Plants of the Week

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E.g., 08/10/2024
E.g., 08/10/2024

Moraea aristata

Moraea aristata flowers
Common names: bouooguintjie (Afr.)
Family: Iridaceae

Moraea aristata is a beautiful late winter- and spring-flowering peacock moraea with white blooms marked with light to deep iridescent blue eyes or...

27 / 09 / 2010 | Graham Duncan | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Moraea ciliata

Moraea ciliata
Common names: growweuintjie (Afr.)
Family: Iridaceae

Moraea ciliata is a stemless geophyte (a deciduous perennial with underground renewal buds) with 3or 4 narrow and channelled leaves. The flowers are white,...

15 / 02 / 2010 | Colleen Rust | Hantam NBG
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Moraea elegans

Moraea elegans
Common names: poutulp (Afr.)
Family: Iridaceae

The striking yellow and orange flowers with variable bold markings, and its extreme ease of cultivation make this elegant spring-flowering species an essential...

04 / 09 / 2006 | Graham Duncan | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Moraea gigandra

Moraea gigandra
Common names: grootflappie (Afr.)
Family: Iridaceae

With its arrestingly showy, mauvish blue to deep blue spring blooms, ease of cultivation and the largest flowers of all the peacock moraeas, Moraea gigandra...

19 / 09 / 2005 | Graham Duncan | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Moraea hiemalis

Moraea heimalis. Photo Richard Boon
Common names: winter yellow moraea
Family: Iridaceae

A threatened species that is endemic to the grasslands of central KwaZulu-Natal, its striking, rich golden yellow flowers stand out in the winter landscape...

12 / 12 / 2022 | Mlondi Sikhosana | KwaZulu-Natal NBG
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Moraea insolens

Moraea insolens
Common names: Overberg red-moraea (Eng.); Overbergse rooi-uintjie (Afr.)
Family: Iridaceae

Moraea insolens is a critically endangered, cormous plant, with dazzling orange-red or rarely white- or cream-coloured, salver-shaped blooms, with prominent,...

14 / 11 / 2016 | Graham Duncan | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Moraea longiaristata

Flower
Common names: no names recorded
Family: Iridaceae

Moraea longiaristata is endemic to the Caledon Swartberg, which is a very special mountain home to many endemic and threatened plant species. This...

11 / 03 / 2013 | M Treurnicht | CREW
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Moraea loubseri

Moraea loubseri
Common names: None recorded
Family: Iridaceae

Moraea loubseri is a beautiful cormous plant from the Cape West Coast with violet-mauve blooms adorned with a prominent black beard. It is one of...

22 / 10 / 2012 | Graham Duncan | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Moraea miniata

Moraea miniata
Common names: two-leaf Cape tulip, red Cape tulip, poison bulb (Eng.), pronktulp, rooitulp, geeltulp, kraaitulp (Afr.)
Family: Iridaceae

A stunning plant with delicate petals that flowers in masses during late winter and spring, turning patches of the veld bright salmon pink. A member of...

12 / 08 / 2024 | Nokuthula Michelle Siwelane | Hantam NBG
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Moraea polystachya

Moraea polystachya
Common names: blue moraea, blue tulp, poison moraea (Eng.); bloutulp, kraai-uintjie (Afr.)
Family: Iridaceae

Pretty but dangerous - to live-stock, that is! In a good year, usually in autumn, the large, deep blue to violet or occasionally white, iris-like flowers...

12 / 06 / 2006 | Clare Archer | Pretoria NBG
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Moraea polystachya

Moraea polystachya
Common names: bloutulp, kraai-uintjie (Afr.)
Family: Iridaceae

Pretty but dangerous (to live-stock, that is)! In a good year, usually in autumn, the large, deep blue to violet or occasionally white, iris-like flowers...

12 / 06 / 2006 | Clare Archer | National Herbarium Pretoria
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Moraea tripetala

Moraea tripetala flowers
Common names: blue tulp (Eng.); blou-uintjie, kleinuiltjie, bok-uintjie, riet-uintjie (Afr.)
Family: Iridaceae

Moraea tripetala is tolerant of various environmental conditions; it is equally successful in the wetter Cape mountains and in the semi-arid areas of...

12 / 10 / 2009 | Eugene Marinus | Hantam NBG
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Moraea tulbaghensis

Moraea tulbaghensis orange form
Common names: rooiflappie (Afr.)
Family: Iridaceae

The spectacular orange or brick-red blooms of Moraea tulbaghensis appear in profusion from mid to late spring, yet are seldom seen in the wild,...

12 / 10 / 2009 | Graham Duncan | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Moraea villosa

Moraea villosa subsp. villosa
Common names: peacock moraea (Eng.); uiltjie (Afr.) Two subspecies are recognized: subsp. villosa and subsp. elandsmontana Goldblatt
Family: Iridaceae

The peacock moraea previously occurred in great abundance in the mass spring-flower displays of the Cape lowlands. Sadly, this attractive flower has lost...

08 / 03 / 2010 | Lize Von Staden | TSP
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Moraea worcesterensis

Flowers
Common names: No names recorded
Family: Iridaceae

The critically endangered Moraea worcesterensis with striking dark purple flowers is very scarce in cultivation....

04 / 03 / 2013 | Lize Wolfaardt | Karoo Desert NBG
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Morella cordifolia

Male bush in bud
Common names: wax berry, candle berry (Eng.); wasbessie, wasbessiebos, wasbossie, glashout (Afr.); ilethi (Zulu)
Family: Myricaceae

The wax berry is an interesting addition to the garden, ideal for coastal and/or sandy gardens, and if you like plants with a long history of use to mankind...

13 / 06 / 2005 | Alice Notten | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Moringa ovalifolia

M.ovalifolia growing on Brandberg, Namibia
Common names: phantom tree, ghost tree, African moringo (Eng.); sprokiesboom, meelsakboom (Afr.); Omutindi (Herero); Oluhongwe (Ovambo)
Family: Moringaceae

Moringa ovalifolia is a decorative, thickset, succulent-stemmed, erect tree of the dry, desert and semi-desert areas of Namibia. It can be seen on...

08 / 01 / 2007 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Mundulea sericea

Mundulea sericea flowers and leaves
Common names: cork bush, silver bush, Rhodesian silver-leaf (Eng.); kurkbos, blou-ertjieboom, olifantshout, visboontjie, visgif, mangaanbos (Afr.); omukeka (Herero)
Family: Fabaceae

In a landscape characterised by grass and rock, all-year frost and drenching thunderstorms, Mundulea sericea stands out as the true star of the veld....

29 / 09 / 2008 | Stoffel Petrus Pieter Bester | National Herbarium Pretoria
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Muraltia heisteria

Growing near Hout Bay, Cape peninsula.
Common names: spiky purple gorse (Eng.); kastybos, persblommetjie (Afr.)
Family: Polygalaceae

Muraltia heisteria is unknown to many people, yet it has so much potential as a garden plant, bringing colour, texture and charm to the garden. It...

15 / 01 / 2007 | Marga Den Hartigh | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Muraltia scoparia

Muraltia scoparia
Common names: tortoise berry, dune berry (Eng.); skilpadbessie, duinebessie (Afr.)
Family: Polygalaceae

Identifying the species Muraltia spinosa and M. scoparia (formerly in the genus Nylandtia) using herbarium material only, can be misleading, as the habit...

07 / 11 / 2005 | Christien Bredenkamp | Pretoria NBG
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