus Polyxena and makes a delightful pot plant....

23 / 06 / 2014 | Adam Harrower | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Lycium ferocissimum

Lycium ferocissimum
Common names: Cape box thorn, honey thorn, snake-berry, African box thorn (Eng.); slangbessie, karriedoring, bokdoring (Afr.); ubovu (Xho.)
Family: Solanaceae

A spiny, evergreen shrub with attractive red berries, that are borne sporadically throughout the year and make it a perfect plant to attract birds to the...

27 / 11 / 2017 | Sisanda Alakhe Velembo-Mhlauli | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Lachenalia valeriae

Lachenalia valeriae plants
Common names: viooltjie (Afrikaans)
Family: Hyacinthaceae

Lachenalia valeriae is a beautiful species from the coastal dunes of Namaqualand....

02 / 11 / 2009 | Hester Steyn | Pretoria NBG
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Lachenalia mathewsii

Pot of Lachenalia mathewsii
Common names: none on record
Family: Hyacinthaceae

Lachenalia mathewsii is an attractive, deciduous, winter-growing bulb, standing 10-20 cm tall....

24 / 09 / 2001 | Alice Notten | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Lachenalia orthopetala

Inflorescence
Common names: straight-petal lachenalia, Cape hyacinth (Eng.); viooltjie (Afr.)
Family: Hyacinthaceae

Lachenalia orthopetala, an indigenous hyacinth with striking upward-facing, creamy-white maroon-tipped flowers, is one of the rarest and most rewarding...

29 / 06 / 2009 | Adam Harrower | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Lachenalia sargeantii

Flowering after fire
Common names: none
Family: Hyacinthaceae

Lachenalia sargeantii is a striking, early summer-flowering plant with pendulous, tubular ivory blooms marked with apple-green, bright pinkish magenta...

29 / 10 / 2007 | Graham Duncan | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Lachenalia liliflora

Close- up of flowers
Common names: Cape hyacinth (Eng.); viooltjie (Afr.)
Family: Hyacinthaceae

Sadly, Lachenalia liliflora,  an indigenous hyacinth with strikingly beautiful creamy-white flowers tipped with purple, is on the critically endangered...

20 / 10 / 2003 | Adam Harrower | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Lannea schweinfurthii var. stuhlmannii

Lannea schweinfurthii var. stuhlmannii (Geoff Nichols)
Common names: false-marula (Eng.); valsmaroela (Afr.); mmopu (NSo.); umganunkomo (Zul.)
Family: Anacardiaceae

This small to medium-sized, deciduous tree, with its small, creamy white to yellow flowers and aromatic leaves, will not only attract birds to your garden,...

18 / 12 / 2017 | Benjamin Festus | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Lachenalia orchioides

Lachenalia orchioides var.orchioides - yellow form
Common names: (L. orchioides var. orchioides): wild hyacinth (Eng.), groenviooltjie (Afr.); (L. orchioides var. glaucina (Jacq.) W.F.Barker): blue wild hyacinth (E
Family: Hyacinthaceae

Large strikingly attractive flowers varying in colour through shades of blue, pink, lilac to bright yellow and green make this species an attractive container...

11 / 07 / 2011 | Adam Harrower | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Lachenalia pustulata

Lachenalia pustulata multicoloured form from Blaauwberg Hill
Common names: common viooltjie
Family: Hyacinthaceae

Lachenalia pustulata, with its vast array of flower colours, is a most rewarding Cape winter-growing bulb to cultivate....

12 / 09 / 2011 | Adam Harrower | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Lachenalia viridiflora

Lachenalia viridiflora
Common names: green-flowered lachenalia (Eng.); groenviooltjie (Afr.)
Family: Hyacinthaceae

Lachenalia viridiflora is a most appealing autumn- and winter-flowering bulbous plant, growing up to 200 mm high. Its startling turquoise blooms place...

09 / 06 / 2003 | Graham Duncan | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Lagenaria siceraria

Lagenaria siceraria
Common names: bottle gourd, calabash (Eng.); kalbas (Afr.); moraka (North Sotho); segwana (Tswana); iselwa (Xhosa, Zulu)
Family: Cucurbitaceae

...

06 / 06 / 2005 | M Welman | National Herbarium Pretoria
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Ledebouria ovatifolia subsp. ovatifolia

Ledebouria ovatifolia, Weza Ngele
Common names: flat-leaved African hyacinth (Eng.); icubudwana (isiZulu); untanganazibomvu (isiXhosa)
Family: Hyacinthaceae

Curious and widespread, a variable, bulbous plant, with unique, broad, flat, usually spotted leaves, which are tightly appressed to the soil surface, and...

18 / 04 / 2016 | Andrew Hankey | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Lagenaria sphaerica

Lagenaria sphaerica
Common names: wild calabash (Eng.); wildekalbas (Afr.); iselwa-makhosi, uselwa (Zulu)
Family: Cucurbitaceae

This vigorous climber is a close relative of the calabash and bears large, white, fragrant flowers which open in the evening, and unique mottled green...

01 / 11 / 2004 | M Welman | National Herbarium Pretoria
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Lycium afrum

Lycium afrum (Hedi Stummer)
Common names: kraal honeythorn (Eng.); kraaldoring, kraalkriedoring, slangbessie, bokdoring (Afr.)
Family: Solanaceae

Coming from an economically important family of flowering plants, this is a robust, stiffly branched, moderate sized, thorny shrub, that may grow to be...

25 / 04 / 2016 | Sisanda Alakhe Velembo-Mhlauli | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Lamiaceae

Mentha longifolia.  Photo G. Nichols
Common names: mint or sage family
Family: Lamiaceae

The Lamiaceae family is characterised by square stems, aromatic leaves (gland-dotted) and zygomorphic (irregular) flowers with the corolla usually 2-lipped....

21 / 07 / 2008 | Elizabeth Retief | National Herbarium Pretoria
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Lampranthus affinis

Lampranthus affinis
Common names: cliff lampranthus (Eng.), kransvygie (Afr.)
Family: Aizoaceae

Lampranthus affinis is a striking, easily grown shrublet, with large, pale pink flowers, and is one of only a few mesembs that will flower in shady...

03 / 03 / 2003 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Lachenalia lutzeyeri

Lachenalia lutzeyeri in habitat. (Photo Vera Frith)
Common names: Lutzeyer’s lachenalia
Family: Hyacinthaceae

...

30 / 03 / 2020 | Joti Daya | CREW
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