Plants of the Week

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E.g., 12/10/2024
E.g., 12/10/2024

Hymenolepis parviflora

This plant is currently called Hymenolepis crithmifolia....

12 / 08 / 2005 | |
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Hoodia flava

Hoodia flava flower (Martin Heigan).
Common names: yellow-flowered ghaap (Eng.); soetghaap (Afr.)
Family: Apocynaceae

Hoodia flava is an indigenous shrublet of southern Africa that is popularly used amongst the Khoi-San people as a hunger and appetite suppressant....

01 / 02 / 2016 | Lerato Hoveka | National Herbarium Pretoria
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Halleria elliptica

Halleria elliptica (Tony Rebelo, iSpot)
Common names: rock tree-fuchsia, bush honeysuckle, wild fuschia (Eng.); kinderbessie, bergnotsung, klipnotsung (Afr.)
Family: Stilbaceae

Pretty, orange, fuchsia-like flowers, burgeoning with nectar and irresistible to insects and birds, on a neat, shade-loving, versatile shrub or small tree,...

04 / 07 / 2016 | Cherise Viljoen | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Heteropogon contortus

Heteropogon contortus (L.Fish).
Common names: tanglehead, spear grass (Eng.); pylgras, assegaaigras (Afr.); isitupe (IsiZulu); makurwane (Setswana); selokana, seloka (Sesotho)
Family: Poaceae

A hardy grass that is very attractive and palatable in the early vegetative stages, but becomes less attractive and unpalatable as it matures....

15 / 05 / 2017 | Cynthia Mikateko Baloyi | National Herbarium Pretoria
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Heywoodia lucens

Heywoodia lucens, looking up the trunk into the canopy. (Geoff Nichols)
Common names: stink-ebony, Cape-ebony, foetid-ebony, black-ebony (Eng.); stinkebbehout, swartebbehout (Afr.); umnebelele (Xho.); umnebelele, ibeyana (Zul.)
Family: Phyllanthaceae

Cape-ebony or stink-ebony as it is also known, is a tall, evergreen tree and the only species in the genus Heywoodia; it is usually found growing in coastal,...

12 / 03 / 2018 | Sisanda Alakhe Velembo-Mhlauli | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Haworthiopsis

Different growth forms of Haworthiopsis. (S.D. Gildenhuys)
Family: Asphodelaceae

These very attractive, miniature leaf succulents vary from little star-like rosettes to stemmed plants with compactly arranged leaves, very often with...

08 / 10 / 2018 | Ronell R. Klopper | National Herbarium Pretoria
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Helichrysum patulum

Helichrysum patulum
Common names: honey everlasting (Eng.); kooigoed (Afr.); impepho (isXhosa); phefo (Sesotho).
Family: Asteraceae

Helichrysum patulum has attractive, aromatic, grey foliage and strongly honey-scented summer flowers. It is easy to grow, water-wise, makes an excellent...

14 / 01 / 2019 | Zoleka May | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Heteropyxis canescens

Heteropyxis canescens
Common names: forest lavender tree (Eng.); boslaventelboom (Afr.); inkunzana (Siswati)
Family: Heteropyxidaceae

The forest lavender tree is an evergreen to semi-deciduous, attractive small tree. It deserves to be utilised more in gardens and landscapes, due to its...

20 / 10 / 2014 | Andrew Hankey | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Haworthiopsis coarctata

Haworthiopsis coarctata
Common names: crowded haworthiopsis
Family: Asphodelaceae

A delightful little succulent that makes a very attractive and singular, small house plant or groundcover in the garden....

29 / 04 / 2019 | Katlego Selemela | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Hylodesmum repandum

Hylodesmum repandum
Common names: orange tick-trefoil, orange tick-clover, hitchhikers, beggar lice (Eng.)
Family: Fabaceae

An attractive, shrubby, scrambling, perennial leguminous plant, with small, yet charming orange-red flowers in summer....

09 / 09 / 2019 | Kamogelo Solomon Modimola | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Hypodiscus aristatus

Hypodiscus aristatus
Common names: bristly pineapple reed, hedgehogs, needle reed (Eng.); naaldriet (Afr.)
Family: Restionaceae

This beautiful tuft-forming restio, with its spikey inflorescences, is seen growing on the mountain slopes in Betty’s Bay and would make an excellent...

16 / 12 / 2019 | Karen Wall | Harold Porter NBG
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Hypoxis membranacea

Hypoxis membranacea
Common names: small white star flower
Family: Hypoxidaceae

A remarkable and delicate, small, white-flowered hypoxis, well suited to small gardens, in moist areas....

22 / 06 / 2020 | Mpendulo Gabayi | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Hibiscus coddii

Hibiscus coddii
Common names: Codd’s red hibiscus (Eng.); bokgobakataba (Sepedi)
Family: Malvaceae

An upright shrubby perennial with attractive, bright red flowers in autumn; it is a decorative garden ornamental or container plant in full sun or partial...

14 / 09 / 2020 | Fergy Nkadimeng | Pretoria NBG
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Haworthiopsis reinwardtii

Haworthiopsis reinwardtii
Common names: Reinwardt's haworthiopsis, zebra wart (Eng.)
Family: Asphodelaceae

A clump-forming, spotty or zebra-striped, spiral leaved succulent, with an intriguing miniature size and outstanding form....

21 / 09 / 2020 | Bathabile Ndlovu | KwaZulu-Natal NBG
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Haworthia genus

Haworthia cymbiformis
Family: Asphodelaceae

These dwarf leaf succulents with their extremely variable compact rosettes of leaves with different colours, patterns and shapes, are extremely popular...

28 / 09 / 2020 | Ronell R. Klopper | National Herbarium Pretoria
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Haemanthus humilis subsp. hirsutus

Haemanthus humilis subsp. hirsutus
Common names: Rabbit’s ears (Eng.); bobbejaanoor, velskoenblaar (Afr.); tsebe ea phofu, sekitla (Sesotho)
Family: Amaryllidaceae

One of the best available bulbous plants to grow in those rocky, shady spots, the rabbit’s ears knows how to put on a show. Whether it is in fruit,...

07 / 12 / 2020 | Ndiyafhi Muthuhadini | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Holothrix randii

Holothrix randii
Common names: tassel orchid (Eng.)
Family: Orchidaceae

This orchid is easier to spot among the grasses in the morning, because the flowers look shiny and silver from a distance. A closer look at the front of...

11 / 01 / 2021 | Fergy Nkadimeng | Millennium Seed Bank Partnership
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Helichrysum sutherlandii

Helichrysum sutherlandii
Common names: Sutherland’s everlasting (Eng.); molepelle, ntlo-ea mokhobane, senkotoana (Sesotho)
Family: Asteraceae

This is an attractive shrublet and an ideal ornamental garden plant because of its grey foliage....

03 / 05 / 2021 | Sisanda Alakhe Velembo-Mhlauli | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Haworthiopsis tessellata

Haworthiopsis tessellata
Common names: veined haworthiopsis (Eng.); venstertjie (Afr.)
Family: Asphodelaceae

This species forms small to large clumps of numerous, small plants made up of short, leafy stems. Its leaves are customarily dark green, more or less deltoid,...

03 / 05 / 2021 | Sihle Nqentsu | Pretoria NBG
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Hessea speciosa

Hessea speciosa
Common names: coconut umbrella lily (Eng.); sambreeltjies (Afr.)
Family: Amaryllidaceae

A striking, small, bulbous plant with rounded heads of white or pink, coconut scented flowers in autumn, found in southern Namibia and the Northern Cape...

31 / 05 / 2021 | Bhongolethu Mtengwana | TSP
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