Plants of the Week

Securidaca longepedunculata

Common names: violet tree, fibre tree (Eng.); krinkhout , rooipeultjie, seepbasboom (Afr.); mpesu (tshiVenda); mmaba (Tswana), iphuphuma (isiZulu)

Family: Polygalaceae

Securidaca longepeduculata is a slender tree with beautiful flowers. It is a highly regarded medicinal and magical tree, especially by the vhaVenda people...

28 / 08 / 2006 | Avhurengwi Phillemon Ndou | Walter Sisulu NBG

Balanites maughamii subsp. maughamii

Common names: torchwood (Eng.); groendoring (Afr.); umnunu (Sotho); nulu (Tswana)

Family: Zygophyllaceae

Balanites maughamii is not well known in South Africa. The older trees have an amazing, upright, deeply folded or buttressed trunk, that visually...

04 / 09 / 2006 | K Behr | Pretoria NBG

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

Afzelia quanzensis

Common names: pod mahogany, lucky bean tree ( Eng. ); peulmahonie (Afr.); iNkehli (Zulu); Mambakofi (Swahili)

Family: Fabaceae

Afzelia quanzensis is a very attractive, medium-sized, deciduous tree, with bright green leaves that turn to an attractive yellowish colour in autumn....

11 / 09 / 2006 | Mhlonishwa D Dlamini | Walter Sisulu NBG

Agathosma gonaquensis

Common names: Gonaqua buchu (Eng.), Hottentotsboegoe (Afr.)

Family: Rutaceae

This leafy shrub is compact, low-growing and displays masses of white flowers during spring. The oil glands found on the leaves and fruit release a sweet...

11 / 09 / 2006 | Norma Jodamus | Kirstenbosch NBG

Drosanthemum micans

Common names: Robertson vygie

Family: Aizoaceae

Drosanthemum micans is a colourful spring flowering vygie (Afr.) that is a good choice for arid gardens across the country....

18 / 09 / 2006 | Ian Oliver | Karoo Desert NBG

Gazania krebsiana

Common names: terracotta gazania (Eng.); gousblom, botterblom, rooi gazania (Afr.)

Family: Asteraceae

Gazania krebsiana, previously known as Gazania pavonia, must be one of Namaqualand 's most well-known and striking perennial plants....

18 / 09 / 2006 | Werner Voigt | Kirstenbosch NBG

Dicerothamnus rhinocerotis

Mature adult bush with many upright branches

Common names: rhinoceros bush, rhenoster bush (Eng.); renosterbos, rhenosterbos (Afr.)

Family: Asteraceae

Although renosterbos is not showy or beautiful, it is an interesting and important component of our indigenous flora. It is the dominant member and the...

25 / 09 / 2006 | Nicola Bergh | Compton Herbarium

Freylinia longiflora

Common names: Elgin bell-bush, Elgin freylinia (Eng.); Grabou klokkiesbos (Afr.)

Family: Scrophulariaceae

This critically endangered shrub makes an attractive garden plant....

25 / 09 / 2006 | Trevor Adams | Kirstenbosch NBG

Elytropappus rhinocerotis

This plant is now called Dicerothamnus rhinocerotis....

25 / 09 / 2006 | | Kirstenbosch NBG

Greyia sutherlandii

Common names: glossy bottlebrush, mountain bottlebrush, Natal bottlebrush, wild bottlebrush, beacon tree (Eng.); blinkblaarbaakhout, Natalse baakhout (Afr.); isidw

Family: Melianthaceae

This is a most decorative plant and is becoming popular as an ornamental subject in gardens....

02 / 10 / 2006 | Giles Mbambezeli | Kirstenbosch NBG

Lobostemon

Common names: pajama bush

Family: Boraginaceae

This endemic genus, with numerous species of densely flowered, attractive shrubs, provides a splash of colour in the early spring, long before other popular...

02 / 10 / 2006 | M Buys | Compton Herbarium

Cyrtanthus macmasteri

Family: Amaryllidaceae

Cyrtanthus macmasteri was described in 2003 after being found in 1994 by naturalist Cameron McMaster at the Bolo River Gorge in the Eastern Cape....

09 / 10 / 2006 | Suvarna Parbhoo | Pretoria NBG

Streptocarpus johannis

Common names: Port St Johns streptocarpus, Cape primrose

Family: Gesneriaceae

A rewarding pot plant with a cluster of whitish to pale violet, flat-faced summer flowers and soft green leaves, that can be grown indoors or in a sheltered...

09 / 10 / 2006 | Cherise Viljoen | Kirstenbosch NBG

Erythrina caffra

Common names: coast coral tree (Eng.); kuskoraalboom (Afr.); umsinsi (Zulu); umsintsi (Xhosa)

Family: Fabaceae

Erythrina is known as the red genus, and E. caffra is widely loved for its warm red to scarlet-coloured flowers, which appear from...

16 / 10 / 2006 | Werner Voigt | Kirstenbosch NBG

Impatiens flanaganiae

Common names: Mrs Flanagan's impatiens

Family: Balsaminaceae

Impatiens flanaganiae is a little known member of the popular busy lizzy family and has a lot of potential as a potplant or for growing near a shady water...

16 / 10 / 2006 | B Tarr | KwaZulu-Natal NBG

Geissorhiza aspera

Common names: blue satin flower (Eng.), blousysie, syblom (Afr.)

Family: Iridaceae

Geissorhiza aspera. a common sight in spring, is a diminutive little plant with star-like flowers, which floods the veld with shades of blue when grown...

23 / 10 / 2006 | C Cowell | Kirstenbosch NBG

Tricholaena monachne

Common names: blue seed grass (Eng.); blousaadgras (Afr.)

Family: Poaceae

Tricholaena monachne is an attractive grass with an open panicle inflorescence and green spikelets that are often flushed or almost entirely purple. It...

23 / 10 / 2006 | C Mudau | Pretoria NBG

Crinum campanulatum

Common names: water crinum, marsh lily (Eng.); vleilelie (Afr.)

Family: Amaryllidaceae

The beautiful Crinum campanulatum from the Eastern Cape is an aquatic geophytic plant that deserves more recognition and attention in gardens of South...

30 / 10 / 2006 | Werner Voigt | Kirstenbosch NBG

Prunus africana

Common names: red stinkwood, African almond ( Eng. ); rooistinkhout, Afrika-amandel, Wilde-kersieboom (Afr.); Inyazangoma-elimnyama, Inkokhokho, Ngubozinyeweni, Umd

Family: Rosaceae

The fissured stem of this tree, popular for its medicinal properties, has been admired by many gardeners....

30 / 10 / 2006 | Siyabulela Nonjinge | KwaZulu-Natal NBG

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