Plants of the Week

Gnidia squarrosa

Common names: saffron bush (Eng.); aandbossie, juffertjie-roer-by-die nag (Afr.)

Family: Thymelaeaceae

Gnidia squarrosa has attractive, multicoloured winter-spring flowers that will fill your garden with perfume in the evenings....

02 / 08 / 2004 | Alice Notten | Kirstenbosch NBG

Pelargonium crithmifolium

Common names: samphire-leaved pelargonium (Eng.); jakopregopbossie, dikstam-malva, gnom, kana (Afr.)

Family: Geraniaceae

This plant is the granddaddy of all pelargoniums, as it is one of the bulkiest plants in the Pelargonium group. In cultivation at the Karoo Desert...

02 / 08 / 2004 | Ian Oliver | Karoo Desert NBG

Xylotheca kraussiana

Male flower X. kraussiana © Geoff Nichols

Common names: African dog rose (Eng.); umbalekani, isishwashwa (Zulu); umdubu (Xhosa); Afrikaanse hondsroos (Afr.)

Family: Achariaceae

The African dog rose, Xylotheca kraussiana, is a multi-stemmed shrub or small tree that forms a good focal point in a garden with its beautiful flowers...

02 / 08 / 2004 | R Williams | KwaZulu-Natal Herbarium

Brunsvigia josephinae

Common names: candelabra lily (Eng.); kandelaarblom, lantanter (Afr.)

Family: Amaryllidaceae

This plant has by far the biggest bulb and inflorescence among the geophytes in South Africa. Its large striking umbels are easily visible in the veld...

09 / 08 / 2004 | Werner Voigt | Karoo Desert NBG

Cannabis sativa

Common names: marijuana (Eng.); dagga (Afr.); Umya (Xhosa); Matekwane/Patse (Northern Sotho); Nsangu (Zulu)

Family: Cannabaceae

Current legislation prohibits the cultivation, possession and trade in cannabis in South Africa. This page is being posted for information purposes only...

09 / 08 / 2004 | Cathbert Makgakga | National Herbarium Pretoria

Warburgia salutaris

Common names: pepper-bark tree (Eng.); peperbasboom (Afr.); isibhaha (Zulu); manaka (Venda); shibaha (Tsonga)

Family: Canellaceae

This tree is a priority species for conservation and cultivation in gardens, as it is over-harvested in the wild for medicinal use and is a very popular...

09 / 08 / 2004 | Giles Mbambezeli | Kirstenbosch NBG

Ammocharis longifolia

Common names: Malgas lily (Eng.); seeroogblom (Afr.)

Family: Amaryllidaceae

The name Malgas lily is taken from the abundance of this bulb in the Malgas area near the Breede River in the Cape. It is one of South Africa's showiest...

16 / 08 / 2004 | Werner Voigt | Karoo Desert NBG

Jordaaniella anemoniflora and J.dubia

Common names: helder kruipvygie, matvygie (Afr.) Jordaaniella anemoniflora (L.Bolus) Van Jaarsv. [ = Cephalophyllum anemoniflorum (L.Bolus) N.E.Br. (Van Jaarsveld 2

Family: Mesembryanthemaceae

These two very attractive mesembs, one of which is widespread and the other extinct in its natural habitat, can be grown in sunny coastal gardens as they...

16 / 08 / 2004 | Pascale Chesselet | Kirstenbosch NBG

Nuxia floribunda

Common names: forest elder; forest nuxia; wild elder (Eng.); bosvlier; vlier (Afr.); umHlambandlazi, iThambo, ingobese, isanywana, umKhobeza (Zulu); iNgqota, isiKha

Family: Stilbaceae

The forest elder is an attractive, moisture-loving, floriferous tree and it makes a conspicuous feature in the forest patches it commonly inhabits....

16 / 08 / 2004 | Jan-Hakon Burring | Kirstenbosch NBG

Ballota africana

Common names: cat herb, Cape horehound (Eng.); kattekruie (Afr.)

