Plants of the Week

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E.g., 01/12/2023
E.g., 01/12/2023

Aloidendron barberae

Aloidendron barberae
Common names: tree aloe (Eng.); boomaalwyn, mikaalwyn (Afr.); ikhala (Xhosa); umgxwala, indlabendlazi, impondonndo, inkalane-enkulu (Zulu)
Family: Asphodelaceae

Aloidendron barberae is a striking sculptural tree aloe bearing a rounded, neat crown.  It was previously known as Aloe barberae.  It forms an...

30 / 06 / 2003 | Giles Mbambezeli | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Aloe brevifolia var brevifolia

Aloe brevifolia var. brevifolia
Common names: short-leaved aloe (Eng.); kleinaalwyn (Afr.)
Family: Asphodelaceae

...

22 / 02 / 2010 | Vathiswa Zikishe | CREW
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Aloe broomii

Aloe broomii: Photo:E van Jaarsveld
Common names: mountain aloe, snake aloe (Eng.); bergaalwee, slangaalwyn (Afr.)
Family: Asphodelaceae

Aloe broomii has a unique feature that no other aloe has - the flowers and buds cannot be seen when the flower is fully open because they are completely...

12 / 02 / 2007 | Lusindiso Xulubana | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Aloe catengiana

Aloe catengiana, flowerhead. (Image Duke Benadon)
Common names: Catengue-aloe, Catengue-aalwyn, okandolle (umbundu tongue).
Family: Asphodelaceae

Aloe catengiana is only known from the Catengue Railway Station in southwestern Angola. It is a shrubby ascending aloe with spreading, leafy branches...

12 / 05 / 2014 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Aloiampelos

Aloiampelos ciliaris in a garden (AW Klopper)
Common names: climbing aloes, rambling aloes, scrambling aloes (Eng.); rankaalwyne (Afr.)
Family: Asphodelaceae

Rambling aloes, with their usually slender stems and thin, narrow, widely spaced leaves, form much-branched, robust, leaning to creeping shrubs. They can...

09 / 10 / 2017 | Ronell R. Klopper | National Herbarium Pretoria
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Aloe rupestris

Aloe rupestris
Common names: bottlebrush aloe, rock aloe (Eng); borselaalwyn, kraalaalwyn (Afr.); inhlaba (Siswati); uphondonde (isiXhosa); inkalane, uphondonde, umhlabanhazi (isi
Family: Asphodelaceae

A handsome aloe with tightly packed yellow flowers that mature to an alluring scarlet or deep orange, forming beautiful, breathtaking, bottlebrush inflorescences...

20 / 01 / 2020 | Jermaine Christoffels | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Aloe challisii

Aloe challisii
Common names: Steenkampsberg cliff aloe
Family: Asphodelaceae

Aloe challisii is a charming new cliff-dwelling aloe from the Steenkampsberg in Mpumlanga Province. It is easily grown from cuttings and thrives as...

01 / 10 / 2007 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Aloe chlorantha

A group of Aloe chlorantha plants in flower
Common names: Fraserburg aloe, green-flower aloe (Eng.); Fraserburgaalwyn (Afr.)
Family: Asphodelaceae

Aloe chlorantha is a medium-sized aloe from Fraserburg in the Karoo, at once distinguished by its erect solitary inflorescence, up to 1.6 m high,...

12 / 12 / 2011 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Allium synnotii

Allium synnotii
Common names: wild onion, Cape onion (Eng.), ajuin, wilde-ajuin, ajuintjie, berg-ajuin (Afr.)
Family: Amaryllidaceae

The wild onion (Allium synnotii) grows widespread in the drier regions of the winter-rainfall region. Plants are usually solitary, but grow in groups,...

