Plants of the Week

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E.g., 02/07/2023

Encephalartos senticosus

Encephalartos senticosus
Common names: Lebombo, jozini cycad (Eng.); lebombobroodboom (Afr.); isigqiki-somkhovu, ujubane (Zulu); sijekwane (S)
Family: Zamiaceae

Encephalartos senticosus is a quick-growing, glossy dark green giant cycad for your ornamental garden. ...

19 / 09 / 2011 | M.S. Mothogoane | National Herbarium Pretoria
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Erica lateralis

Erica lateralis
Common names: button heath (Eng.); knopiesheide (Afr.)
Family: Ericaceae

This sturdy evergreen shrub boasts with masses of rosy to pink flowers from late summer until early winter, around February to June. It is ideal for mass...

13 / 09 / 2021 | Benjamin Festus | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Encephalartos transvenosus

Modjadji cycad
Common names: Modjadji cycad (Eng.); Modjadji broodboom (Afr.)
Family: Zamiaceae

As a garden subject, Encephalartos transvenosus, with its glossy dark-green leaves, is one of the most spectacular and tallest of all cycad species. It...

14 / 03 / 2005 | John Winter | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Euphorbia grandidens

Euphorbia grandidens. Photo Geoff Nichols
Common names: valleybush euphorbia, large-toothed euphorbia (Eng.); valleibosnaboom, groottandnaboom (Afr.); umhlontlo (isiXhosa); umhlonhlo wehlathi (isiZulu)
Family: Euphorbiaceae

Euphorbia grandidens is many branched shrub or tree, up to 16 m tall or more, with one to several, main succulent trunks....

31 / 08 / 2015 | Sifiso Mnxati | KwaZulu-Natal Herbarium
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Encephalartos trispinosus

Encephalartos trispinosus
Common names: Bushman`s River cycad
Family: Zamiaceae

Encephalartos trispinosus is an excellent garden subject in hot, dry climates and areas which experience frost. The plants do not require a great deal...

15 / 05 / 2006 | John Winter | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Erica baueri subsp. gouriquae

Erica baueri subsp. gouriquae
Common names: Gouriqua heath, bridal heath
Family: Ericaceae

Erica baueri subsp. baueri is one of the best known ericas and popular as a South African fynbos garden plant. A second subspecies, subsp. gouriquae, was...

07 / 09 / 2015 | Anthony Hitchcock | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Euphorbia clavarioides

Euphorbia clavarioides
Common names: lion’s spoor (Eng.), grootvingerpol, slangpol, melkpol (Afr.), isihlekehleke, isantilele (isiZulu), sehlehle, sehloko, thethebale (Sesotho)
Family: Euphorbiaceae

Euphorbia clavarioides is a succulent perennial that forms neat, cushion-like clumps of tightly packed stems, just above ground level, with beautiful yellow...

20 / 09 / 2021 | Bathabile Ndlovu | KwaZulu-Natal NBG
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Encephalartos villosus

Cone forming
Common names: poor man's cycad
Family: Zamiaceae

Encephalartos villosus is one of the most common ornamental dwarf cycads in southern Africa. It is shade-loving and produces leaves which spread out...

25 / 04 / 2005 | John Winter | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Equilabium laxiflorum

Equilabium laxiflorum
Common names: citronella dutch-pipe-sage (Eng.); sitrinella-kromsteelpypsalie (Afr.); ubebebe (isiXhosa)
Family: Lamiaceae

An erect, easy-to-grow, aromatic, herbaceous shrub with decorative, light green foliage, suitable for planting in humid, moist and slightly shaded areas...

24 / 06 / 2019 | Mpendulo Gabayi | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Encephalartos woodii

Encephalartos woodii at Kirstenbosch
Common names: Wood's Cycad (Eng.); Wood-se-broodboom (Afr.)
Family: Zamiaceae

Encephalartos woodii is famous for being extinct in nature, and for the fact that there is no known female specimen on Earth....

