Plants of the Week

Browse through all previous entries of Plants Of The Week

  • Sort by date added
  • Sort Alphabetically
Go to Plants of the Week Advanced Search
E.g., 03/12/2024
E.g., 03/12/2024

Curio ficoides

Curio ficoides
Common names: blue chalkstick, flat-leaved senecio (Eng.); blouharpuis (Afr.)
Family: Asteraceae

A conspicuous, spreading, succulent shrub, with striking, large, bluish grey-green, elongated, flattish, succulent leaves, with a resinous smell when damaged....

11 / 11 / 2019 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
Read More

Aloe kniphofioides

Aloe kniphofioides
Common names: grass aloe, red poker grass aloe (Eng.); grasaalwyn (Afr.)
Family: Asphodelaceae

Aloe kniphofioides is an attractive, stemless, grass-like aloe, with short serrated leaves and an ovoid, bulb-like swelling below ground. The lax inflorescence...

11 / 11 / 2019 | Mpho Mathalauga | KwaZulu-Natal NBG
Read More

Gladiolus angustus

Gladiolus angustus
Common names: long-tubed painted lady, marsh painted lady (Eng); katjietee (Afr.)
Family: Iridaceae

...

11 / 11 / 2019 | Ofentse Naanyane | Pretoria NBG
Read More

Senecio maritimus

Senecio maritimus
Common names: beach senecio, beach groundsel (Eng.); strandhongerblom (Afr.)
Family: Asteraceae

A somewhat succulent annual, ideally suited to coastal gardens and common along the Western Cape coast, where its bright yellow flowers light up large...

04 / 11 / 2019 | Roger Oliver | Kirstenbosch NBG
Read More

Apodolirion macowanii

Apodolirion macowanii
Common names: spiralled leaf ground lily, MacOwan’s ground lily
Family: Amaryllidaceae

The beautiful spiralled leaf Apodolirion macowanii has delicate, white flowers that open for just two days and have a strong sweet-scent, which might uplift...

04 / 11 / 2019 | Pamela Nondumiso Sgatya | CREW
Read More

Callilepis leptophylla

Callilepis leptophylla
Common names: wild daisy (Eng.); bergbitterbossie (Afr.); imphila (siSwati)
Family: Asteraceae

An aromatic perennial herb with needle-like leaves and large flowers early in the season, and it mixes well with grasses. ...

28 / 10 / 2019 | T.T. Masupa | National Herbarium Pretoria
Read More

Dierama tysonii

Dierama tysonii
Common names: Tyson’s hairbells (Eng.); grasklokkies (Afr.)
Family: Iridaceae

The graceful hairbells are one of our most loved native plants; these perennial herbs have evergreen grass-like foliage, with slender, wiry stems from...

28 / 10 / 2019 | Bathabile Ndlovu | KwaZulu-Natal NBG
Read More

Lasiosiphon deserticola

Lasiosiphon deserticola 
Common names: saffron curryflower (Eng.); saffraan, saffraanbos, verfbossie, hotnotsverfbossie (Afr.)
Family: Thymelaeaceae

 An evergreen shrub with bright, ochre-yellow, night-scented flowers, which can be used to make a yellow dye....

21 / 10 / 2019 | Odwa Obose | Compton Herbarium
Read More

Obetia tenax

Obetia tenax
Common names: mountain nettle, rock tree-nettle, tree nettle, giant nettle, stinging nettle tree (Eng.); bergbrandnetel, rotsbrandnetel (Afr.); lebati (Northern Sot
Family: Urticaceae

An awesome small tree with the most striking flowers and leaves with stinging hairs, that can be cooked and eaten as a vegetable....

14 / 10 / 2019 | Sephatle Evans Molekoa | Lowveld NBG
Read More

Aloe pretoriensis

Aloe pretoriensis
Common names: Pretoria aloe (Eng.); Pretoria aalwyn (Afr.)
Family: Asphodelaceae

A widespread aloe that occurs from Pretoria in Gauteng, to Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Zimbabwe and Swaziland, with a neat, compact rosette of thin leaves and...

