Plants of the Week

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E.g., 18/09/2024

Clematis brachiata x villosa ‘Silver Beard’

Clematis brachiata x villosa ‘Silver Beard’
Common names: silver beard clematis
Family: Ranunculaceae

A sweet, pretty, indigenous hybrid clematis, named in honour of its creator, renowned horticulturist and botanist, Rodney Saunders....

08 / 04 / 2019 | Cherise Viljoen | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Cryptostephanus

Cryptostephanus vansonii
Common names: none known
Family: Amaryllidaceae

Cryptostephanus is a curious, little-known genus comprising three species from Namibia, Angola, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Tanzania and Kenya. It is most closely...

29 / 06 / 2015 | Graham Duncan | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Caesalpinia bracteata

Caesalpinia bracteata
Common names: Gariep plume-flower (Eng.); Gariep pronkstert (Afr.)
Family: Fabaceae

Caesalpinia bracteata represents a fairly recent discovery. It is a rare, thorny shrub with beautiful pink flowers, endemic to the dry desert of the lower...

30 / 01 / 2017 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Cliffortia odorata

Cliffortia odorata
Common names: wild vine (Eng.); wildewingerd, wildevyerank (Afr.)
Family: Rosaceae

A hardy evergreen groundcover, with attractive, oval, green leaves, spreading vigorously in full sun or part shade....

29 / 04 / 2019 | Thembakazi Dyariwe | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Crossandra greenstockii

Crossandra greenstockii
Common names: bushveld crossandra (Eng.) rooiblom (Afr.)
Family: Acanthaceae

Crossandra greenstockii is a beautiful little perennial, with bright orange to red flowers all summer; it looks very stunning in flower, providing a welcome...

26 / 07 / 2021 | Fergy Nkadimeng | Millennium Seed Bank Partnership
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Corchorus olitorius

Corchorus olitorius
Common names: Egyptian spinach, Indian jute, wild jute, bush okra, Jew’s mallow, West African sorrel, jute mallow, tossa jute (Eng.); wilde jute, Indiese jute (Af
Family: Malvaceae

A tropical, fast-growing, annual herb, up to 4 m tall, with a fibrous stem and yellow flowers in 1 to 2 months from the time of germination....

02 / 08 / 2021 | Meshack Nethavhani | Millennium Seed Bank Partnership
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Combretum hereroense

Combretum hereroense
Common names: russet bushwillow, mouse-eared combretum (Eng.); kierieklapper (Afr.); mokabi (Northern Sotho); mugavhi (Venda); umhlalavane (Zulu)
Family: Combretaceae

Combretum hereroense is a valuable species that has interesting horticultural characters all year round; the leaves and seed pods turn coppery, and a touch...

06 / 05 / 2019 | Refilwe Maria Malatji | Pretoria NBG
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Carpanthea pomeridiana

Carpanthea pomeridiana
Common names: carpanthea (Eng.); vetkousie (Afr.)
Family: Aizoaceae

Carpanthea pomeridiana is an easily propagated, fast-growing annual, endemic to the sandy coastal regions of the Western Cape. It has golden-yellow flowers...

13 / 05 / 2019 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Cadaba aphylla

Cadaba aphylla Photo © Rod Saunders
Common names: leafless cadaba, leafless wormbush, black storm, desert spray (Eng.); swartstorm, bobbejaanarm, bloustam, doubos, douwurmbos, gifhoutjie, rooistorm, s
Family: Brassicaceae

...

03 / 05 / 2004 | Werner Voigt | Karoo Desert NBG
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Chlorophytum cremnophilum

Chlorophytum cremnophilum
Common names: cliff spider plant, cliff hen and chickens (Eng.); krans hen-en-kuikens (Afr.)
Family: Agavaceae

The cliff spider plant is a new, recently named, cliff-hanger species from the Kouga and Grootrivier tributaries of the Gamtoos, in the Eastern Cape. Unlike...

