Plants of the Week

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E.g., 30/12/2024
E.g., 30/12/2024

Cordia caffra

Cordia fruits
Common names: septee saucer-berry (Eng.); septeeboom (Afr.); mududa (V)
Family: Boraginaceae

Why this breathtaking tree is so rarely used in the horticultural and landscape trade is a mystery. It possesses almost all the qualities of the ideal...

20 / 10 / 2003 | Nick Klapwijk | Pretoria NBG
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Serruria trilopha

Serruria trilopha
Common names: trident spiderhead, sand spiderhead, snake-stem spiderhead, three-crested spiderhead (Eng.); slangspinnekopbos (Afr.)
Family: Proteaceae

This critically endangered member of the protea family makes an unusual addition to sandy coastal gardens....

13 / 10 / 2003 | Trevor Adams | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Heteromorpha arborescens

Heteromorpha arborescens
Common names: parsley tree (Eng.); wildepietersielie, pietersieliebos (Afr.), umbangadlala (Zul.), umbangadlala, umbangandlatho, umbangeza, iyeza-lempambano (Xho.)
Family: Apiaceae

This small to medium-sized, deciduous tree or straggly shrub is suitable for a small, low-maintenance garden. The bark often helps to distinguish it from...

13 / 10 / 2003 | Shireen Harris | Free State NBG
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Serruria furcellata

Serruria furcellata
Common names: Kraaifontein spiderhead (Eng.)
Family: Proteaceae

This critically endangered spiderhead is being squeezed from its home by urbanization near greater Cape Town....

06 / 10 / 2003 | Trevor Adams | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Nerine laticoma

Nerine laticoma
Common names: vleilelie, gifbol, jeukui, seeroogblom (Afr.)
Family: Amaryllidaceae

This is a summer-growing Nerine, one of a genus of beautiful geophytes endemic to southern Africa....

06 / 10 / 2003 | Shireen Harris | Free State NBG
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Rhigozum obovatum

Rhigozum obovatum flower
Common names: Karoo rhigozum, Karoo gold, yellow pomegranate (Eng.); geelberggranaat, berggranaat (Afr.)
Family: Bignoniaceae

Rhigozum obovatum is an ideal shrub or small tree to bring life to gardens in dry areas where water is in short supply and garden maintenance is low. Although...

29 / 09 / 2003 | Shireen Harris | Free State NBG
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Polygala myrtifolia

Polygala myrtifolia
Common names: september bush (Eng.); septemberbossie, augustusbossie, blouertjie, langelede (Afr.); ulopesi, ulapesi, umabalabala (Xho.); uchwasha (Zul.)
Family: Polygalaceae

Polygala myrtifolia is a common, widespread pioneer shrub with pretty mauve flowers on and off throughout the year with a peak in spring, hence the names...

29 / 09 / 2003 | Liesl Van der Walt | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Searsia ciliata

Image of S. ciliata leaves
Common names: sour karee (Eng.); suurkaree (Afr.)
Family: Anacardiaceae

Searsia ciliata is one of the more modest members of this popular group of garden plants which hybridize easily. This species, like several others in the...

22 / 09 / 2003 | Shireen Harris | Free State NBG
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Coleonema album

Coleonema album
Common names: Cape May, white confetti bush (Eng.), aasbossie, klipboegoe (Afr.)
Family: Rutaceae

An aromatic evergreen shrub with masses of white flowers in winter and spring....

22 / 09 / 2003 | Norma Jodamus | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Nymphoides thunbergiana

Nymphoides thunbergiana
Common names: floating hearts (Eng.), geelwaterlelie (Afr.), marombodane (Venda)
Family: Menyanthaceae

This is a pretty, fast-growing, perennial water plant with flat, rounded, floating leaves, and delicate white and yellow flowers in summer. It makes a...

15 / 09 / 2003 | Alice Aubrey | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Nymphoides indica

Nymphoides thunbergiana

This species has been split into Nymphoides brevipedicellata and Nymphoides thunbergiana....

15 / 09 / 2003 | | Walter Sisulu 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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Kniphofia leucocephala

Kniphofia leucocephala
Family: Asphodelaceae

This delicate white wetland poker is so rare that it is now known from only one locality in KwaZulu-Natal, and does not even have a common name. Unless...

08 / 09 / 2003 | Isabel Johnson | KwaZulu-Natal NBG
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Brabejum stellatifolium

Flowers of the wild almond
Common names: bitteramandel, wild almond, wilde-amandel, ghoeboontjie, ghoekoffie
Family: Proteaceae

This tree is famous in South Africa for being used to make Van Riebeeck's Hedge, the first formal boundary marker between the new Cape colony and the...

08 / 09 / 2003 | Christien Malan | Kirstenbosch 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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Gerbera aurantiaca

Gerbera aurantiaca
Common names: Hilton daisy
Family: Asteraceae

The Hilton daisy is a strikingly beautiful grassland plant that occurs around Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal. The species is under considerable threat...

01 / 09 / 2003 | Isabel Johnson | KwaZulu-Natal NBG
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Crocosmia aurea

Crocosmia aurea
Common names: falling stars, valentine flower, montbretia (Eng.); valentynsblom (Afr.); umlunge, udwendweni (Zulu)
Family: Iridaceae

This is a very attractive garden plant with a number of bright orange flowers in a full spike at the end of the flower stalk. The tall stalks make it desirable...

25 / 08 / 2003 | Mhlonishwa D Dlamini | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Leucadendron levisanus

Leucadendron levisanus male in flower
Common names: Cape Flats conebush, spatula-leaf protea (Eng.); sandknoppiesbos (Afr.) Status: Endangered
Family: Proteaceae

This endangered member of the protea family was once common on the Cape Flats, but has been reduced by urban development to a few populations along road...

25 / 08 / 2003 | Trevor Adams | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Virgilia

Virgilia divaricata
Common names: blossom tree, amaqua tree (Eng.); keurboom, amakwasboom (Afr.)
Family: Fabaceae

Gardeners need not hesitate on the choice of tree if the keurboom is on the list; it is a beautiful tree, suitable for both the domestic garden and big...

18 / 08 / 2003 | Giles Mbambezeli | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Lampranthus haworthii

Flowers
Common names: purple vygie, ice plant, mesemb
Family: Aizoaceae

This is a tall, robust plant by vygie standards, with large, metallic pink, white or light purple flowers....

18 / 08 / 2003 | Ian Oliver | Karoo Desert NBG
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