Plants of the Week

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E.g., 02/12/2024

Pelargonium salmoneum

Pelargonium salmoneum
Common names: salmon pelargonium
Family: Geraniaceae

This amazing succulent, garden plant, sizzles from a sunny corner for most of the year with its salmon-pink flowers cheering up borders, pots, tubs, rockeries,...

30 / 10 / 2017 | Roger Oliver | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Pachycarpus natalensis

Pachycarpus natalensis
Common names: Natal thick-fruit, Natal pachycarpus (Eng.); ishongwe elibomvu elikhulu (isiZulu)
Family: Apocynaceae

Pachycarpus natalensis is one of many amazingly beautiful indigenous plants, which is almost never cultivated. This is due to the short span of its flowering,...

04 / 12 / 2017 | Stoffel Petrus Pieter Bester | National Herbarium Pretoria
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Plectranthus lucidus

Plectranthus lucidus
Common names: shiny spurflower (Eng.); blinkblaar spoorsalie (Afr.)
Family: Lamiaceae

A fast-growing, resilient, shade-loving groundcover, recommended for coastal gardens....

23 / 04 / 2018 | Monique Mcquillan | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Paranomus longicaulis

Paranomus longicaulis
Common names: woolly sceptre, exploding baked apple (Eng.); poppiesbos (Afr.)
Family: Proteaceae

Densely white-woolly, pink and brown flowerheads, forming a short bottlebrush on a long, flowering branch, in spring to summer, with unusual foliage, bearing...

28 / 05 / 2018 | Mashudu Nndanduleni | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Pachycarpus campanulatus

Pachycarpus campanulatus var. campanulatus showing the inflorescence with pendent flowers.
Common names: cluster bells, toad plant, fairy bell pachycarpus, thick-fruit (Eng.); trosklokkies (Afr.); ishongwe (isiZulu).
Family: Apocynaceae

Pachycarpus campanulatus is a showy plant with large, hanging, bell-shaped flowers of up to 5 per umbel and exuding milky latex, like most plants in the...

13 / 08 / 2018 | Stoffel Petrus Pieter Bester | National Herbarium Pretoria
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Pelargonium carnosum subsp. carnosum

Pelargonium carnosum
Common names: fleshy-stalk pelargonium (Eng.); vetplantmalva (Afr.)
Family: Geraniaceae

This attractive, drought-resistant, deciduous, succulent pelargonium is a winter grower that does not sprout after fire....

01 / 10 / 2018 | Samkelisiwe Ntuli | Karoo Desert NBG
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Pelargonium incarnatum

Pelargonium incarnatum
Common names: ring stork’s-bill (Eng.); horlosie, vrouebossie (Afr.)
Family: Geraniaceae

This unusual pelargonium definitely has the all the hallmarks of becoming an ornamental hit in fynbos and succulent gardens. It doesn’t need plenty...

19 / 11 / 2018 | Roger Oliver | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Paranomus bracteolaris

Paranomus bracteolaris
Common names: Bokkeveld sceptre, smooth-leaved tree-sceptre (Eng.); bokkeveld-septerboom, afveebos, balbyterbos, haakbos, heuningbos, kloofbesem, perdebos, sousbos,
Family: Proteaceae

One of the common sceptres, it produces a single leaf form, a dissected leaf, over the entire plant, and purple to pink flowers with a faint sweet scent...

10 / 12 / 2018 | Mashudu Nndanduleni | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Pachypodium succulentum

Pachypodium succulentum
Common names: star-flower thick-foot, porcupine-kambroo (Eng.); bergkambroo, bobbejaankambroo, bobbejaankos, ystervarkkambroo, ystervarkkos, dikvoet (Afr.)
Family: Apocynaceae

A slow-growing shrublet characterized by its unusual thickened, underground, water-storing, tuberous stem, which helps the plant to survive during drought...

07 / 01 / 2019 | Lufuno Nenungwi | Free State NBG
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Phymaspermum appressum

Phymaspermum appressum
Common names: none
Family: Asteraceae

Phymaspermum appressum is a drought resistant, Cape daisy shrub with striking white, fading to pink and finally purple, flowers....

