Plants of the Week

Jensenobotrya lossowiana

Common names: druiwetrosvygie

Family: Aizoaceae

This perhaps the most peculiar of all the mesembs, found only in a small isolated area in the Namib desert; yet it is easy to propagate....

12 / 05 / 2008 | | Kirstenbosch NBG

Brachiaria serrata

Common names: red top grass, velvet signal (Eng.) ; rooisinjaalgras (Afr.)

Family: Poaceae

Brachiaria serrata is a perennial grass with bright green leaves and red or purplish-red spikelets covered in silky hairs....

12 / 05 / 2008 | Aluoneswi Caroline Mashau | National Herbarium Pretoria

Plectranthus oertendahlii

Common names: silverleaf spurflower, Swedish ivy, Oertendahl's spurflower, November lights ( Eng. ); silwerspoorsalie, bontblaarspoorsalie (Afr.)

Family: Lamiaceae

Plectranthus oertendahlii is a lovely shade-loving groundcover and very striking potplant with silver variegated leaves that are beautiful throughout the...

05 / 05 / 2008 | Liesl Van der Walt | Kirstenbosch NBG

Bryum argenteum

Common names: silver moss, silvery threads moss

Family: Bryaceae

Bryum argenteum is one of the most cosmopolitan mosses found throughout South Africa. It is most easily recognized by its whitish or silvery green leaves....

05 / 05 / 2008 | Nonkululo Phephu | National Herbarium Pretoria

Ochna pretoriensis

$Flowers: Image Beate \Ssachse$

Common names: Magalies plane ( Eng. ); Magalies-rooihout (Afr.)

Family: Ochnaceae

Ochna pretoriensis is one of the magnificent evergreen shrubs in South Africa, especially in the warm northern regions of South Africa. It flowers...

28 / 04 / 2008 | A Mothapo | National Herbarium Pretoria

Erica caterviflora

Common names: honey tree erica (Eng.); heuningboomheide (Afr.)

Family: Ericaceae

Erica caterviflora is a magnificent erica that was thought to have become extinct by the early 1990s, but the author rediscovered it in 2006 while...

28 / 04 / 2008 | Anthony Hitchcock | Kirstenbosch NBG

Pseudolachnostylis maprouneifolia

Common names: kudu berry ( Eng. ); koedoebessie (Afr.); Mutondowa (Tshivenda)

Family: Phyllanthaceae

Pseudolachnostylis maprouneifolia is the only species in this genus. It occurs only on the African continent....

21 / 04 / 2008 | T Ratshibvumo | Walter Sisulu NBG

Chasmanthe bicolor

Common names: red-and-green cobra lily, two-colour chasmanthe (Eng.), suurkanol, suurkanolpypie (Afr.)

Family: Iridaceae

Chasmanthe bicolor is a highly ornamental garden subject, which stands out from the other two species in this genus. It is one of three species in the...

21 / 04 / 2008 | Bernard Brown | Kirstenbosch NBG

Leucospermum glabrum

Common names: Outeniqua pincushion

Family: Proteaceae

Leucospermum glabrum, a prolific flowering pincushion, water-wise and hardy, will make a great addition to any garden....

14 / 04 / 2008 | Monique Mcquillan | Kirstenbosch NBG

Gomphocarpus cancellatus

Common names: wild cotton (Eng.); bergmelkbos, bergtontelbos, dermhout, gansiesbos, katoenbos, melkbos, regopmelkbos (Afr.)

Family: Apocynaceae

Gomphocarpus cancellatus, wild cotton, is an elegant bush, which in the sterile state resembles a protea bush. The flowers are accumulated in dense...

14 / 04 / 2008 | Stoffel Petrus Pieter Bester | National Herbarium Pretoria

Tarchonanthus littoralis

Common names: coastal camphor bush ( Eng. ); kuskanferbos (Afr.); isiduli selindle (Xhosa); igqeba-elimhlophe, isidulu-sehlathi (Zulu)

Family: Asteraceae

For a small evergreen tree that will thrive in windy, coastal conditions, through drought, and in nutrient-poor, sandy soil, look no further than Tarchonanthus...

07 / 04 / 2008 | Alice Notten | Kirstenbosch NBG

Euphorbia mauritanica

Common names: yellow milk bush, golden spurge (Eng.); geelmelkbos, beesmelkbos, gifmelkbos, kaalmelkbos, kleinmelkbos (Afr.)

Family: Euphorbiaceae

A tall succulent shrub with bright yellow flowers eminently suitable for a rock garden....

07 / 04 / 2008 | Allen Gcina Nene | Walter Sisulu NBG

Stenostelma umbelliferum

Family: Apocynaceae

Stenostelma umbelluliferum was recently moved to the genus Stenostelma. Previously known as Schizoglossum umbelluliferum, it was rediscovered in...

31 / 03 / 2008 | Stoffel Petrus Pieter Bester | National Herbarium Pretoria

Encephalartos lanatus

Common names: Woolly cycad (Eng.)

Family: Zamiaceae

Encephalartos lanatus is normally a medium-sized, single-stemmed plant about 1–1,5 m high. In the garden, it enjoys a position in full sun...

31 / 03 / 2008 | Phakamani Xaba | Kirstenbosch NBG

Strelitzia reginae subsp. mzimvubuensis

Common names: Mzimvubu craneflower

Family: Strelitziaceae

This is a subspecies of the well known Strelitzia reginae which is a garden favourite and a choice cut-flower worldwide....

24 / 03 / 2008 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG

Callilepis laureola

Common names: Ox-eye Daisy (eng.); Wildemargriet (Afr.); mila (Sw); amafuthomhlaba, ihlamvu, impila (Z)

Family: Asteraceae

This is a spring flower of the grasslands with the unusual combination of dark disc, white rays and bright green foliage, making it an attractive garden...

24 / 03 / 2008 | Desiree Marimuthoo | KwaZulu-Natal NBG

Sparaxis maculosa

Common names: Cape buttercup, sparaxis, wandflower (Eng.); botterblom, ferweel, ferweeltjie, fluweeltjie, geelkalkoentjie, geelkalossie (Afr.)

Family: Iridaceae

Known from only two localities, one recently discovered, this spectacularly large-flowered species is sadly frail in its magnificence, a shadow cast upon...

17 / 03 / 2008 | Caitlin Von Witt | CREW

Liparia splendens subsp. splendens

Common names: mountain dahlia, orange nodding-head (Eng.), bergdahlia, geelkoppie, skaamblom (Afr.)

Family: Fabaceae

Liparia splendens is a beautiful fynbos shrub with striking bright orange-yellow, nodding flowerheads in winter-summer, a rare find both in the wild...

17 / 03 / 2008 | Alice Notten | Kirstenbosch NBG

Strumaria tenella subsp. orientalis

Common names: Free State snowflake ( Eng. ); tolbol (Afr.)

Family: Amaryllidaceae

This interesting perennial bulb grows in the cracks and in the topsoil of dolerite rocks surrounded by Nama Karoo vegetation. The plant's most attractive...

10 / 03 / 2008 | Luambo David Rambuwani | Free State NBG

Streptocarpus primulifolius

Common names: Cape primrose

Family: Gesneriaceae

This is one of the more striking Streptocarpus species with lovely large, trumpet-shaped flowers in deep shades of mauve with distinctive dark...

10 / 03 / 2008 | Cherise Viljoen | Kirstenbosch NBG

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