03 / 08 / 2015 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Caesalpinia rostrata

Flowers
Common names: beakpod plumeflower/ beaked plumeflower (Eng.); tuitpeulpronkstert (Afr.)
Family: Fabaceae

This medium to large scrambling shrub with its beautiful leaf patterns produces pink flowers towards the end of the year. It is an interesting plant for...

08 / 04 / 2013 | Lou-nita LeRoux | Lowveld NBG
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Callilepis laureola

Flower: Photo: von Fintel
Common names: Ox-eye Daisy (eng.); Wildemargriet (Afr.); mila (Sw); amafuthomhlaba, ihlamvu, impila (Z)
Family: Asteraceae

This is a spring flower of the grasslands with the unusual combination of dark disc, white rays and bright green foliage, making it an attractive garden...

24 / 03 / 2008 | Desiree Marimuthoo | KwaZulu-Natal NBG
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Calobota cytisoides

Calobota cytisoides inflorescence
Common names: bush ganna (Eng.), ganna, geelertjiebos, kristinabos (Afr.)
Family: Fabaceae

Calobota cytisoides is an attractive, yellow-flowered shrub which is widespread in the Western Cape Province of South Africa....

14 / 06 / 2010 | S Boatwright | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Calodendrum capense

Calodendrum capense
Common names: Cape chestnut, wild chestnut (Eng.); wildekastaiing, Kaapsekastaiing (Afr.); umbaba, umsitshana (Xhosa); umbhaba, umemezi omhlophe (Zulu), molalakgwed
Family: Rutaceae

Calodendrum capense, a beautiful tree from the Cape, the name says it all: kalos means beautiful, and dendron  is Greek for tree, capense is...

17 / 12 / 2001 | Alice Notten | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Calpurnia aurea

Flowers
Common names: common calpurnia, calpurnia, wild laburnum, Natal laburnum, Cape laburnum (E); geelkeurboom, geelkeur, Natalse geelkeur (A); inDloli, umSitshana (X);
Family: Fabaceae

With decorative foliage, showy yellow flowers and a graceful habit, Calpurnia aurea is an asset in any garden....

09 / 05 / 2005 | Alice Notten | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Campanulaceae

Roella ciliata
Common names: bell flower, bluebell family (Eng.); klokkiesfamilie (Afr.)
Family: Campanulaceae

This is a cosmopolitan family with showy flowers, mainly from the northern hemisphere, but in the southern hemisphere South Africa is particularly rich...

27 / 09 / 2004 | C Cupido | Compton Herbarium
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Curio pondoensis

Curio pondoensis
Common names: Pondo cliff daisy (Eng.); Pondo krans-aster (Afr.)
Family: Asteraceae

The Pondo cliff daisy is a cliff-hanger, leaf and stem succulent, endemic to the river valleys of northern Pondoland, in the Eastern Cape. The attractive,...

24 / 08 / 2015 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Cannabis sativa

Young Cannabis plant
Common names: marijuana (Eng.); dagga (Afr.); Umya (Xhosa); Matekwane/Patse (Northern Sotho); Nsangu (Zulu)
Family: Cannabaceae

Current legislation prohibits the cultivation, possession and trade in cannabis in South Africa. This page is being posted for information purposes only...

09 / 08 / 2004 | Cathbert Makgakga | National Herbarium Pretoria
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Cannomois virgata

Male inflorescence
Common names: bell reed, rekoala (Eng.); bergbamboes, besemriet,olifantsriet, perdehoef, assegaai (Afr.)
Family: Restionaceae

Cannomois virgata is a fast-growing reed-like plant and is the only member of the genus to be found on the Cape Peninsula....

26 / 07 / 2004 | Hanneke Jamieson | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Canthium inerme

Leaves and fruits
Common names: turkey-berry; common turkey-berry; criss-cross turkey-berry; Cape date (Eng.); gewone bokdrol; doringels (Afr.); umvuthwamini (Xhosa, Zulu); umnyushul
Family: Rubiaceae

The ecological and cultural aspects of this tree, its lovely aesthetic qualities and its relatively widespread distribution in southern Africa, make this...

12 / 07 / 2004 | Jan-Hakon Burring | Kirstenbosch NBG
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