Plants of the Week

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E.g., 11/12/2024
E.g., 11/12/2024

Wurmbea elatior

Wurmbea elatior
Common names: pepper-and-salt flower (Eng.); sout-en-peper-blommetjie (Afr.); khahlana-ea-loti (seSotho)
Family: Colchicaceae

Wurmbea elatior is an attractive plant with striking white flowers marked with dark reddish purple and can be easily identified by its musky smell....

12 / 06 / 2023 | Sibahle Gumede | Millennium Seed Bank Partnership
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Encephalartos hirsutus

Encephalartos hirsutus
Common names: Venda cycad (Eng.); Venda-broodboom (Afr.)
Family: Zamiaceae

The Venda cycad is an extremely rare and highly sought-after cycad, which is reportedly now extinct in the wild, as a result of illegal harvesting for...

12 / 06 / 2023 | Lungisani Zondi | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Conophytum pageae

Conophytum pageae. Photo Nick Helme
Common names: lips plant, cone plant, button plant, dumplings, living pebbles (Eng.); knopies, toontjies (Afr.)
Family: Aizoaceae

An evergreen member of the Aizoaceae family, Conophytum pageae is a unique succulent with lips that resemble those of a human. Considering how simple it...

05 / 06 / 2023 | Khotatso Baloyi | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Syzygium legatii

Syzygium legatii in fruit. Photo Geoff Nichols
Common names: mountain waterberry, mountain umdoni, white umdoni, water pear (Eng.); bergwaterbessie, waterpeer, waterbos (Afr.); mutawi (Tshivenda); umdoni-wamanzi
Family: Myrtaceae

...

05 / 06 / 2023 | Winfred Velephi Ngwenya | Lowveld NBG
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Didelta carnosa var. tomentosa

Didelta carnosa var. tomentosa growing in its dune habitat against the backdrop of the majestic Table Mountain
Common names: hairy salad bush (Eng.); harige seegousblom, harige kusslaaibos (Afr.)
Family: Asteraceae

A captivating grey-foliage shrublet that is covered in bright yellow flowers from late winter into spring. It grows on dunes and sandy coastal flats and...

29 / 05 / 2023 | Roger Oliver | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Dicoma capensis

Dicoma capensis flowerheads. Photo Marinda Koekemoer
Common names: karmedik, fever bush (Eng.); karmedik, koorsbossie, melktoubos, melktou, bietou (Afr.)
Family: Asteraceae

A small perennial plant with decumbent stems, thistle-like flowerheads and a pappus of two kinds, an outer ring of bristles and an inner one of broad white...

29 / 05 / 2023 | Thuli Makhoba | National Herbarium Pretoria
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Bulbine angustifolia

Bulbine angustifolia
Common names: narrow-leaved bulbine, slender bulbine, golden lily (Eng.); rooistamper, kopieva, katstert, koorsbossie (Afr.)
Family: Asphodelaceae

Bulbine angustifolia is a stunning plant with delicate, bright yellow flowers and slender leaves, that can add a touch of beauty to any garden or landscape....

22 / 05 / 2023 | Rofhiwa Ingrid Mudau | National Herbarium Pretoria
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Indigofera circinnata

Indigofera circinnata
Common names: coiled-pod indigofera (Eng.); krulboontjie, steekboontjie (Afr.); mutahala (Tshivenda)
Family: Fabaceae

A spiny, rigid shrub with white and pink flowers and distinctive circular pods, that is used in traditional medicine in South Africa. The genus Indigofera...

22 / 05 / 2023 | Tambudzani Caroline Machaba | Thohoyandou NBG
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Bowiea gariepensis

Bowiea gariepensis in full flower, growing on a rocky scree
Common names: white-flowering bowiea, white bowiea, Gariep bowiea (Eng.); lopertjie (Afr.)
Family: Asparagaceae

Bowiea gariepensis is a summer-deciduous bulbous plant from the lower Orange River Valley in the Northern Cape and southern Namibia, growing singly or...

