Plants of the Week

Cephalaria zeyheriana

Common names: mock scabious

Family: Dipsacaceae

A well-adapted grassland perennial with elongated inflorescence stalks, white or creamy white flower heads, with protruding stamens. Known from the northern...

20 / 04 / 2020 | Mulweli Maswoliedza | National Herbarium Pretoria

Leucospermum harpagonatum

Common names: McGregor pincushion

Family: Proteaceae

An unusual creeping, mat-forming pincushion, with reddish, trailing stems and pinkish red flower heads in spring, that makes a pleasant groundcover for...

20 / 04 / 2020 | Mashudu Nndanduleni | Kirstenbosch NBG

Stadmania oppositifolia subsp. rhodesica

Stadmania oppositifolia supsp. rhodesica

Common names: silky-plum (Eng.); sypruim (Afr.)

Family: Sapindaceae

An awesome small tree with the most attractive flowers and fruits....

27 / 04 / 2020 | Sephatle Evans Molekoa | Lowveld NBG

Kleinia venteri

Common names: Venter’s kleinia (Eng.); uitlopertjie (Afr.)

Family: Asteraceae

An unusual, cryptic, stoloniferous succulent up to 70 mm high, with flat, oblong, rolled back, succulent leaves and inconspicuous flowers in winter. This...

27 / 04 / 2020 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG

Elegia fenestrata

Common names: stream golden-reed

Family: Restionaceae

This rare restio has a spreading habit, thick, dark green culms (stems) with large, attractive, chestnut-brown sheaths (reduced leaves) at intervals up...

04 / 05 / 2020 | Cherise Viljoen | Kirstenbosch NBG

Coleus amboinicus

Common names: African thyme, French thyme, country borage, Indian borage, Indian mint, broad-leaf thyme, soup mint (Eng.); Afrika-tiemie, krui-spoorsalie (Afr.)

Family: Lamiaceae

A sprawling perennial with strongly and pleasantly aromatic, fleshy, serrated leaves and mauve, two-lipped flowers in summer and autumn. A useful, easily...

04 / 05 / 2020 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG

Euchaetis albertiniana

Common names: Albertinia bearded buchu, Albertinia mothflower

Family: Rutaceae

An amazingly hardy, small shrub from the limestone fynbos. It’s a diehard and can last for years! This endangered shrublet is a useful filler for...

11 / 05 / 2020 | Roger Oliver | Kirstenbosch NBG

Othonna cakilefolia

Common names: sea-rocket othonna (Eng.); bobbejaankool (Afr.)

Family: Asteraceae

One of only three Othonna species with pink to magenta florets; its striking, pink daisy-like flower heads, make it a desirable member of the genus.Fig....

11 / 05 / 2020 | Xichavo Mathebula | Compton Herbarium

Erica curvirostris

Common names: honey heath, honey-scented heath (Eng.); heuningheide (Afr.)

Family: Ericaceae

A small shrub, covered with masses of small, pale pink, bell-shaped, honey-scented flowers in late summer and autumn, the driest time of the year in the...

18 / 05 / 2020 | Alice Notten | Kirstenbosch NBG

Ledebouria linioseta

Common names: scented African hyacinth

Family: Hyacinthaceae

A cryptic, dwarf, bulbous plant species; the plants hiding between huge boulders in the hills around a small town above the Mpumalanga escarpment, producing...

18 / 05 / 2020 | Andrew Hankey | Walter Sisulu NBG

Pelargonium gibbosum

Common names: gouty pelargonium, knotted pelargonium (Eng.); dikbeenmalva, knopmalva (Afr.),

Family: Geraniaceae

...

25 / 05 / 2020 | Roger Oliver | Kirstenbosch NBG

Eriosema preptum

Common names: distinguished eriosema

Family: Fabaceae

A perennial herb with attractive yellow-orange flowers, that is endemic to KwaZulu-Natal. ...

25 / 05 / 2020 | Lungisani Zondi | Walter Sisulu NBG

Gladiolus monticola

Common names: mountain painted lady, autumn painted lady (Eng.); bergpypie (Afr.)

Family: Iridaceae

When you find yourself walking on the top of Table Mountain in February or March, you might be fortunate to lay eyes on this rare beauty with its delicately...

01 / 06 / 2020 | Ismail Ebrahim | CREW

Gladiolus stefaniae

Common names: Montagu gladiolus (Eng.); Montagu kliplelie (Afr.) (meaning rock lily)

Family: Iridaceae

Gladiolus stefaniae is a cormous, autumn-flowering plant, with exquisite, large, scarlet or carmine blooms. Although rare in the wild, its cultivation...

01 / 06 / 2020 | Graham Duncan | Kirstenbosch NBG

Plectranthus esculentus

Common names: wild potato, veld potato, African potato, Livingstone potato (Eng.); veldaartappel, wilde-aartappel (Afr.); itapile (Xhosa); tsenza (Shona); mutada (V

Family: Lamiaceae

see Coleus esculentus...

06 / 06 / 2020 | | Kirstenbosch NBG