Plants of the Week

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E.g., 11/12/2024
E.g., 11/12/2024

Aristea biflora

Aristea biflora
Common names: windowed aristea
Family: Iridaceae

Aristea biflora is a member of the family Iridaceae and an inhabitant the south-western Cape. It is characterized by attractive violet to purple flowers...

06 / 04 / 2009 | Vathiswa Zikishe | CREW
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Zygophyllum

Zygophyllum foetidum
Common names: twinleaf, caper beans, dollar bush (Eng.); spekbossie, vaalkareedoring, witkriedoring (Afr.)
Family: Zygophyllaceae

Zygophyllum, a genus of rounded, many-stemmed dwarf shrubs, is characterised by flowers with five or four delicate yellow or white petals, often with...

30 / 03 / 2009 | Elizabeth Retief | National Herbarium Pretoria
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Euryops tysonii

Euryops tysonii foliage and flowers
Common names: Tyson's euryops (Eng.); sehlakoana (Sesotho/Southern Sotho)
Family: Asteraceae

Euryops tysonii is a lovely shrub for the garden, it has attractive foliage, showy yellow flowers all summer and an interesting upright and sprawling...

30 / 03 / 2009 | Alice Notten | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Sphagnum

Sphagnum fimbriatum
Common names: peat moss, bog moss, turf moss
Family: Sphagnaceae

Sphagnum is a cosmopolitan as well as economically and ecologically important genus of mosses. ...

23 / 03 / 2009 | Nonkululo Phephu | National Herbarium Pretoria
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Erica abietina subsp. atrorosea

Erica abietina subsp. atrorosea growing above Kalk Bay
Common names: rosy pink heath, wine-red heath
Family: Ericaceae

Found only on the Cape Peninsula, this heath is known to older mountain walkers as Erica phylicifolia. When Dr Ted Oliver revised this section...

23 / 03 / 2009 | Anthony Hitchcock | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Coleus livingstonei

Coleus livingstonei
Common names: hedgehog sage, large hedgehog flower, prickly sage, blue boys, nettle-leaf pycnostachys, dark blue pycnostachys (Eng.); ystervarksalie, groot ystervar
Family: Lamiaceae

 An evergreen, aromatic, perennial, with beautiful spikes of blue flowers, which bloom very late in autumn. The species is a good choice for an informal...

16 / 03 / 2009 | Mandisa Kondlo | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Pelargonium scabrum

Pelargonium scabrum
Common names: rough-leaved pelargonium, three-pointed pelargonium (Eng.); hoenderbos (Afr.)
Family: Geraniaceae

...

16 / 03 / 2009 | Karen Wall | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Helichrysum nudifolium var. pilosellum

Helichrysum nudifolium var. pilosellum flower head
Common names: hairy everlasting (Eng.); bolebo, boleba-ba-liliba, leboko, papetloane-ea-liliba, papetloane-e-kholo, tsebe-litelele (South Sotho); isicwe (Xhosa, Zul
Family: Asteraceae

Helichrysum nudifolium var. pilosellum occurs in the open grassland of the Free State, and grows from Eastern Cape to Malawi. The plant's...

09 / 03 / 2009 | Luambo David Rambuwani | Free State NBG
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Euryops annae

Euryops annae shrub
Common names: small euryops, qoqolosi bush (Eng.); kleinbitterharpuisbos, bitterharpuisbos (Afr.); sehlakoana se senyenyane, sehalahala sa qoqolosi (Sesotho/Souther
Family: Asteraceae

Euryops annae is a small, easy-to-grow shrub, with bright yellow flowers during late summer and autumn....

09 / 03 / 2009 | Alice Notten | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Thamnochortus lucens

Thamnochortus lucens male
Common names: jackal-tail restio (Eng.); jakkalsstert (Afr.)
Family: Restionaceae

This perennial dwarf restio is a plant that will add some dazzle to your garden. The inflorescences are a shiny bronze colour, guaranteed to catch your...

02 / 03 / 2009 | Louise Nurrish | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Relhania speciosa

Relhania speciosa flower heads
Common names: perdekaroo (Afr.)
Family: Asteraceae

This member of the Relhania group of daisies, which are largely endemic to southern Africa, is striking for its tall stems covered in sharp,...

02 / 03 / 2009 | Nicola Bergh | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Pelargonium panduriforme

Pelargonium panduriforme flower
Common names: balsam-scented geranium, fiddle leaf geranium
Family: Geraniaceae

Large, attractive, hot-pink flowers make this small shrub an enviable plant for gardens....

23 / 02 / 2009 | Trevor Adams | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Baeometra uniflora

Baeometra unifora flower
Common names: beetle lily
Family: Colchicaceae

Brilliant orange or sulphur yellow flowers with an arresting dark eye make the beetle lily, Baeometra uniflora, instantly recognizable. This bulbous...

23 / 02 / 2009 | John Manning | Compton Herbarium
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Roridula gorgonias

Roridula gorgonias flowerheads
Common names: flycatcher bush (Eng.); vliëebos (Afr.)
Family: Roridulaceae

Roridula gorgonias with its beautiful pink flowers and sticky leaves certainly captures the attention of many. Its peculiar relationship with the assassin...

16 / 02 / 2009 | Karen Wall | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Diastella buekii

Diastella buekii in flower
Common names: Franschhoek silkypuff
Family: Proteaceae

Historical records suggest that Diastella buekii was once common in the area between Paarl and Franschhoek. This enigmatic species is now confined...

16 / 02 / 2009 | Ismail Ebrahim | CREW
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Litanthus pusillus

Litanthus pusilus
Common names: TomThumb hyacinth, Kleinduimpie-hiasint (Afr.)
Family: Hyacinthaceae

The Tom Thumb hyacinth (Litanthus pusilus) is a dwarf bulbous plant, widespread but little known due to its size: William Harvey (1844) who first described...

09 / 02 / 2009 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Helichrysum cooperi

Helichrysum cooperi flowers
Common names: yellow everlasting (Eng), geelsewejaartjie (Afr.), bohloko, phefo-ae-thaba, toane-balimo, toane-balingoana (South Sotho), umadotsheni (Zulu)
Family: Asteraceae

This biennial aromatic herb grows in grassland, often near or on forest margins in the Free State, Mpumalanga, Kwazulu-Natal and Lesotho. The plant's...

09 / 02 / 2009 | Luambo David Rambuwani | Free State NBG
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Dregeochloa pumila

Dregeochloa pumila in its habitat. Note that the centre (inner canopy) of the plant is dead resulting in a circular outer canopy. Note the succulent leaves and compact growth.
Common names: Tom Thumb grass, Kleinduimpiegras (Afr.)
Family: Poaceae

The Tom Thumb grass (Dregeochloa pumila), a peculiar, little known grass from the coastal southern Namib Desert in South Africa and Namibia,...

02 / 02 / 2009 | | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Barleria holubii

Barleria holubii flowers and leaves
Common names: bushveld joy
Family: Acanthaceae

If you are an indigenous plant lover and you need an attractive, fast-growing, hardy plant for the rocky areas in your garden, Barleria holubii is...

02 / 02 / 2009 | Willem Froneman | Lowveld NBG
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Salvia disermas

Salvia disermas shrub
Common names: wild giant sage, Transvaal sage Eng.; grootsalie, teesalie Afr.; mogasane (Tswana)
Family: Lamiaceae

Occurring in a variety of colors and growth forms, the petite, pretty flowers of Salvia disermas will add charm to any garden in need of a hardy,...

26 / 01 / 2009 | Monique Mcquillan | Kirstenbosch NBG
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