Plants of the Week

Siphonochilus aethiopicus

Common names: Natal ginger, Wild ginger (English); Wildegemmer (Afrikaans); indungulo, isiphephetho (Zulu)

Family: Zingiberaceae

...

11 / 03 / 2002 | Andrew Hankey | Walter Sisulu NBG

Solanum aculeastrum

Common names: goat bitter-apple, bitter-apple, goat apple, poison apple (Eng.); bok-bitterappel, bitterappel, bokappel, gifappel (Afr.); thola (Tswana); murulwa (Ve

Family: Solanaceae

...

01 / 03 / 2004 | M Welman | National Herbarium Pretoria

Solanum giganteum

Common names: healing-leaf tree, giant bitter-apple, red bitter-apple, red bitter-berry, thorny bug-tree (Eng.); geneesblaarboom, grootbitterappel, rooibitterbessie

Family: Solanaceae

This big shrub with its colourful, long-lasting berries and large leaves with silvery undersides, makes an unusual hedge or background plant....

19 / 01 / 2004 | M Welman | National Herbarium Pretoria

Sorghum bicolor

Common names: sorghum (Eng.); graansorghum (Afr); mabele (Pedi,Sotho,Ndebele); amabele(Z); amazimba (Xhosa)

Family: Poaceae

This crop plant has been cultivated in southern Africa for over 3 000 years....

31 / 01 / 2005 | E T Rampho | National Herbarium Pretoria

Sagittanthera mzimvubuensis

Common names: Mzimvubu-ruby (Eng.); kransrobyn (Afr.)

Family: Hyacinthaceae

Sagittanthera mzimvubuensis is a geophyte with decorative club-shaped, ruby-green bulb scales and pendent, terete leaves, growing on cliffs along the Mzimvubu...

04 / 01 / 2016 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG

Sparaxis grandiflora subsp. grandiflora

Flower showing vertical anthers and style to one side

Common names: Cape buttercup, sparaxis (Eng.); botterblom, ferweel, ferweeltjie, fluweeltjie, perskalkoentjie, perskalossie (Afr.)

Family: Iridaceae

Sparaxis grandiflora is indeed an attractive species and it is not surprising that it was introduced to Kew Gardens as early as 1758. However, as Du Plessis...

14 / 08 / 2006 | Caitlin Von Witt | CREW

Sparaxis elegans

Common names: Cape buttercup, sparaxis, pale harlequin flower (Eng.); spogfluweeltjie (Afr.)

Family: Iridaceae

Sparaxis elegans is, as its name suggests, one of the most elegant and aesthetically pleasing species the Greater Cape Floristic Region (GCFR) has to...

09 / 06 / 2014 | Brittany Arendse | CREW

Sparaxis maculosa

Common names: Cape buttercup, sparaxis, wandflower (Eng.); botterblom, ferweel, ferweeltjie, fluweeltjie, geelkalkoentjie, geelkalossie (Afr.)

Family: Iridaceae

Known from only two localities, one recently discovered, this spectacularly large-flowered species is sadly frail in its magnificence, a shadow cast upon...

17 / 03 / 2008 | Caitlin Von Witt | CREW

Salpinctium natalense

Common names: none

Family: Acanthaceae

Salpinctium natalense is a lovely and rare herbaceous perennial that is known from only one site in KwaZulu-Natal; it is well suited to cool, shady...

18 / 01 / 2016 | Sisanda Alakhe Velembo-Mhlauli | Kirstenbosch NBG

Sparrmannia africana

Common names: Cape stock rose, wild stock rose, African hemp, Cape hollyhock (Eng.); Kaapse stokroos, wildestokroos (Afr.)

Family: Malvaceae

Sparrmannia africana is an easy-to-grow large shrub for a shady area with lush, soft, heart-shaped leaves and pretty white flowers with a puff of...

08 / 04 / 2013 | Alice Notten | Kirstenbosch NBG

Sarcophyte sanguinea subsp. sanguinea

Common names: wolwekos (Afr.); ihlule, umavumbuka (isiZulu)

Family: Balanophoraceae

Sarcophyte sanguinea subsp. sanguinea is a parasitic plant that occurs on the roots of trees and shrubs, especially on African acacias (Vachellia species)....

25 / 09 / 2017 | Mduduzi Nkwanyana | National Herbarium Pretoria

Spatalla mollis

Common names: woolly spoon

Family: Proteaceae

Spatalla mollis boasts attractive flower headlets of white or mauve flowers from July to December. The small shrubs blend in well with the surrounding...

29 / 10 / 2012 | Benjamin Festus | Harold Porter NBG

Sphagnum

Common names: peat moss, bog moss, turf moss

Family: Sphagnaceae

Sphagnum is a cosmopolitan as well as economically and ecologically important genus of mosses. ...

23 / 03 / 2009 | Nonkululo Phephu | National Herbarium Pretoria

Sphenostylis angustifolia

Common names: wild sweet-pea (Eng.); wilde-ertjie (Afr.)

Family: Fabaceae

Sphenostylis angustifolia, or the wild sweet-pea, is a lovely green perennial shrublet with an extensive woody rootstock that decorates the Highveld with...

01 / 12 / 2008 | Alicia Grobler | National Herbarium Pretoria

Syncarpha ferruginea

Common names: rusty everlasting (Eng.); verroes-sewejaartjie (Afr.)

Family: Asteraceae

Syncarpha ferruginea is a small fynbos shrub with felted grey leaves and attractive yellow-brown, everlasting flower heads in spring and summer....

20 / 01 / 2020 | Zaynab Shaik | Compton Herbarium

Spiloxene

Common names: golden star (Eng.); sterretjie (Afr.)

Family: Hypoxidaceae

...

24 / 09 / 2007 | D Snijman | Compton Herbarium

Stilbe vestita

Common names: grey stilbe

Family: Stilbaceae

Stilbe vestita is a fynbos shrub with upright stems that are covered with closely packed, needle-like leaves, and have dense spikes of small white flowers...

18 / 04 / 2022 | Siqamo Yeko | Kirstenbosch NBG

Spirostachys africana

Common names: tamboti (Eng.); tambotie (Afr.); umThombothi (Zulu); Modiba (Northern Sotho); umThombotsi (siSwati); Ndzopfori (Tsonga); Morukuru (Tswana); Muonze (ts

Family: Euphorbiaceae

Renowned for its beautiful wood, Spirostachys africana is a medium-sized, semi-deciduous tree with a round crown which occurs in low altitude bushveld,...

04 / 10 / 2004 | Avhurengwi Phillemon Ndou | Walter Sisulu NBG

Stangeria eriopus

Common names: Stanger`s cycad, Natal grass cycad (Eng.); bobbejaankos (Afr.); Imfingo (Zulu); Umfingwani (Xhosa)

Family: Zamiaceae

Stangeria eriopus, not often seen in cultivation, develops into a most attractive perennial with large fern-like leaves, which is why it is often mistaken...

13 / 11 / 2006 | John Winter | Kirstenbosch NBG

Stapelia

Common names: carrion flower (Eng.); aasblom (Afr.)

Family: Apocynaceae

Known globally as African starfish flowers, and locally as carrion flowers, members of the genus Stapelia are usually characterised by their...

27 / 11 / 2006 | Stoffel Petrus Pieter Bester | National Herbarium Pretoria

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