15 / 05 / 2023 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Esterhuysenia inclaudens

Esterhuysenia inclaudens in habitat. Photo Nick Helme
Common names: none
Family: Aizoaceae

...

15 / 05 / 2023 | Robyn Manuel | Compton Herbarium
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Ornithogalum viridiflorum

Ornithogalum viridiflorum
Common names: green berg lily
Family: Hyacinthaceae

With its pale green foliage and upright stems crowned with yellowish green, bell-shaped, flowers, Green Berg Lilies make wonderful, ornamental garden plants...

08 / 05 / 2023 | Khotatso Baloyi | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Pentzia incana

Pentzia incana
Common names: anchor karoo bush, common karoo bush, good karoo, sheep karoo, sheep bush, sweet karoo (Eng.); alsbossie, alsbos, ankerkaroo, bewerasie, gansie, ganso
Family: Asteraceae

An aromatic and easy-growing perennial suited for the water-wise garden. This grey leaved species is covered in small yellow flowers for about six months...

08 / 05 / 2023 | Roger Oliver | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Huernia procumbens

Huernia procumbens in flower
Common names: Limpopo snake plant (Eng.); Limpopo aasblom (Afr.)
Family: Apocynaceae

A procumbent, mat-forming or pendent succulent with rough, 4-ribbed, green to brownish-green, tuberculate stems and star-shaped flowers, with 5 pale, pointed...

01 / 05 / 2023 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Macledium spinosum

Macledium spinosum
Common names: spiny doll’s protea (Eng.); steekblom (Afr.)
Family: Asteraceae

Cushion-forming, grey-felted shrublet with involucral bracts forming stout, spreading spines....

01 / 05 / 2023 | Thuli Makhoba | National Herbarium Pretoria
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Cotyledon woodii subsp. cremnophila

Cotyledon woodii subsp. cremnophila
Common names: Kei River cotyledon (Eng.), Keiplakkie (Afr.)
Family: Crassulaceae

The Kei River cotyledon is only known from cliffs along the lower Kei River in the Eastern Cape. It is a small, compact, rock-hugging shrublet with attractive...

24 / 04 / 2023 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Crassula deceptor

Crassula deceptor in flower in habitat. Photo Ismail Ebrahim
Common names: alabaster towers (Eng.)
Family: Crassulaceae

Several crassulas are attractive mimicry plants, and Crassula deceptor is said to owe its name deceptor, which means impostor or pretender, to the fact...

24 / 04 / 2023 | Sihle Nqentsu | Pretoria NBG
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Ornithogalum princeps

Ornithogalum princeps
Common names: berg lily, summer hyacinth (Eng.); berglelie (Afr.)
Family: Hyacinthaceae

...

17 / 04 / 2023 | Ndiyafhi Muthuhadini | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Caputia tomentosa

Caputia tomentosa growing in the Conservatory at Kistenbosch
Common names: woolly caputia, tinderbush (Eng.); tontelbossie, tontelbos, tonteldoos (Afr.)
Family: Asteraceae

A very striking shrublet with beautiful silvery white, cylindrical succulent leaves and yellow discoid-daisy flowerheads in late summer and autumn. It...

13 / 04 / 2023 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Stephania abyssinica

Stephania abyssinica
Common names: tale-telling plant (Eng.); verklikkerplant (Afr.); umbombo, umthambana, umthombo (isiZulu)
Family: Menispermaceae

A slender climbing plant with smooth, deep green, heart-shaped leaves and long twining stems, that can climb up to 10 m high....

10 / 04 / 2023 | Umpha Pharamela | National Herbarium Pretoria
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Calanthe sylvatica

Calanthe sylvatica
Common names: forest-dwelling calanthe (Eng.)
Family: Orchidaceae

A robust, terrestrial orchid with large, pale lilac or purple blooms during summer....

10 / 04 / 2023 | Siphesihle Precious Sibiya | Kirstenbosch NBG
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