Plants of the Week

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E.g., 08/09/2024
E.g., 08/09/2024

Ledebouria marginata

Ledebouria marginata. Verloren Valei.
Common names: tough-leaved African hyacinth
Family: Hyacinthaceae

An attractive Ledebouria with erect, fibrous leaves and large bulb, often locally common with regional variations; it occurs over a wide area of the eastern...

23 / 01 / 2017 | Andrew Hankey | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Ledebouria caesiomontana

Ledebouria caesiomontana
Common names: Blouberg African hyacinth
Family: Asphodelaceae

This small and cryptic species remains very elusive in its natural habitat, due to its ability to hide amongst grasses and other vegetation, as a result...

09 / 08 / 2021 | Andrew Hankey | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Ledebouria luteola

Ledebouria luteola
Common names: highveld African hyacinth
Family: Hyacinthaceae

Unusual in cultivation, this bulbous plant, with attractively spotted leaves, can make an interesting collector’s item or curiosity. The species...

20 / 02 / 2017 | Andrew Hankey | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Lachenalia reflexa

Lachenalia reflexa
Common names: yellow soldier
Family: Hyacinthaceae

A bulbous plant with bright yellow, urn-shaped flowers, and ascending, strap-shaped leaves; this winter-flowering plant is in danger of extinction in its...

17 / 06 / 2019 | Mpho Mathalauga | KwaZulu-Natal NBG
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Ledebouria pusilla

Ledebouria pusilla
Common names: Swazi African hyacinth (Eng.)
Family: Hyacinthaceae

This tiny bulb is the smallest of all the ledebourias in the world. Often with only one or two leaves per plant, this species is tiny in all respects....

23 / 08 / 2021 | Andrew Hankey | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Ledebouria loedolffiae

Ledebouria loedolffiae in habitat
Common names: spotted cliff African hyacinth, spotted cliff squill (Eng.), kransbontblaar (Afr.)
Family: Hyacinthaceae

Ledebouria loedolffiae is a cluster-forming, evergreen, bulbous plant with mottled leaves in a rosette and small purplish flowers carried on an ascending...

01 / 01 / 2024 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Ledebouria asperifolia

Ledebouria asperifolia, Buffelskloof Nature Reserve, Mpumalanga.
Common names: rough-leaved African hyacinth
Family: Hyacinthaceae

Although this species is seldom seen in cultivation, there are some very attractive forms which have beautiful markings on the leaves. It occurs over a...

06 / 03 / 2017 | Andrew Hankey | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Ledebouria pilosa

Ledebouria pilosa
Common names: hairy-leaved African hyacinth (Eng.)
Family: Hyacinthaceae

The hairy-leaved African hyacinth is an attractive bulbous plant with broad, green, hairy leaves and a tall flower spike with small pink and white striped...

15 / 01 / 2024 | Andrew Hankey | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Ledebouria concolor

Ledebouria concolor
Common names: Karoo African hyacinth
Family: Hyacinthaceae

A large and handsome, African hyacinth, with bright green leaves and stout semi-erect, dense flower spikes, that makes a fine pot plant. This attractive...

06 / 03 / 2017 | Andrew Hankey | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Landolphia kirkii

Landolphia kirkii
Common names: sand apricot-vine, rubber vine (Eng.), sandrankappelkoos, melktou (Afr.), muvhungo, mukumululo (fruit) (Tshivenda), umbungwa, umkuzi (isiZulu)
Family: Apocynaceae

Named after its delicious fruit, the sand apricot-vine is a liane with many strong tendrils, glossy foliage, a branched inflorescence of small, scented,...

22 / 01 / 2024 | Nompumelelo Nkosi | Pretoria NBG
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Lannea edulis var. edulis

Lannea edulis var. edulis
Common names: grape lannea, wild grape (Eng.); wildedruif (Afr.); umgabunkhomo (isiZulu); mutsambatsi (siSwati); phepo (Setswana).
Family: Anacardiaceae

A dwarf shrub, with stubby stems arising from a woody rootstock; it bears large leaves compared to the size of the plant. The fruits are edible, with a...

01 / 07 / 2019 | Fergy Nkadimeng | Millennium Seed Bank Partnership
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Ledebouria parvifolia

Ledebouria parvifolia
Common names: elusive African hyacinth
Family: Hyacinthaceae

A very rare and elusive species seldom seen in its natural habitat due to its small size and remote location in the Mpumalanga Drakensberg, Mpumalanga,...

31 / 03 / 2017 | Andrew Hankey | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Ledebouria remifolia

Ledebouria remifolia
Common names: butterspoon African hyacinth
Family: Hyacinthaceae

A unique, dwarf, bulbous plant which produces spoon-like leaves on a long slender stalk. This small enigmatic species makes a curious container subject...

31 / 03 / 2017 | Andrew Hankey | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Ledebouria mokobulanensis

Ledebouria mokobulanensis
Common names: Mokobulan African hyacinth
Family: Hyacinthaceae

An enigmatic, rare and range-restricted species from the high-altitude grasslands, on the crests of the Mpumalanga Drakensberg, in Mpumalanga Province,...

31 / 03 / 2017 | Andrew Hankey | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Ledebouria venteri

Ledebouria venteri in habitat on a shale cliff on a farm along the Gouritz River
Common names: Gouritz cliff squill, Venter’s African hyacinth (Eng.); Gouritz krans-slangkop (Afr.)
Family: Hyacinthaceae

Ledebouria venteri is a cluster forming bulbous plant with pale green, uniformly coloured leaves in an apical rosette and a spreading inflorescence of...

26 / 02 / 2024 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Ledebouria comptonii

Ledebouria comptonii
Common names: Compton’s African Hyacinth
Family: Hyacinthaceae

A small and attractive species which proliferates to form dense stands, with brightly coloured flowers produced en-masse in early spring. The species is...

15 / 11 / 2021 | Andrew Hankey | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Lantana rugosa

Lantana rugosa
Common names: bird’s beer, bird’s brandy (Eng.); voëlbrandewyn, wildesalie (Afr.); sekwebetane (isiNdebele); utyani-bentaka, utywala bentaka (isiXhosa); impema
Family: Verbenaceae

From a distance, if it looks like the famous fever-tea or lemon bush plant (Lippia javanica), it is most likely Lantana rugosa. Sadly, sharing the common...

05 / 08 / 2019 | Lesiba Papo | National Herbarium Pretoria
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Leucadendron pubescens

Leucadendron pubescens
Common names: grey conebush, silky conebush (Eng.); knokkerbos, pitjiebos, knopbos, syhaartolbos, pitjieknopbos, syhaar-tolbos (Afr.)
Family: Proteaceae

A very attractive shrub with twisted, hairy leaves and large maroon-brown cones that are very noticeable in winter and spring when the plants are flowering...

22 / 11 / 2021 | Mane Somtshu | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Ledebouria floribunda

Ledebouria floribunda
Common names: spotted African hyacinth (Eng.); isikholokotho (Zul.)
Family: Hyacinthaceae

A large and usually attractively spotted Ledebouria species; this species is one of the largest species in the entire genus....

19 / 08 / 2019 | Andrew Hankey | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Ledebouria burkei subsp. stolonissima

Ledebouria burkei subsp. stolonissima
Common names: Lebowa African hyacinth
Family: Hyacinthaceae

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15 / 04 / 2024 | Andrew Hankey | Walter Sisulu NBG
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