Plants of the Week

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E.g., 02/12/2024
E.g., 02/12/2024

Protea stokoei

Protea stokoei bush
Common names: pink sugarbush
Family: Proteaceae

The Cape Floristic Region is known for its extraordinary plant diversity and for the gems that can be found amongst it. One of these gems is Protea...

24 / 05 / 2010 | Berenice Carolus | Harold Porter NBG
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Protea subvestita

Protea subvestita
Common names: waterlily sugarbush (Eng.); lippeblomsuikerbos (Afr); igwanishe, isiqane (isiXhosa); isiqalaba (isiZulu)
Family: Proteaceae

This is a protea from the summer rainfall region that makes a wonderful large shrub or small tree in the garden; it produces its flowerheads in summer...

29 / 08 / 2016 | Mashudu Nndanduleni | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Protea susannae

Protea susannae
Common names: stink-leaf sugarbush (Eng.); stinkblaarsuikerbos (Afr.)
Family: Proteaceae

This easy-to-grow protea has lovely flowers throughout the winter months....

31 / 01 / 2011 | Olivia Tyambetyu | Millennium Seed Bank Partnership
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Protorhus longifolia

Protorhus longifolia flowers © Geoff Nichols
Common names: red beech, purple currant, red Cape beech (Eng.); rooiboekenhout, rooimelkhout (Afr.); ikhubalo, isifuce (isiXhosa); umkomiso, uzintlwa (isiZulu)
Family: Anacardiaceae

The red beech is an excellent evergreen garden tree, quick growing and easily grown from seed. It attracts birds to a garden....

02 / 07 / 2012 | Alec Naidoo | Pretoria NBG
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Prunus africana

Prunus africana
Common names: red stinkwood, African almond ( Eng. ); rooistinkhout, Afrika-amandel, Wilde-kersieboom (Afr.); Inyazangoma-elimnyama, Inkokhokho, Ngubozinyeweni, Umd
Family: Rosaceae

The fissured stem of this tree, popular for its medicinal properties, has been admired by many gardeners....

30 / 10 / 2006 | Siyabulela Nonjinge | KwaZulu-Natal NBG
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Pseudarthria hookeri

Pseudarthria hookeri
Common names: velvet bean, bug-catcher (Eng.); fluweelboontjie (Afr.); uphandosi, uqhonqo, uqwashu (isiZulu)
Family: Fabaceae

This large shrub has vibrant, eye catching flowers in late summer. It earned the common name ‘bug-catcher’ because it is reputed to catch bedbugs...

21 / 06 / 2021 | Sibahle Gumede | Millennium Seed Bank Partnership
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Pseudolachnostylis maprouneifolia

Young tree
Common names: kudu berry ( Eng. ); koedoebessie (Afr.); Mutondowa (Tshivenda)
Family: Phyllanthaceae

Pseudolachnostylis maprouneifolia is the only species in this genus. It occurs only on the African continent....

21 / 04 / 2008 | T Ratshibvumo | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Pseudoscolopia polyantha

Pseudoscolopia polyantha.  Image A E van Wyk
Common names: false red pear ( Eng. ); valsrooipeer (Afr
Family: Salicaceae

Pseudoscolopia polyantha is a rare, near-threatened and little known tree restricted to a threatened habitat-forest margins....

14 / 07 / 2008 | Suvarna Parbhoo | CREW
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Pseudoselago serrata

Pseudoselago serrata
Common names: saw-tooth powderpuff, saw-tooth false selago (Eng.); blouaarbossie (Afr.)
Family: Scrophulariaceae

This striking, hardy perennial is the perfect filler to provide cheerful mauve blooms which attract butterflies and a host of other insects, increasing...

12 / 12 / 2005 | Antonia Xaba | Harold Porter NBG
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Psoralea pinnata

Psoralea pinnata
Common names: fountain bush (Eng.); fonteinbos, bloukeur, penwortel (Afr.); umHlonishwa (Zulu)
Family: Fabaceae

Psoralea pinnata is an erect shrub or small tree which grows up to 4 m high, with blue, lilac and white pea-shaped flowers which bloom from October...

23 / 12 / 2002 | Berenice Carolus | Harold Porter NBG
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Psychotria capensis

Fruits
Common names: black bird-berry, bird-berry, bastard lemonwood, lemon bush (Eng.); swart-voelbessie, voelbessie, baster-lemoenhout, lemoenbos (Afr.); iZele, isiThiti
Family: Rubiaceae

Bulbuls, robins and barbets are a few of the locals spotted dining at the black bird-berry, with its attractive glossy foliage and showy red and yellow...