20 / 05 / 2002 | Alice Notten | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Erica bolusiae var. cyathiformis

Erica bolusiae var. cyathiformis
Common names: Kraaifontein heath
Family: Ericaceae

The Kraaifontein heath is Extinct in the Wild and could have become Extinct, had it not been for the actions of one individual. It is a variable and attractive...

27 / 09 / 2021 | Kamogelo Solomon Modimola | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Englerophytum magalismontanum

Fruit. Photo: Geoff Nichols
Common names: Transvaal milkplum (Eng.); stamvrug (Afr.), motlhatswa (Tswana); mohlatswa (Northern Sotho); munombelo (Venda); amanumbela (Zulu); umnumbela (Swati) O
Family: Sapotaceae

This species is better known by its Afrikaans name, stamvrug and is one of South Africa's more popular veld fruits, a thirst quencher to...

24 / 02 / 2003 | K Behr | Pretoria NBG
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Englerophytum natalense

Fruits and leaves.Image Geoff Nichols
Common names: Natal or silverleaf milkplum (Eng.); Natalmelkpruim (Afr.); umThongwane (isiZulu, isiXhosa); ithunga, umThungwane (isiXhosa); umTjongane (isiSwati)
Family: Sapotaceae

An attractive garden plant, a tree with edible fruit and white-to-cream flowers....

04 / 02 / 2013 | F Nonyane | National Herbarium Pretoria
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Ensete ventricosum

Ensete ventricosum with Strelitzia in foreground
Common names: wild banana, African wild banana (Eng.), wildepiesang (Afr.), motholo (Sepedi), mulala (Tshivenda)
Family: Musaceae

This relative of the edible banana is a valuable landscaping plant. Its form, texture and large leaves with conspicuous red midribs, create a lush, tropical...

14 / 10 / 2002 | Siyabulela Nonjinge | KwaZulu-Natal NBG
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Eragrostis superba

Spikelets
Common names: saw-tooth love grass, flat-seed love grass (Eng.); bosluissaadgras (Afr.)
Family: Poaceae

  The large, flat, attractive spikelets on inflorescences that occur well above the basal tuft of leaves make this one of the easiest Eragrostis...

18 / 07 / 2005 | L Fish | National Herbarium Pretoria
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Erepsia pillansii

Erepsia pillansii shrublet
Common names: Piketberg vygie, Catherine wheel (Eng.)
Family: Aizoaceae

An erect shrublet with striking magenta and white flowers, Erepsia pillansii is endemic to the Piketberg Mountains....

31 / 05 / 2010 | C Cowell | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Eugenia natalitia

Eugenia natalitia
Common names: forest myrtle (Eng.); bosmirt (Afr.); mukavha-mahunguvhu, murambo-thavha, musiri, tshitawatawane (Venda); umthintane, umbhovane, imanzana (Zulu); inch
Family: Myrtaceae

If you want your garden to be bursting with butterflies, bees and birds (and let’s be honest, who doesn’t), then this is the plant for you!...

18 / 10 / 2021 | Rowan Wilson | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Erepsia lacera

Erepsia lacera
Common names: Paarl roosvygie
Family: Aizoaceae

Erepsia lacera is an erect shrublet with succulent leaves and somewhat rose-like flowers. It belongs to the mesemb family (Mesembryanthemaceae), flowers...

22 / 05 / 2006 | Van Jaarsveld I | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Erica abietina subsp. constantiana

Erica abietina subsp. constantiana growing on slopes of Chapman's Peak
Common names: Constantiaberg heath
Family: Ericaceae

An attractive heath with densely leafy stems and attractive pink flowers in winter to spring, well suited to sunny rockeries, coastal and fynbos gardens...

21 / 09 / 2009 | Anthony Hitchcock | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Encephalartos msinganus

Encephalartos msinganus
Common names: Msinga cycad (Eng.); msinga-broodboom (Afr.)
Family: Zamiaceae

A medium-sized, glossy green cycad, that occurs in the Msinga area in KwaZulu-Natal; it grows in short grassland on steep north-facing slopes, often suckering...

15 / 07 / 2019 | Lungisani Zondi | Walter Sisulu NBG
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