Plants of the Week

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E.g., 05/10/2024
E.g., 05/10/2024

Bergeranthus scapiger

Bergeranthus scapiger
Common names: polvygie (Afr.)
Family: Aizoaceae

A dwarf, clump-forming, water-wise succulent, with smooth, glossy leaves and branched clusters of golden-yellow flowers in winter and spring. It is grown...

13 / 01 / 2020 | Sihle Nqentsu | KwaZulu-Natal NBG
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Berkeya barbata

Berkheya barbata
Common names: coast thistle (Eng.); kus-dissel (Afr.)
Family: Asteraceae

A beauty to admire but painful to touch: handle with care. These sunflower-like daisies often make very attractive displays, but the thorns on the leaves,...

21 / 01 / 2013 | Marinda Koekemoer | National Herbarium Pretoria
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Berkheya griquana

Bright yellow flower head of Berkheya griquana
Common names: East Griqualand African thistle, East Griqualand berkheya (Eng.); Griekwaland-Oos-bergdissel (Afr.)
Family: Asteraceae

This robust yellow African Thistle flourishes in the grasslands of East Griqualand.Fig. 1. Bright yellow flower head of Berkheya griquana. ...

27 / 02 / 2023 | Kaveesha Naicker | CREW
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Berkheya multijuga

Berkheya multijuga
Common names: spiny berg thistle, thorny mountain thistle (Eng.); doringrige-bergdissel (Afr.); mohatollo ntsoa-ntsane-ea-loti (seSotho); imboziso emhlophe, ukhakha
Family: Asteraceae

The roughness of the bright green leaves in a rosette formation makes the Berkheya multijuga irresistible to watch....

18 / 07 / 2022 | Sibahle Gumede | Millennium Seed Bank Partnership
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Berkheya purpurea

Flowers
Common names: purple berkheya (Eng.); bloudisseldoring (Afr.); Sehlohlo (SS)
Family: Asteraceae

A prickly thistle, Berkheya purpurea turns into a surprisingly beautiful perennial when flowering in midsummer....

31 / 01 / 2005 | Liesl Van der Walt | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Berkheya setifera

Berkheya setifera (Photo Marinda Koekemoer)
Common names: buffalo-tongue thistle (Eng.); rasperdissel, rasperdisseldoring (Afr); ikhakhasi, ulimi-lwenkomo, ulimi-lwenyathi (isiZulu); indlebe-lenkomo (isiXhosa
Family: Asteraceae

A robust perennial, with profuse, bright yellow flowers and bristly leaves; one of the 71 species that are found in South Africa out of the 75 species...

24 / 02 / 2020 | Bathabile Ndlovu | KwaZulu-Natal NBG
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Bersama lucens

Fruits of Bersama lucens. Photograph G Nichols
Common names: glossy white ash (Eng.); blinkblaarwitessenhout (Afr.); isindiyandiya (Xhosa); undiyaza (Zulu)
Family: Melianthaceae

Bersama lucens is not a common garden plant, rather a specialist specimen that still needs to be promoted in the garden fraternity....

09 / 07 / 2007 | Giles Mbambezeli | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Bersama tysoniana

Bersama tysoniana (Richard Boon)
Common names: white ash, common white ash, common bersama, forest white ash, bitterbark, wild quinine tree (Eng.); witessenhout, gewone witessenhout, basternieshout
Family: Melianthaceae

Bersama tysoniana is an attractive tree because of its dense foliage, russet-brown new growth and knobbly fruits that split into quarters, exposing red...

30 / 07 / 2018 | Nonkululeko Ntshangase | KwaZulu-Natal Herbarium
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Berula repanda

Berula repanda
Common names: Water parsnip
Family: Apiaceae

Berula repanda is a luxuriantly foliaged plant, ideal for a garden pond or wet patch, and it is in full flower now....

11 / 02 / 2013 | B Busch | Compton Herbarium
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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 albiflora

Berzelia albiflora
Common names: coffee-scented berzelia, coffee bush, white-flowered brunia (Eng.); knopbossie, fonteinbossie, stompies (Afr.)
Family: Bruniaceae

Whenever this beautiful shrub is placed on our specimen table, it is often greeted with surprise as if it has never been seen before. It is easy to overlook,...

26 / 04 / 2004 | Alice Notten | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Berzelia cordifolia

Berzelia cordifolia flowerheads
Common names: Potberg kolkol, heart-leaf berzelia (Eng.); kolkolbossie (Afr.)
Family: Bruniaceae

A small, upright shrub with clusters of ball-shaped, white flower heads in spring....

09 / 01 / 2023 | Mane Somtshu | Kirstenbosch NBG
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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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Berzelia stokoei

Flowers of Berzelia stokoei
Common names: red kolkol (Eng.); rooistompie (Afr.)
Family: Bruniaceae

The striking red flowers of Berzelia stokoei are a sight to behold when walking in the tranquil mountains of the Overberg region. This plant was previously...

06 / 08 / 2007 | Berenice Carolus | Harold Porter 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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Blighia unijugata

Clusers of bright pink to red, leathery, pear-shaped capsules.
Common names: triangle-tops (Eng.); driehoektolletjies (Afr.); musadema (Shona); umdlaguva (isiZulu)
Family: Sapindaceae

A medium to large evergreen tree, with sweetly scented flowers that attract butterflies to the garden, followed by pink to red, pear-shaped fruit that...

11 / 07 / 2016 | Lou-nita LeRoux | Lowveld 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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