29 / 11 / 2004 | L Badenhorst | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Psychotria suber

Psychotria suber in its natural habitat, Three Sisters, Mpumalanga
Common names: corkbark bird-berry (Eng.); kurkbas-voelbessie (Afr.)
Family: Rubiaceae

The corkbark bird-berry is a recently described small tree that grows wild on rocky mountain peaks in Barberton, Mbombela, Swaziland and adjacent KwaZulu-Natal...

21 / 11 / 2022 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Ptaeroxylon obliquum

Ptaeroxylon obliquum. Photo: Pitta Joffe
Common names: Sneezewood, Nieshout, umThathi (Xhosa
Family: Rutaceae

Ptaeroxylon (pronounced 'teroxillon') is a direct Greek translation meaning sneeze and wood; obliquum refers to the oblique leaflets. Umtata in...

27 / 07 / 2001 | Robert Archer | National Herbarium Pretoria
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Pteleopsis myrtifolia

Pteleopsis myrtifolia tree Photo: G. Nichols
Common names: stink-bushwillow (South Africa), two-winged stinkbush (Namibia), two-winged stink-bushwillow (Zimbabwe); stinkboswilg; musunganyemba (ChiManyika), mus
Family: Combretaceae

Here we have a very attractive and under-appreciated tree, most often seen in one of the most unusual environments in South Africa, namely the sandveld...

30 / 05 / 2011 | Hugh Glen | KwaZulu-Natal Herbarium
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Pterocarpus angolensis

Seedpod Photo Geoff Nichols
Common names: kiaat, bloodwood, paddle-wood, sealing-wax tree, wild teak, Transvaal teak (Eng.); kiaat, bloedhout, dolfhout, greinhout, kajatenhout, lakhout, wilde-
Family: Fabaceae

A brown and papery, spiky, fried egg is what the seed pod of this beautiful tree looks like. The pods remain on the tree long after the leaves have fallen...

03 / 02 / 2003 | Alice Aubrey | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Pterocarpus rotundifolius

Pterocarpus rotundifolius
Common names: Muhataha (Tshivenda), round-leaved bloodwood (Eng.), dopperkiaat (Afr.)
Family: Fabaceae

Flowers of Pterocarpus rotundifolius are strongly honey-scented. Bee-keepers like to plant this tree as a good source of nectar and food for bees....

03 / 03 / 2003 | Thompson T Mutshinyalo | Pretoria NBG
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Pterocelastrus rostratus

Pterocelastrus rostratus
Common names: red cherrywood, beaked pterocelastrus, red candlewood (Eng.); rooikershout, kersiehout (Afr.); ugobandlovu, usahlulamanye (Zulu); itywina (Xhosa)
Family: Celastraceae

A graceful evergreen tree, or shrub, with a slender stem, a bushy crown and sweet-scented flowers in summer followed by distinctive spiky, orange to reddish-brown...

11 / 09 / 2023 | Loretta Floors | Harold Porter NBG
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Pterocelastrus tricuspidatus

Pterocelastrus tricuspidatus
Common names: candlewood, cherrywood (English), kershout, kersiehout, rooikersiehout, witpeer, witpeerhout (Afrikaans), iBholo, iTywina, uTwina (isiXhosa).
Family: Celastraceae

When in fruit this widely distributed, evergreen bush or tree is a lovely sight, decorated with masses of brilliant orange fruit, which are enjoyed by...

29 / 08 / 2005 | Jane Forrester | Harold Porter NBG
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Pterodiscus luridus

Pterodiscus luridus
Common names: lurid flowered pterodiscus
Family: Pedaliaceae

Pterodiscus luridus has a large swollen caudex aboveground that resembles a miniature baobab, particularly noticeable when the stems die back in winter...

17 / 02 / 2020 | Lufuno Nenungwi | Free State NBG
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Pterolobium stellatum

Pterolobium stellatum shrub
Common names: red-wing (Eng.); rooivlerk (Afr.); gwambazi or luanakha (Tshivenda)
Family: Fabaceae

Pterolobium stellatum is a tall, scrambling or climbing shrub with woody rope-like stems....

07 / 12 / 2009 | Thompson T Mutshinyalo | Walter Sisulu NBG
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