Plants of the Week

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E.g., 23/12/2024
E.g., 23/12/2024

Indigofera frutescens

 This plant  has rose to purple flowers in lax racemes and bluish green leaves.  It forms a stout, leafy shrub up to 2 m tall. It comes...

19 / 02 / 2001 | |
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Indigofera jucunda

Indigofera jucunda
Common names: river indigo, showy indigo (Eng.), rivierverfbos, pronkverfbos (Afr.), umsipane (Xhosa), umnukambiba, isiphungo (Zulu)
Family: Fabaceae

This beautiful plant has had the misfortune of being known by an incorrect name for many years, resulting in some confusion about its identity. But whether...

19 / 02 / 2001 | Cherise Viljoen | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Indigofera langebergensis

Indigofera langebergensis
Common names: Langeberg indigo (Eng.); Langebergseverfbos (Afr.)
Family: Fabaceae

...

15 / 05 / 2017 | Sisanda Alakhe Velembo-Mhlauli | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Indigofera lyalli

Inflorescence
Common names: Red Indigo, Venda Indigo (Eng.); Rooiverfbos, Venda-verfbos (Afr.); Umhlonishwa (isiZulu)
Family: Fabaceae

An attractive, delicate-looking, slender tree with velvety leaves and wine-red flowers usually found growing in clusters in nature....

07 / 07 / 2014 | Sisanda Alakhe Velembo-Mhlauli | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Indigofera natalensis

Flowers of I.natalensis
Common names: forest indigo (Eng.); bos-verfbos (Afr.); umsitshane (IsiXhosa); insiphane encane (IsiZulu)
Family: Fabaceae

Indigofera natalensis is a delicate and attractive shade-loving tree with dainty white sprays of flowers in summer, followed by slender, reddish brown...

24 / 04 / 2006 | Cherise Viljoen | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Indigofera nigromontana

Common names: indigo (Eng.); doringertjie (Afr.); sefea-maeba, mpepa (South Sotho) (Synonyms: Indigofera spinescens E.Mey.; Indigofera dealbata Harv.; Indigofera he
Family: Fabaceae

Indigofera nigromontana is an indigenous shrub with wonderful horticultural potential, suited to any garden with a continental climate. Its foliage brings...

09 / 07 / 2012 | L Kessler | Free State NBG
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Ipomoea albivenia

Ipomoea albivenia
Common names: wild cotton (E), wildekatoen (A), imibuzana / umangfongo (Z)
Family: Convolvulaceae

Ipomoea albivenia is a vigorous perennial deciduous climber up to 10 m long, belonging to the morning glory family (Convolvulaceae)....

22 / 01 / 2001 | Sharon Turner | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Ipomoea cairica var. cairica

Ipomoea cairica
Common names: coast morning glory, five-fingered morning glory, Cairo morning glory, Messina creeper, mile-a-minute, (Eng.); ihlambe, ijalamu, intana, umaholwana (i
Family: Convolvulaceae

The coast morning glory, with its big, purple, trumpet-shaped flowers with a dark eye in the centre, makes it close to impossible to pass it by, and it...

25 / 02 / 2019 | Sibahle Gumede | Kwelera 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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Ipomoea oenotheroides

Ipomoea oenotheroides
Common names: Christmas flower (Eng.); krismisblom (Afr.)
Family: Convolvulaceae

An eye-catching, drought-resistant shrublet with bright pink ‘morning glory’ flowers in summer and silvery stems sprouting from inedible tuberous...

11 / 02 / 2019 | Lufuno Nenungwi | Free State NBG
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Ipomoea pes-caprae subsp. brasiliensis

Ipomoea pes-caprae subsp. brasiliensis (Tony Rebelo, iSpot)
Common names: beach morning glory, goat’s foot (Eng.); strandpatat (Afr.)
Family: Convolvulaceae

Beach morning glory is a perennial, trailing vine that forms dense mats on beaches and sand dunes. Its bright green, glossy leaves and showy pink flowers,...

06 / 03 / 2017 | Lerato Hoveka | National Herbarium Pretoria
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Iridaceae

Romulea sabulosa
Common names: Iris
Family: Iridaceae

This is a large family of deciduous or evergreen perennials, many with brightly coloured flowers, which is well represented in South Africa....

17 / 05 / 2004 | John Manning | Compton Herbarium
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Isolepis

Isolepsis antartica. Photo: C Stirton
Common names: Sedges (Eng); madzhesi (Tshivenda)
Family: Cyperaceae

The genus Isolepis R.Br. comprises about 76 species. Members in the genus Isolepis mostly occur in the temperate regions of the southern...

15 / 09 / 2014 | Aluwani Tshiila | KwaZulu-Natal Herbarium
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Ixia mostertii

Flowers of Ixia mostertii
Common names: there are no recorded common names for this plant. It is one of the extremely rare species in the genus Ixia and has not been well collected.
Family: Iridaceae

Rare and threatened species are always attractive to most people interested in plants. Ixia mostertii is a strikingly beautiful plant that is...

21 / 08 / 2006 | Ismail Ebrahim | CREW
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Ixia vinacea

Ixia vinacea
Common names: purple Tulbagh ixia (Eng.); tulbagh-perskalossie (Afr.)
Family: Iridaceae

Ixia vinacea is a beautiful, critically endangered, winter-growing geophyte from the Western Cape....

08 / 03 / 2021 | Aarifah Jakoet | Compton Herbarium
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Ixia viridiflora

Ixia viridiflora
Common names: green ixia (Eng.); groenkalossie (Afr.)
Family: Iridaceae

Ixia viridiflora is one of the most striking and unusual of our winter-rainfall bulbous plants and very few plants can beat it for sheer brilliance of...

28 / 10 / 2002 | Alice Notten | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Ixianthes retzioides

Ixianthes retzioides
Common names: river bells (Eng.); rivierklokkies (Afr.)
Family: Stilbaceae

This is a beautiful plant, seldom seen. It is a rare endemic, confined to a few streams of the winter-rainfall Western Cape. It has striking, yellow, bell-shaped...

06 / 12 / 2004 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Jamesbrittenia bergae

Jamesbrittenia bergae flowers
Common names: crimson phlox
Family: Scrophulariaceae

This fairly unknown unique, crimson-flowered, herbaceous perennial from the foxglove family rivals many pelargoniums for its intense luminous colour and...

22 / 02 / 2010 | Adam Harrower | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Jamesbrittenia breviflora

In flower
Common names: There are no recorded common names for this species; other Jamesbrittenia species are sometimes known as verfblommetjies (little paint-flowers).
Family: Scrophulariaceae

Jamesbrittenia breviflora grows wild in the Drakensberg and has beautiful reddish-purple flowers with a bright lemon-yellow centre....

08 / 10 / 2007 | Nicola Bergh | Compton Herbarium
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Jamesbrittenia grandiflora

Jamesbrittenia grandiflora
Common names: Wild phlox (= Sutera grandiflora)
Family: Scrophulariaceae

Many people want to know what this stunning plant is when they first see it....

22 / 07 / 2002 | Mhlonishwa D Dlamini | Walter Sisulu NBG
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