Plants of the Week

Wachendorfia thyrsiflora

Common names: marsh butterfly lily, bloodroot, redroot (Eng.); rooikanol (Afr.)

Family: Haemodoraceae

Wachendorfia thyrsiflora with its large golden flower spikes is very striking when in flower....

10 / 12 / 2001 | Alice Notten | Kirstenbosch NBG

Wahlenbergia capensis

Common names: Cape bluebell

Family: Campanulaceae

Wahlenbergia capensis, the Cape bluebell, is a member of the Campanulaceae (the bellflower family). Its showy flowers start appearing from early spring,...

01 / 10 / 2007 | C Cupido | Compton Herbarium

Wahlenbergia undulata

Common names: African bluebell, wavy-leaf bluebell, pale bluebell, African bellflower (Eng.); blouklokkie (Afr.); letoao, moepetsane, tenane (Sesotho); isibahane, u

Family: Campanulaceae

A special delight for the summer garden is Wahlenbergia undulata with its soft mauve bells dancing on long slender stems....

22 / 01 / 2001 | Liesl Van der Walt | Compton Herbarium

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

Watsonia borbonica

Common names: pink watsonia ( Eng. ); suurkanol, kanolpypie (Afr.)

Family: Iridaceae

This magnificent bulbous plant with tall spikes of rose-pink, trumpet-shaped flowers makes a picturesque display, flowering for up to 4 or 5 weeks - a...

03 / 10 / 2005 | S Nonkenge | Kirstenbosch NBG

Watsonia canaliculata

Family: Iridaceae

Watsonia canaliculata is a lovely small, purplish-pink flowering Watsonia with unusual erect, grooved leaves. Rare and restricted to the...

09 / 01 / 2006 | S Khanyile | KwaZulu-Natal NBG

Watsonia humilis

Common names: waxy watsonia (Eng.); waspypie (Afr.)

Family: Iridaceae

Watsonia humilis is a beautiful late-spring flowering cormous plant endemic to the southwestern Cape. Although highly threatened in the wild, successful...

09 / 12 / 2013 | Graham Duncan | Kirstenbosch NBG

Watsonia hysterantha

Common names: autumn watsonia (Eng.); herfskanolpypie, suikerkan, rooipypie (Afr.)

Family: Iridaceae

Watsonia hysterantha is one of numerous, bright, dwarf watsonias endemic to Western Cape. While several tall-growing watsonias are frequently used in roadside...

12 / 01 / 2004 | Graham Duncan | Kirstenbosch NBG

Watsonia latifolia

Common names: broad-leaved watsonia (Eng.); sidvwa (siSwati)

Family: Iridaceae

This is an attractive plant with very showy maroon-red flowers that make it stand out on hillsides where it grows amongst rocks....

17 / 09 / 2012 | Mkhipheni Ngwenya | KwaZulu-Natal Herbarium

Watsonia marginata

Common names: broad-leaf watsonia (Eng.), breëblaar-kanolpypie, rooikanolpypie, kanolpypie (Afr.)

Family: Iridaceae

Watsonia marginata is a very pretty plant, with attractive foliage and gorgeous spikes of cup-shaped pink or white flowers. It is easily distinguished...

29 / 10 / 2001 | Alice Notten | Kirstenbosch NBG

Watsonia mtamvunae

Common names: Umtamvuna watsonia

Family: Iridaceae

...

03 / 09 / 2012 | N Petela | CREW

Watsonia vanderspuyiae

Common names: bergsuurkanol (Afr.)

Family: Iridaceae

Watsonia vanderspuyiae is a robust geophyte with bright red tubular flowers. It attracts sunbirds and is an ideal candidate for large fynbos gardens,...

21 / 11 / 2011 | Graham Duncan | Kirstenbosch NBG

Welwitschia mirabilis

Common names: welwitschia (Eng.), tumboa, n'tumbo (Angolan), tweeblaarkanniedood (Afr.), !kharos (Nama/Damara), nyanka (Damara), khurub (Nama), onyanga (Herero)

Family: Welwitschiaceae

Weird, peculiar, wonderful, strange, bizarre, fascinating, and of course, unique, are the kind of words that are used to describe the welwitschia. It is...

17 / 03 / 2003 | Alice Notten | Kirstenbosch NBG

Widdringtonia cedarbergensis

Common names: Clanwilliam cedar, Cape cedar (Eng.); Clanwilliamseder, sederboom (Afr.)

Family: Cupressaceae

The Cederberg* region was named after the Clanwilliam cedar, which used to be a prominent feature of the Cederberg but which today is a rare sight. They...

23 / 06 / 2003 | Alice Notten | Kirstenbosch NBG

Widdringtonia nodiflora

Common names: mountain cedar, mountain cypress ( Eng.); bergsipres (Afr.)

Family: Cupressaceae

Widdringtonia nodiflora is a bush/tree with a columnar crown and attains a height of 5-7 m. The slender and upright form of the mountain cedar during...

20 / 03 / 2006 | Roger Oliver | Kirstenbosch NBG

Widdringtonia schwarzii

Common names: Baviaanskloof cedar, Willowmore cedar (Eng.); Baviaanskloofseder (Afr.)

Family: Cupressaceae

Widdringtonia schwarzii is an ancient giant from the Baviaanskloof Mountains, often with a gnarled trunk and spreading branches, which can reach 40...

23 / 04 / 2007 | C Cowell | Millennium Seed Bank Partnership

Withania somnifera

Common names: winter cherry (Eng.); bitterappelliefie, geneesblaarbossie, koorshout (Afr.); bofepha (Sotho); ubuvuma (Xhosa); ubuvimbha (Zulu); ashwagandha (Hindi).

Family: Solanaceae

Fruits of this plant were found in a floral collar of the innermost coffin of Pharaoh Tutankhamun. (Mabberley 2008 : 911)....

05 / 12 / 2011 | M Welman | National Herbarium Pretoria

Witsenia maura

Common names: Bokmakierie's tail (Eng.); waaiertjie (Afr.)

Family: Iridaceae

This plant is one of the most striking woody iris shrubs; very different from the familiar herbaceous genera such as the Iris and Gladiolus, but equally...

09 / 06 / 2003 | Antonia Xaba | Harold Porter NBG