11 / 03 / 2019 | Anthony R. Magee | Compton Herbarium
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Pelargonium heterophyllum

Pelargonium heterophyllum
Common names: because of its rarity there are no recorded common names
Family: Geraniaceae

Pelargonium heterophyllum is a rare species from the Renosterveld, and one of South Africa’s most endangered plants....

18 / 03 / 2019 | Joti Daya | CREW
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Phygelius capensis

Phygelius capensis, flowers. (Photo Geoff Nichols)
Common names: southern river bell, wild fuchsia, Cape fuchsia (Eng.); rivierklokkie, foksia (Afr.); metsi-matsho (Sesotho)
Family: Scrophulariaceae

Phygelius capensis is a hardy, evergreen semi-shrub that bears wonderful bright red or orange, drooping, tubular flowers throughout summer. ...

08 / 07 / 2019 | Stemmer Ngalo | Free State NBG
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Papaver aculeatum

Papaver aculeatum flower. Photo SAplants
Common names: bristle poppy, orange poppy (Eng.); doringpapawer, koringpapawer, wildepapawer (Afr.); sehlohlo (South Sotho)
Family: Papaveraceae

Papaver aculeatum is an attractive, orange- or pinkish-orange-flowered annual, and the only poppy endemic to the southern hemisphere. It makes an attractive...

22 / 07 / 2019 | Graham Duncan | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Prenia vanrensburgii

Prenia vanrensburgii
Common names: Cape spinach, sea pumpkin (Eng.); seepampoen, strandspinasie (Afr.)
Family: Aizoaceae

A fast-growing, short-lived perennial succulent, endemic to the sunny, windy, littoral seafront or shoreline zone in the coastal parts of the eastern part...

29 / 07 / 2019 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Pteronia aspera

Pteronia aspera
Common names: sand gumbush (Eng.); sandgombos (Afr.)
Family: Asteraceae

A floriferous, medicinally important shrub, with huge cultural value and commercial potential....

07 / 10 / 2019 | Roger Oliver | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Protea namaquana

Protea namaquana
Common names: Kamiesberg sugarbush
Family: Proteaceae

A very localized, rare shrub, distinct in its environment, with flowerheads that have a strong yeasty odour. Protea namaquana is one of the two Proteaceae...

23 / 12 / 2019 | Hlengiwe Mtshali | CREW
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Pelargonium luridum

Pelargonium luridum
Common names: starburst pelargonium, waving pelargonium, stalk-flowered pelargonium (Eng.); wildemalva, rabassam (Afr.); inyonkulu, isandla sonwabu, umsongelo, unya
Family: Geraniaceae

One of the most beautiful, tuberous pelargoniums, with leaves that vary in shape on a single plant and bright pinkish beige or cream-coloured flowers on...

03 / 02 / 2020 | Fergy Nkadimeng | Millennium Seed Bank Partnership
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Pterodiscus luridus

Pterodiscus luridus
Common names: lurid flowered pterodiscus
Family: Pedaliaceae

Pterodiscus luridus has a large swollen caudex aboveground that resembles a miniature baobab, particularly noticeable when the stems die back in winter...

17 / 02 / 2020 | Lufuno Nenungwi | Free State NBG
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Plectranthus hilliardiae

Plectranthus hilliardiae subsp. hilliardiae, flowers. (Photo Alice Notten)
Common names: Pondo spurflower (Eng.); pondospoorsalie (Afr.)
Family: Lamiaceae

One of the most attractive of the Plectranthus, with glossy, dark green leaves and purple-blue autumn flowers, it is best suited to moist, subtropical...

06 / 04 / 2020 | Ayanda Komanisi | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Petalidium oblongifolium

Petalidium oblongifolium
Common names: blue petalidium, blue petal-bush (Eng.); bloubos, blou-tongklapper (Afr.)
Family: Acanthaceae

A beautiful small shrub with silvery leaves and attractive blue flowers in summer; a hardy, water-wise plant for sun or semi-shade....

13 / 04 / 2020 | Samuel Lekhetho | Free State NBG
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