Plants of the Week

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E.g., 30/12/2024
E.g., 30/12/2024

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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Osteospermum incanum subsp. incanum

Osteospermum incanum subsp. incanum inflorescence
Common names: grey bietou, grey tick berry (Eng.); grysbietou, fynbietou, vaalsandbietou, vaalbietou, vaalbitou (Afr.)
Family: Asteraceae

A vigorous, sprawling, densely-branched, low-growing grey shrub that is suitably equipped to beautify coastal and interior gardens alike. Its grey leaves,...

03 / 04 / 2023 | Roger Oliver | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Cotyledon velutina

Cotyledon velutina in habitat, Camdebo. Photo Nicola van Berkel
Common names: velvet pig’s ear, velvet cotyledon (Eng.); plakkie, varkoor (Afr.)
Family: Crassulaceae

An evergreen succulent plant with attractive, rounded, greyish green leaves with red margins and bright orange-red flowers on a long stalk in summer. This...

03 / 04 / 2023 | Charlotte Sindiswa Ntenga | KwaZulu-Natal NBG
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Crassula sarmentosa var. sarmentosa

Crassula sarmentosa var. sarmentosa in flower, Kirstenbosch NBG.
Common names: trailing jade plant (Eng.)
Family: Crassulaceae

A decorative ground cover with trailing stems and succulent leaves with serrated edges, that produces heads of white, star-shaped flowers in winter....

27 / 03 / 2023 | Shane Koorbanally | KwaZulu-Natal NBG
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Ipomoea oblongata

Ipomoea oblongata
Common names: wild morning glory, Boqo morning glory (Eng); krismisblom (Afr); ubhoqo (isiZulu); mothokgo (Sesotho)
Family: Convolvulaceae

An exquisite creeper belonging to the morning glory family, with long stems stretched out flat on the ground, and bright, dark mauve, eye-catching flowers...

27 / 03 / 2023 | Lufuno Nenungwi | Free State NBG
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Cotyledon barbeyi var. soutpansbergensis

Cotyledon barbeyi var. soutpansbergensis by Vicki Thomas
Common names: Soutpansberg cliff-cotyledon (Eng.), Soutpansberg krans-plakkie (Afr.)
Family: Crassulaceae

The Soutpansberg cliff-cotyledon is only known from cliffs along the northern foothills of the Soutpansberg, Limpopo Province, South Africa. It is a small,...

20 / 03 / 2023 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Cotula barbata

Cotula barbata, white-flowered and yellow-flowered forms co-occuring. Photo Anthony Magee
Common names: gansogies, kleinganskos, knoppiesopslag (Afr.)
Family: Asteraceae

Cotula barbata is a widespread, yellow- or white-flowered annual that occurs in the Western Cape and Northern Cape of South Africa.Fig. 1. Cotula barbata,...

20 / 03 / 2023 | Aarifah Jakoet | Compton Herbarium
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Cineraria cyanomontana

Cineraria cyanomontana. Photo Glynis Goodman-Cron
Common names: Blouberg cineraria
Family: Asteraceae

Cineraria cyanomontana is a small herbaceous plant endemic to the Blouberg Mountain in Limpopo Province. It is a perennial plant with grey or ash-coloured...

13 / 03 / 2023 | Lesibana Petrus Maema | Thohoyandou NBG
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Delosperma zoutpansbergense

Delosperma zoutpansbergense in flower in habitat
Common names: Soutpansberg delosperma (Eng.), Soutpansberg-vygie (Afr.)
Family: Aizoaceae

Delosperma zoutpansbergense is only known from south-facing upper cliffs along the upper Soutpansberg near Louis Trichard (Machadu) in Limpopo Province....

13 / 03 / 2023 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Canthium armatum

Ripe fruits of Canthium armatum. Photo Geoff Nichols
Common names: armed turkey-berry, false turkey-berry (Eng.); valsbokdrol, basterbokdrol (Afr.); umphembedu, umvuthwamini, isikhwakwane-inkomazi (isiZulu); mufhaladz
Family: Rubiaceae

A shrub or small armed tree with fragrant white flowers in summer followed by edible fruits, yellow or reddish when ripe, with a shape that varies based...

06 / 03 / 2023 | Mulweli Maswoliedza | Compton Herbarium
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Ocotea kenyensis

Ocotea kenyensis leaves
Common names: northern stinkwood, false stinkwood, bastard stinkwood, mock stinkwood, Transvaal stinkwood (Eng), noordelikestinkhout, vals-stinkhout, basterstinkhou
Family: Lauraceae

A big, attractive, fast-growing, evergreen tree of up to 30 m height with a much-branched, rounded canopy of simple, glossy, usually aromatic leaves, with...

06 / 03 / 2023 | Winfred Velephi Ngwenya | Lowveld NBG
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Berkheya griquana

Bright yellow flower head of Berkheya griquana
Common names: East Griqualand African thistle, East Griqualand berkheya (Eng.); Griekwaland-Oos-bergdissel (Afr.)
Family: Asteraceae

This robust yellow African Thistle flourishes in the grasslands of East Griqualand.Fig. 1. Bright yellow flower head of Berkheya griquana. ...

27 / 02 / 2023 | Kaveesha Naicker | CREW
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Delosperma waterbergense

Delosperma waterbergense in flower at Kirstenbosch
Common names: Waterberg delosperma (Eng.), waterbergvygie (Afr.)
Family: Aizoaceae

Delosperma waterbergense is only known from cliffs along the upper Waterberg near Thabazimbi in the Limpopo Province. A fast grower, it has soft flaccid...

27 / 02 / 2023 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Melianthus elongatus

Melianthus elongatus in flower in Kirstenbosch
Common names: strandveld honeyflower, dwarf honeyflower, small melianthus, turkey bush (Eng.); kruidjie-roer-my-nie, truitjie (Afr.)
Family: Melianthaceae

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20 / 02 / 2023 | Mashudu Nndanduleni | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Pachypodium bispinosum

Pachypodium bispinosum flowers. Photo Jenny Potgieter
Common names: bell-flower thick-foot (English), bobbejaankos, kafferkambroo, kragman, sterkman, dikvoet (Afrikaans)
Family: Apocynaceae

A spiny succulent plant that shows off with bell-shaped, purple to pink, sometimes white flowers in spring and early summer....

20 / 02 / 2023 | Sisipho Mqungguthu | Karoo Desert NBG
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Adenia gummifera

Adenia gummifera var. gummifera leaves and fruits. Photo Geoff Nichols
Common names: snake-climber, monkey rope, gummy adenia (Eng.); impinda, impindamshaye, umphindamshaya, imfulwa (isiZulu); slangklimop (Afr.)
Family: Passifloraceae

A large, attractive, woody geophyte which often climbs into other plants, holding on by means of tendrils. Stems are bright green, with kidney-shaped and...

13 / 02 / 2023 | Lungisani Zondi | Walter Sisulu NBG
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