Plants of the Week

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E.g., 20/09/2024
E.g., 20/09/2024

Aloe aculeata

Aloe aculeata
Common names: prickly aloe (Eng.); ngopane, sekope (Sepedi)
Family: Asphodelaceae

You will do well to give this attractive aloe with its yellow to reddish orange flowers, which used to have place of pride on our old 10 cent nickel coin,...

19 / 10 / 2015 | Lou-nita LeRoux | Lowveld NBG
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Acokanthera oppositifolia

Acokanthera oppositifolia
Common names: Bushman's Poison; Boesmansgif (Afrikaans); inHlungunyembe (Zulu); iNtlungunyembe (Xhosa)
Family: Apocynaceae

The Bushman's poison is a medium to large woody shrub with attractive hard dark green leaves. ...

27 / 08 / 2001 | Andrew Hankey | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Aloe chabaudii

Aloe chabaudii
Common names: Chabaud’s aloe, grey aloe, Dwala aloe (Eng.); grysaalwyn (Afr.); inhlaba (siSwati, isiZulu); inkalane (isiZulu); mangani (Tswana;) tshikhopha (Venda
Family: Asphodelaceae

Grey aloe is a water-wise garden plant which can be planted in a rockery garden and flower beds to add colour during the winter season. It is a stemless...

18 / 03 / 2024 | Itumeleng Machete | Pretoria NBG
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Acorus calamus

Acorus calamus.Image from Wikipedia
Common names: sweet-flag (Eng.); makkalmoes (Afr.); ikalamuzi (Zulu)
Family: Acoraceae

Acorus calamus is a reed-like, aquatic plant with a pungent smell that has been used medicinally since biblical times. It has many traditional uses all...

07 / 03 / 2005 | J K Baloyi | Pretoria NBG
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Acridocarpus natalitus

Flowers
Common names: moth-fruit, the binder (Eng.); motvrug (Afr.); umabophe, umabophawentaba, umabopha and ihlalanyosi (isiZulu)
Family: Malpighiaceae

Its beautiful flowers and fruit make this evergreen shrub or small tree an appealing garden subject which should be in most gardens in the warmer and coastal...

20 / 06 / 2005 | Mkhipheni Ngwenya | KwaZulu-Natal NBG
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Aloe petricola

Aloe petricola in habitat
Common names: rock aloe (Eng.); rotsaalwyn (Afr.)
Family: Asphodelaceae

The rock aloe, true to its name, is perfect for rocky areas in the garden, producing beautiful bicoloured flowers that will attract nectar-feeding birds...

26 / 10 / 2015 | Lou-nita LeRoux | Lowveld NBG
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Astroloba rubriflora

Astroloba rubriflora
Common names: red-flowered astroloba
Family: Asphodelaceae

Astroloba rubriflora is the only plant in its genus that has red flowers. The tubular flowers face upwards, and are adapted to attract sunbirds for pollination,...

19 / 08 / 2019 | Ricardo Riddles | Karoo Desert NBG
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Adansonia digitata

Baobab in the dry season
Common names: baobab, Cream of Tartar tree, monkey-bread tree, lemonade tree (Eng.); kremetartboom(Afr.); isimuku, umShimulu, isiMuhu (Zulu); ximuwu (Tsonga); mowan
Family: Malvaceae

Regarded as the largest succulent plant in the world, the baobab tree is steeped in a wealth of mystique, legend and superstition wherever it occurs in...

10 / 02 / 2003 | Andrew Hankey | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Aloe haemanthifolia

This plant is now called Kumara haemanthifolia....

14 / 11 / 2011 | | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Acmadenia kiwanensis

Acmadenia kiwanensis
Common names: Kiwane porcelain flower
Family: Rutaceae

...

26 / 08 / 2019 | Sibahle Gumede | Kwelera NBG
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Acacia sekhukhuniensis

Common names: Sekhukhune Thorn
Family: Fabaceae

This plant is now called Vachellia sekhukhuniensis...

22 / 03 / 2024 | | Kwelera NBG
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Adenandra gummifera

Adenandra gummifera
Common names: Potberg china flower, gummy china flower (Eng.); Potberg-porseleinblom (Afr.)
Family: Rutaceae

A beautiful, aromatic, fynbos shrub with showy white porcelain-like flowers in winter and spring....

07 / 08 / 2006 | Norma Jodamus | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Aloe plicatilis

This plant is now called Kumara plicatilis....

01 / 01 / 2003 | | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Aloe vanbalenii

Aloe vanbalenii
Common names: van balen's aloe, crawling octopus (Eng.); van-balen-se-aalwyn (Afr.); icenalamatshe, icenandhlovu (isiZulu); lihala (siSwati)
Family: Asphodelaceae

This is one of the most beautiful and distinctive aloes, with its long, twisted and recurved leaves resembling an octopus....

22 / 05 / 2017 | Anelisiwe Nocwanya | Karoo Desert NBG
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Adenandra obtusata

Adenandra obtusata
Common names: Agulhas china flower
Family: Rutaceae

Showy, white flowers that shimmer in the sun brighten up this evergreen shrub and attract insects, butterflies and bees to your garden. Belonging to the...

02 / 05 / 2005 | Norma Jodamus | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Aloe variegata

This plant is now called Gonialoe variegata....

30 / 06 / 2008 | | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Adenandra uniflora

Adenandra uniflora
Common names: china flower, shepherd's delight (Eng.); Kommetjie teewater, bergskaapboegoe (Afr.)
Family: Rutaceae

...

11 / 08 / 2003 | Norma Jodamus | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Aloe reynoldsii

Aloe reynoldsii (Ernst van Jaarsveld)
Common names: yellow spineless aloe, Mbashe aloe
Family: Asphodelaceae

...

29 / 05 / 2017 | Ntuthuko Mabuya | Pretoria NBG
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Adenium

Adeium multiflorum
Common names: A. boehmianum : pylgif (Afr.); ouzuwo (Herero). A. multiflorum : impala lily, Sabi star, kudu lily ( Eng. ); impalalelie (Afr.). A. obesum : desert ro
Family: Apocynaceae

Adeniums, which all have poisonous sap, produce flowers in striking reds, pinks and mauves; red-and-white bicoloured flowers are fairly common. They are...

18 / 06 / 2007 | Stoffel Petrus Pieter Bester | Pretoria NBG
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Aloe simii

Aloe simii
Common names: Sim’s aloe
Family: Asphodelaceae

A beautiful, stemless aloe, with a rosette of broad, milky-green leaves and eye-catching strawberry pink flowers in summer; a rare and endangered endemic...

20 / 12 / 2021 | Winfred Velephi Ngwenya | Lowveld NBG
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