Plants of the Week

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E.g., 10/12/2024
E.g., 10/12/2024

Sutherlandia frutescens

This plant is now called Lessertia frutescens....

08 / 12 / 2003 | |
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Scabiosa incisa

Scabious incisa
Common names: coast scabious (Eng.), koringblommetjie (Afr.), isilawu esikhulu, iyeza lamehlo (Xhosa)
Family: Dipsacaceae

Scabiosa incisa with its large mauve or white flowers must be one of South Africa's prettiest indigenous perennials. Growing in small clumps, the flowerheads...

08 / 12 / 2003 | Liesl Van der Walt | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Erica turgida

Flowers of Erica turgida
Common names: Kenilworth heath
Family: Ericaceae

Erica turgida is an erect, bushy plant 300-400 mm high, with slender, willowy and slightly hairy branches. ...

01 / 12 / 2003 | Anthony Hitchcock | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Salvia repens

Salvia repens
Common names: creeping sage (Eng.); kruipsalie (Afr.); usikiki (Xho.)
Family: Lamiaceae

As another member of the interesting sage family, this creeping sage with its aromatic leaves and abundance of flowers in summer, is a perennial worth...

24 / 11 / 2003 | Liesl Van der Walt | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Ansellia africana

Heavily spotten form Photo Martin von Flintel
Common names: leopard orchid (Eng.); luiperdorgidee (Afr.); imfeyenkawu(Zulu)
Family: Orchidaceae

...

24 / 11 / 2003 | B Tarr | KwaZulu-Natal NBG
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Heterolepis aliena

Heterolepis aliena
Common names: rock daisy (Eng.); rotsgousblom (Afr.)
Family: Asteraceae

When walking through the Mathews Rockery in Kirstenbosch during early summer, it is impossible to miss Heterolepis aliena. It is quite dazzling, covered...

17 / 11 / 2003 | Alice Notten | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Haemanthus coccineus

Flowering in late summer
Common names: March flower, April fool, blood flower, paintbrush lily, powderpuff lily, king-of-Candia, pincushion (Eng.); bergajuin, bloedblom, rooikwas, bobbejaan
Family: Amaryllidaceae

One of the surprises of late summer, with flowerheads like bright shaving brushes popping up from underground bulbs, is Haemanthus coccineus, which has...

17 / 11 / 2003 | Jane Forrester | Harold Porter NBG
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Satyrium carneum

Satyrium carneum
Common names: pink satyr orchid (Eng.); rooikappie, rooi-trewwa, ewwa-trewwa (Afr.)
Family: Orchidaceae

Satyrium carneum, an endemic orchid in Western Cape from the Cape Peninsula to Riversdale, is becoming increasingly local and rare....

10 / 11 / 2003 | Berenice Carolus | Harold Porter NBG
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Helichrysum nudifolium

Helichrysum nudifolium
Common names: Hottentot's tea (Eng.); Hottentotstee (Afr.); letapiso, mohlomela-tsie-oa-thaba (Southern Sotho); ludvutfane (Swazi); icholocholo (Xhosa, Zulu); isidw
Family: Asteraceae

Helichrysum nudifolium is a sun-loving, perennial herb with a pale yellow inflorescence and shiny, light green leaves. There are many species very similar...

10 / 11 / 2003 | Phakamani Xaba | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Plectranthus 'Mona Lavender'

Plectranthus 'Mona Lavender'
Common names: Mona Lavender spurflower (Eng.); muishondblaar (Afr.)
Family: Lamiaceae

Plectranthus 'Mona Lavender', a hybrid developed at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, is becoming a hit around the world!...

03 / 11 / 2003 | Adam Harrower | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Vachellia sieberiana var. woodii

Vachellia sieberiana var.woodii
Common names: paperbark thorn (Eng.); papierbasdoring (Afr.); Mphoka (North Sotho); umNganduzi (Siswati); Mokha, Morumosetlha (Tswana); Musaunga (Venda); umKhamba (
Family: Fabaceae

Pure stands of these beautifully shaped trees with their perfectly flattened crowns are quite stunning. Where else but in Africa would you encounter such...

03 / 11 / 2003 | Pitta Joffe | Pretoria NBG
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Sclerocarya birrea

Fruits and leaves
Common names: marula (Eng.); morula (Northern Sotho); mufula (Tshivenda); ukanyi (Tsonga)
Family: Anacardiaceae

The edible fruits and the multiple uses associated with almost all parts of the marula, make it one of southern Africa's most valued trees....

27 / 10 / 2003 | Thompson T Mutshinyalo | Pretoria NBG
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Leucospermum bolusii

Leucospermum bolusii
Common names: Gordon's Bay pincushion (Eng.); witluisiesbos (Afr.)
Family: Proteaceae

The Gordon's Bay pincushion is quite unusual for a pincushion in that its flowers are a creamy white colour where they are normally a striking orange...

27 / 10 / 2003 | Christien Malan | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Lachenalia liliflora

Close- up of flowers
Common names: Cape hyacinth (Eng.); viooltjie (Afr.)
Family: Hyacinthaceae

Sadly, Lachenalia liliflora,  an indigenous hyacinth with strikingly beautiful creamy-white flowers tipped with purple, is on the critically endangered...

20 / 10 / 2003 | Adam Harrower | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Cordia caffra

Cordia fruits
Common names: septee saucer-berry (Eng.); septeeboom (Afr.); mududa (V)
Family: Boraginaceae

Why this breathtaking tree is so rarely used in the horticultural and landscape trade is a mystery. It possesses almost all the qualities of the ideal...

20 / 10 / 2003 | Nick Klapwijk | Pretoria NBG
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Serruria trilopha

Serruria trilopha
Common names: trident spiderhead, sand spiderhead, snake-stem spiderhead, three-crested spiderhead (Eng.); slangspinnekopbos (Afr.)
Family: Proteaceae

This critically endangered member of the protea family makes an unusual addition to sandy coastal gardens....

13 / 10 / 2003 | Trevor Adams | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Heteromorpha arborescens

Heteromorpha arborescens
Common names: parsley tree (Eng.); wildepietersielie, pietersieliebos (Afr.), umbangadlala (Zul.), umbangadlala, umbangandlatho, umbangeza, iyeza-lempambano (Xho.)
Family: Apiaceae

This small to medium-sized, deciduous tree or straggly shrub is suitable for a small, low-maintenance garden. The bark often helps to distinguish it from...

13 / 10 / 2003 | Shireen Harris | Free State NBG
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Serruria furcellata

Serruria furcellata
Common names: Kraaifontein spiderhead (Eng.)
Family: Proteaceae

This critically endangered spiderhead is being squeezed from its home by urbanization near greater Cape Town....

06 / 10 / 2003 | Trevor Adams | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Nerine laticoma

Nerine laticoma
Common names: vleilelie, gifbol, jeukui, seeroogblom (Afr.)
Family: Amaryllidaceae

This is a summer-growing Nerine, one of a genus of beautiful geophytes endemic to southern Africa....

06 / 10 / 2003 | Shireen Harris | Free State NBG
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Rhigozum obovatum

Rhigozum obovatum flower
Common names: Karoo rhigozum, Karoo gold, yellow pomegranate (Eng.); geelberggranaat, berggranaat (Afr.)
Family: Bignoniaceae

Rhigozum obovatum is an ideal shrub or small tree to bring life to gardens in dry areas where water is in short supply and garden maintenance is low. Although...

29 / 09 / 2003 | Shireen Harris | Free State NBG
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