Family: Lamiaceae

A popular herb in the Cape, Ballota africana is easy to identify by its soft-grey, aromatic foliage and old brown calyces that remain long after the flowers...

23 / 08 / 2004 | Liesl Van der Walt | Kirstenbosch NBG

Boraginaceae

Common names: forget-me-not, borage family Class: Angiospermae: Dicotyledones

Family: Boraginaceae

Members of the family Boraginaceae are herbs, shrubs or trees, characterized by leaves with rough hairs, inflorescences sometimes coiled at their tips,...

23 / 08 / 2004 | Elizabeth Retief | National Herbarium Pretoria

Ximenia caffra

Common names: large sourplum (Eng.); grootsuurpruim (Afr.); umThunduluka-obmvu (Zulu); Morokologa (Northern Sotho)

Family: Olacaceae

The large sourplum is a small tree or shrub with many traditional uses and colourful fruit. It is suited to growing in a bush clump or as part of a boundary...

23 / 08 / 2004 | J K Baloyi | Pretoria NBG

Freesia leichtlinii subsp. alba

Common names: white freesia, wild freesia (Eng.); ruikpypie (Afr.)

Family: Iridaceae

With its showy white spring flowers, exquisite perfume and relative ease in cultivation, Freesia leichtlinii subsp. alba is one of the most rewarding Cape...

30 / 08 / 2004 | Alice Notten | Kirstenbosch NBG

Millettia grandis

Common names: umzimbeet (Eng.); umsambeet (Afr.); umSimbithwa (Zulu) umKunye (Xhosa)

Family: Fabaceae

This is an attractive shade tree which can also be grown as a specimen tree to display its grey bark, coppery red young leaves and flower buds, lilac to...

30 / 08 / 2004 | J K Baloyi | Pretoria NBG

Oxalis

Common names: sorrel (Eng.); suring (Afr.)

Family: Oxalidaceae

Members of the genus Oxalis — with their brightly coloured delicate flowers, clover-like leaves and corolla lobes twisted in the bud — are...

30 / 08 / 2004 | Elizabeth Retief | National Herbarium Pretoria

Helichrysum petiolare

Common names: silver bush everlasting, herbal helichrysum, bedding helichrysum (Eng.), kooigoed, kruie (Afr.), imphepho (Xho.)

Family: Asteraceae

Helichrysum petiolare is one of the best known and the most commonly used helichrysums, easy to grow, with beautiful velvety silver foliage....

06 / 09 / 2004 | Roger Oliver | Harold Porter NBG

Phaenocoma prolifera

Common names: pink everlasting, pink strawflower, Cape everlasting (Eng.); rooisewejaartjie, strooiblommetjie (Afr.)

Family: Asteraceae

I often think of this species as the dinosaur of the everlastings. It is a strong rigid shrub with brilliant pink bracts and large flower heads. It is...

06 / 09 / 2004 | Marinda Koekemoer | National Herbarium Pretoria

Freylinia undulata

Common names: Overberg bell-bush, mauve honey-bell (Eng.); Overbergse klokkiesbos (Afr.)

Family: Scrophulariaceae

Freylinia undulata is an attractive shrub with mauve flowers, ideal for dry gardens in the winter-rainfall area....

06 / 09 / 2004 | Trevor Adams | Kirstenbosch NBG

Bryomorphe aretioides

Common names: None

Family: Asteraceae

Many hikers have probably seen this strange looking plant growing on the rocks in the Cape Mountains and wondered what it is. It looks very much like a...

13 / 09 / 2004 | Marinda Koekemoer | National Herbarium Pretoria

Cyrtanthus falcatus

Family: Amaryllidaceae

This beautiful cyrtanthus with its curious 'shepherd's crook' flower stem and long arching leaves is very easily cultivated and deserves to...

13 / 09 / 2004 | Graham Duncan | Kirstenbosch NBG

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