07 / 10 / 2019 | Ntuthuko Mabuya | Pretoria NBG
Read More

Pteronia aspera

Pteronia aspera
Common names: sand gumbush (Eng.); sandgombos (Afr.)
Family: Asteraceae

A floriferous, medicinally important shrub, with huge cultural value and commercial potential....

07 / 10 / 2019 | Roger Oliver | Kirstenbosch NBG
Read More

Delosperma saxicola

Delosperma saxicola
Common names: Tsitsikamma cliff vygie, Tsitsikamma cliff mesemb (Eng.); Tsitsikamma vygie (Afr.)
Family: Aizoaceae

A rare endemic of the coastal cliffs of the Tsitsikamma National Park. Its mat-forming habit makes it a great ground cover, especially for seafront, water-wise,...

30 / 09 / 2019 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
Read More

Tulista

Tulista pumila
Common names: miniature aloe, pearl plant (Eng.); vratjiesaalwyn, kleinaalwyn, seepaalwyn (Afr.)
Family: Asphodelaceae

These attractive, dwarf, leaf succulents, with their often white-tuberculed leaves in compact rosettes, are very popular among succulent plant collectors....

30 / 09 / 2019 | Ronell R. Klopper | National Herbarium Pretoria
Read More

Rhynchosia sublobata

Rhynchosia sublobata
Common names: none
Family: Fabaceae

A yellow-flowered, indigenous African herb, with twining stems and velvety with silvery grey hairs. Its roots and leaves are used in traditional medicine...

23 / 09 / 2019 | M.S. Mothogoane | National Herbarium Pretoria
Read More

Streptocarpus floribundus

Streptocarpus floribundus
Common names: Kranskop streptocarpus, Kranskop Cape primrose
Family: Gesneriaceae

Streptocarpus floribundus is a rare and threatened, vibrant gem, thriving in dense clusters among the doleritic outcrops of Kranskop, in KwaZulu-Natal....

23 / 09 / 2019 | Kaveesha Naicker | CREW
Read More

Encephalartos aemulans

Encephalartos aemulans
Common names: Ngotshe cycad (Eng.); ngotshe-broodboom (Afr.)
Family: Zamiaceae

An extremely rare cycad, which is endemic to South Africa, and known from a single mountain in the Vryheid District, in KwaZulu-Natal. Female and male...

16 / 09 / 2019 | Lungisani Zondi | Walter Sisulu NBG
Read More

Solanum africanum

Solanum africanum
Common names: dune nightshade, drunken berry, drunken rope (Eng.); dronkbessie, dronktou (Afr.)
Family: Solanaceae

A hardy creeper or shrub, with yellow-centered, purple, mauve or white flowers in midsummer to spring. It can be successfully utilized to cover a trellis...

16 / 09 / 2019 | Benjamin Festus | Kirstenbosch NBG
Read More

Chlorophytum bowkeri

Chlorophytum bowkeri (Mary Sue Ittner)
Common names: giant chlorophytum, Bowker's chlorophytum (Eng.); groot boskuikens (Afr.)
Family: Agavaceae

A robust perennial herb that makes an impeccable landscape plant, when planted in a mass as a ground cover....

09 / 09 / 2019 | Refilwe Maria Malatji | Pretoria NBG
Read More

Hylodesmum repandum

Hylodesmum repandum
Common names: orange tick-trefoil, orange tick-clover, hitchhikers, beggar lice (Eng.)
Family: Fabaceae

An attractive, shrubby, scrambling, perennial leguminous plant, with small, yet charming orange-red flowers in summer....

09 / 09 / 2019 | Kamogelo Solomon Modimola | Kirstenbosch NBG
Read More

Crassula ericoides subsp. ericoides

Crassula ericoides
Common names: heath crassula, large whipcord (Eng.); malmeidbossie, skilpadbossie (Afr.)
Family: Crassulaceae

A beautiful stand-alone plant that is easy to propagate and works well in pot arrangements and in succulent gardens. This succulent plant is more of a...

02 / 09 / 2019 | Sboniso Zwane | KwaZulu-Natal NBG
Read More