24 / 05 / 2022 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Aloiampelos ciliaris var. ciliaris

Aloiampelos ciliaris var.ciliaris
Common names: climbing aloe (Eng.); rank-aalwyn (Afr.)
Family: Asphodelaceae

Aloiampelos ciliaris var. ciliaris is a small, handsome, climbing aloe and one of the easiest to cultivate. It was previously called Aloe ciliaris...

15 / 09 / 2003 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Aloe claviflora

Aloe claviflora with angled inflorescence
Common names: kraal aloe, cannon aloe (Eng.); aanteelaalwyn, kanonaalwyn, kraalaalwyn (Afr.)
Family: Asphodelaceae

Aloe claviflora is one of the easiest succulent plants to identify in the arid regions of the wild either by its angled inflorescence that protrudes horizontally...

05 / 10 / 2009 | Werner Voigt | Harold Porter NBG
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Adromischus maculatus

Adromischus maculatus
Common names: mottled pig's ears, calico hearts, chocolate heart, chocolate drop, cheetah heart (Eng.); bontplakkie (Afr.)
Family: Crassulaceae

An ornamental succulent with fairly flat, wedge-shaped, thick leaves, which are often beautifully marked with chocolate-brown spots, giving them a marbled...

03 / 02 / 2020 | Katlego Selemela | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Adromischus humilis

Adromischus humilis
Common names: dwarf cliff adromischus (Eng.); bontkransrosie, bontkransnenta (Afr.)
Family: Crassulaceae

Adromischus humilis is a rare, cliff-hugging succulent from the southwestern Escarpment margin, between Sutherland and Beaufort West, in the Western Cape....

30 / 05 / 2022 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Aloiampelos commixta

Aloiampelos commixta
Common names: Peninsula rambling aloe
Family: Asphodelaceae

Offering a rich variety of growth forms, making excellent accent plants, suited to almost any climate and producing a flowering display of vibrant colours...

05 / 04 / 2010 | Julia Dabush | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Aloe comosa

Aloe comosa in habitat
Common names: Clanwilliam aloe
Family: Asphodelaceae

Aloe comosa is a striking, single-stemmed, summer-flowering aloe that is hardly known in cultivation....

03 / 07 / 2006 | Ian Oliver | Karoo Desert NBG
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Adromischus fallax

Adromischus fallax
Common names: large cliff-adromischus (Eng.); groot-kransrosie, groot-kransnenta (Afr.)
Family: Crassulaceae

Adromischus fallax is a rare, cliff-hugging, occasionally pendent, leaf and stem succulent from the southern escarpment margin near Graaff Reinet in the...

06 / 06 / 2022 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Aloe cooperi

Aloe cooperi
Common names: Cooper's Aloe (Eng.); isiPutumane, isiPhukutwane (isiZulu)
Family: Asphodelaceae

Aloe cooperi is a southern African grassland aloe....

26 / 03 / 2001 | Thompson T Mutshinyalo | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Anemone knowltonia

 Unusual flowers resembling green buttercups
Common names: blistering leaves (Eng.); brandblare, katjiedrieblaar (Afr.)
Family: Ranunculaceae

This is a very handsome plant with unusual flowers resembling green buttercups, that does well in shady situations....

01 / 09 / 2003 | Cherise Viljoen | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Aloe howmanii

Aloe howmanii
Common names: Howman’s cliff aloe (Eng.); waaier-grasaalwyn (Afr.)
Family: Asphodelaceae

A rare, cliff-dwelling aloe, only known from sheer, south-facing cliffs of the Chimanimani Mountains near Chimanimani (formerly Melsetter), in eastern...

06 / 11 / 2017 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Asclepias

Asclepias woodii (Photo A Shuttleworth)
Common names: milkweed (Eng.); melkbos (Afr.)
Family: Apocynaceae

Members of the genus Asclepias (as most of the taxa in the family Apocynaceae in the broad sense, subfamily Asclepiadoideae), are an interesting group...

17 / 02 / 2020 | Stoffel Petrus Pieter Bester | National Herbarium Pretoria
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