Plants of the Week

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E.g., 06/12/2024
E.g., 06/12/2024

Berzelia abrotanoides

Berzelia abrotanoides in flower
Common names: redlegs (Eng.); rooibeentjies, vleiknoppiesbos, kolkol, fonteinbos (Afr.)
Family: Bruniaceae

Berzelia abrotanoides is a distinctive and beautiful, softly textured shrub endemic to the Western Cape. Displays of masses of fluffy ball-like flower...

03 / 12 / 2012 | Victoria Wilman | Millennium Seed Bank Partnership
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Berzelia lanuginosa

Common names: common button bush, common berzelia (Eng.); vleiknoppiesbos, vleikolkol, kolkolbos (Afr.)
Family: Bruniaceae

Berzelia lanuginosa is one of twelve species in the genus Berzelia in the Bruniaceae, one of the few families that is endemic to the Cape floral kingdom...

07 / 03 / 2005 | Roger Tuckeldoe | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Blechnum tabulare

 Young Blechnum tabulare
Common names: mountain deer fern, mountain blechnum, false tree fern (Eng.); valsboomvaring (Afr.)
Family: Blechnaceae

This is a large attractive fern for the shady garden....

25 / 03 / 2002 | Mhlonishwa D Dlamini | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Bolboschoenus maritimus

Bolboschoenus maritimus
Common names: alkali bullrush (Eng.); snygras, snyruigte (Afr.)
Family: Cyperaceae

...

06 / 03 / 2006 | Victoria Wilman | Working For Wetlands
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Bolusanthus speciosus

Bolusanthus speciosa
Common names: tree wisteria; Vanwykshout (Afr.); mogaba (Northern Sotho); umHolo (Zulu) National tree list no.: 222
Family: Fabaceae

The tree wisteria is certainly one of the most spectacular of our indigenous trees when in flower, mimicking the splendour of the jacaranda, which unfortunately...

05 / 05 / 2003 | Nick Klapwijk | Pretoria NBG
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Bonatea speciosa

Bonatea speciosa
Common names: green wood orchid (Eng.); moederkappie, Oktoberlelie (Afr.)
Family: Orchidaceae

Bonatea speciosa, a terrestrial orchid, is admired for its delicate, somewhat bizarre, green and white flowers. It is also comparatively easy to grow...

05 / 12 / 2005 | H Kurzweil | Compton Herbarium
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Boophone disticha

Boophone disticha
Common names: century plant, poison bulb, sore-eye flower (Eng.); gifbol, seeroogblom, kopseerblom, boesmangif, perdespook (Afr.); kxutsana-yanaha, motlatsisa (So.S
Family: Amaryllidaceae

Wherever you live in South Africa, in a summer- or winter-rainfall region, along the coast or in a semi-arid area, try Boophone disticha in your garden,...

22 / 08 / 2005 | E Lithudzha | Pretoria NBG
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Boophone haemanthoides

Boophone haemanthoides subsp. ernesti-ruschii
Common names: Namaqua century plant (Eng.); gifbol, kwaslelie(Afr.)
Family: Amaryllidaceae

Boophone haemanthoides is a summer-flowering geophyte growing up to 500 mm tall. It looks very much like a primitive plant with at least two thirds of...

28 / 02 / 2011 | Graham Duncan | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Boraginaceae

Trichodesma  in the 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
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Boscia albitrunca

Boscia albitrunca
Common names: shepherd's tree (Eng.); witgat (Afr.); siPhiso (Sw), Mohlôpi (Northern Sotho); Xukutsi (Tswana); Muthobi (Venda)
Family: Brassicaceae

The shepherd's tree is the most common of the eight species in its genus and is usually found in the drier parts of southern Africa. It is often called...

08 / 08 / 2005 | Marcini Govender | National Herbarium Pretoria
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Bowiea volubilis

Bowiea volubilis flowers
Common names: climbing onion, climbing green lily, bowiea (Eng.); knolklimop (Af.); ugibisisila; iguleni (isiZulu); umgaqana (isiXhosa); gibizisila (siSwati)
Family: Asparagaceae

Bowiea volubilis subsp volubilis has an unusual succulent adaptation - climbing inflorescences that harvest photosynthetic light in the absence of aerial...

14 / 03 / 2011 | Suvarna Parbhoo | CREW
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Bowkeria citrina

Image of Bowkeria citrina
Common names: yellow shell-flower bush (Eng.); geelskulpblombos (Afr.)
Family: Stilbaceae

The wonderful display of the bright yellow flowers, the fragrance of the leaves and the polished brown fruit of Bowkeria citrina, make this beautiful...

09 / 06 / 2008 | Isabel Johnson | KwaZulu-Natal NBG
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Bowkeria verticillata

Bowkeria vercillata foliage
Common names: Southern Shell-flower, Natal Shell-flower Bush (Eng.); Suidelike Skulpblombos, Natalse Skulpblombos (Afr.); umBaba, isiPhambathi (Zulu); isiDuli, iGqa
Family: Stilbaceae

A decorative shrub that can be used to landscape your garden, with softy quilted leaves and pure white, scented flowers....

27 / 12 / 2009 | Lufuno Konanani | KwaZulu-Natal NBG
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Brabejum stellatifolium

Flowers of the wild almond
Common names: bitteramandel, wild almond, wilde-amandel, ghoeboontjie, ghoekoffie
Family: Proteaceae

This tree is famous in South Africa for being used to make Van Riebeeck's Hedge, the first formal boundary marker between the new Cape colony and the...

08 / 09 / 2003 | Christien Malan | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Brachiaria serrata

Brachiaria serrata
Common names: red top grass, velvet signal (Eng.) ; rooisinjaalgras (Afr.)
Family: Poaceae

Brachiaria serrata is a perennial grass with bright green leaves and red or purplish-red spikelets covered in silky hairs....

12 / 05 / 2008 | Aluoneswi Caroline Mashau | National Herbarium Pretoria
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Brachylaena transvaalensis

Brachylaena transvaalensis
Common names: forest silver-oak (Eng.); bosvaalbos, vaalboom (Afr.); umPhahla, iPhahla (Sw, Z); mphahla (NS); mufhata (V)
Family: Asteraceae

This medium to large tree with its dark green glossy leaves produces dense clusters of whitish flowers from July to September....

09 / 04 / 2012 | Lou-nita LeRoux | Lowveld NBG
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Brachylaena discolor

Seed heads
Common names: Coast silver oak (E), Kusvaalbos (Afr.), Phahla (isiZulu), Mphahla (N.Sotho), umPhahla (isiXhosa)
Family: Asteraceae

...

06 / 01 / 2003 | Norma Jodamus | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Brachystelma barberae

Brachystelma barberae
Common names: platvoetaasblom (Afr.)
Family: Apocynaceae

Brachystelma barberae is without doubt the most spectacular species in the genus. It is probably the best known cultivated caudiciform asclepiad. If the...

08 / 09 / 2008 | Stoffel Petrus Pieter Bester | National Herbarium Pretoria
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Brachystelma modestum

Flowers and leaves (David Styles)
Common names: none known
Family: Apocynaceae

The name modestum appears well deserved by this diminutive species of Brachystelma since the flowers are so astonishingly attractive, while the plant...

22 / 10 / 2007 | Suvarna Parbhoo | TSP
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Brackenridgea zanguebarica

Brackenridgea zanguebarica
Common names: yellow peeling plane (Eng.); geellekkerbreek (Afr.); mutavhatsindi (Ven.)
Family: Ochnaceae

...

25 / 04 / 2011 | Thompson T Mutshinyalo | Walter Sisulu NBG
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