Plants of the Week

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E.g., 25/11/2024
E.g., 25/11/2024

Plectranthus grallatus

Plectranthus grallatus, Hogsback. Photo Nicola van Berkel
Common names: Drakensberg spurflower, tuberous spurflower (Eng.); Drakensberg spoorsalie, knolspoorsalie (Afr.); umnyamawempunzi (isiZulu)
Family: Lamiaceae

An herbaceous shrub, that resprouts annually from underground tuberous stems, with large, decorative, soft leaves and white flowers in late summer; easy...

26 / 09 / 2022 | Stemmer Ngalo | Free State NBG
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Agathosma martiana

Agathosma martiana flowers. Photo Johan Eksteen
Common names: Humansdorp buchu (Eng.); Humansdorp boegoe (Afr.)
Family: Rutaceae

A hardy, white-flowering, aromatic shrub for the fragrance, buchu or fynbos garden....

03 / 10 / 2022 | Roger Oliver | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Sansevieria pearsonii

Sansevieria pearsonii
Common names: spiky mother-in-law’s-tongue, gemsbok horns, elephant’s toothpick (Eng.); bobbejaan-se-dood, gemsbokhoring (Afr.)
Family: Ruscaceae

Sansevieria pearsonii is a colony-forming, perennial succulent, with an upright fan of cylindrical leaves that end in a hard, sharp point. Easy to grow,...

03 / 10 / 2022 | Philisiwe Nonhlanhla Biyela | Pretoria NBG
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Dianthus basuticus subsp. basuticus

Dianthus basuticus subsp. basuticus. Photo Deon du Plessis
Common names: Lesotho carnation, Lesotho pink, Drakensberg carnation (Eng.); Lesothose wilde-angelier (Afr.); hlokoa-la-tsela (Sesotho)
Family: Caryophyllaceae

Dianthus basuticus subsp. basuticus is an exquisite, almost tufted, evergreen to deciduous perennial. It is extremely hardy and bears a clump of beautiful,...

10 / 10 / 2022 | Lufuno Nenungwi | Free State NBG
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Gethyllis villosa

Gethyllis villosa flower. Photo Lennart N.
Common names: hairy kukumakranka (Eng.); kukumakranka, koekemakranka, kroekemakrank (Afr.)
Family: Amaryllidaceae

Gethyllis villosa is one of the most intriguing members of the Amaryllidaceae family in southern Africa, due to its peculiar hairy, spiral foliage, fleeting...

10 / 10 / 2022 | Asiphe Mtsuma | Karoo Desert NBG
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Pelargonium cucullatum x betulinum 'Kommetjie'

Pelargonium ‘Kommetjie’
Common names: Kommetjie hybrid pelargonium
Family: Geraniaceae

Bright, floriferous and hardy, this is a natural hybrid between two of the Cape’s finest pelargoniums, Pelargonium cucullatum and P. betulinum, that...

17 / 10 / 2022 | Roger Oliver | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Gonialoe genus

Gonialoe variegata. Photo J.C. Kruger
Common names: partridge aloes, partridge-breasted aloes, tiger aloes, variegated aloes (Eng.); bontaalwyne, bontbees, kanniedood aalwyne (Afr.)
Family: Asphodelaceae

The uniquely mottled and folded, three-ranked leaves of these miniature variegated aloes make them very popular for container gardening or as a point of...

17 / 10 / 2022 | Ronell R. Klopper | National Herbarium Pretoria
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Eucomis zambesiaca

Eucomis zambesiaca
Common names: Zambezi pineapple flower, tropical pineapple lily (Eng.); witpynappellelie (Afr.)
Family: Hyacinthaceae

This stunner, is one of the smaller, and pleasantly scented species of Eucomis and the only one that occurs only in Limpopo province....

24 / 10 / 2022 | Dineo Dibakwane | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Delosperma velutinum

Delosperma velutinum white flower EVJ
Common names: silky-leaved cliff-delosperma (Eng.); syblaarkransvygie (Afr.)
Family: Aizoaceae

Delosperma velutinum grows widespread along riverine cliffs in KwaZulu-Natal. It is a cliff-hugger with a spreading habit and can be used as a pot plant...

24 / 10 / 2022 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Bulbine sceletium

Bulbine sceletium
Common names: blue cliff-bulbine (Eng.); bloukranskopieva (Afr.)
Family: Asphodelaceae

Bulbine sceletium is a cliff-squatting, aloe-like plant with sparingly branched rosettes of soft, pale green, striated leaves and solitary inflorescences...

31 / 10 / 2022 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Alepidea cordifolia

Alepidea cordifolia inflorescence. Photo Barbara Clulow
Common names: heart-leaf alepidea (Eng.); iqwili (isiXhosa); ikhathazo (isiZulu); lesoko (South Sotho), inkatsankatsa (Swazi)
Family: Apiaceae

A robust, erect herbaceous perennial, with flat-topped flowerheads bearing several star-shaped, white to cream and greenish flowers. It is becoming increasingly...

31 / 10 / 2022 | Mashudu Tshitereke | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Erica sitiens

Erica sitiens, pink form in the Erica Living Collection, Kirstenbosch.
Common names: thirsty heath (Eng.) dors-heide (Afr.)
Family: Ericaceae

This upright or sprawling shrub becomes covered with masses of pink, red or white flowers, or a combination of red with white lobes, during the summer...

07 / 11 / 2022 | Benjamin Festus | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Ledebouria woodii

A cluster of Ledebouria woodii plants in habitat
Common names: Wood’s African hyacinth (Eng.)
Family: Hyacinthaceae

Bulbous plant with usually unspotted leaves and green to pale green, whitish, strongly hyacinth-scented flowers, in spring and summer....

07 / 11 / 2022 | Andrew Hankey | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Crassula vaginata subsp. vaginata

Crassula vaginata subsp. vaginata flowerhead. Photo Geoff Nichols
Common names: yellow stonecrop, yellow crassula (Eng.), uphuncuka (isiXhosa), umdumbukane, umakhulefingqana (isiZulu), erekisienyane (Sesotho)
Family: Crassulaceae

Crassula vaginata subsp. vaginata is a rosette-forming succulent, that sprouts annually from a woody rootstock and is a rewarding addition to a grassland...

14 / 11 / 2022 | Philile Khuzwayo | KwaZulu-Natal NBG
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Ledebouria davidsoniae

Ledebouria davidsoniae
Common names: striped African hyacinth
Family: Hyacinthaceae

Dwarf bulbous plant with small, striped leaves and pale pink to whitish flowers in spring and summer....

14 / 11 / 2022 | Andrew Hankey | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Senecio elegans

Senecio elegans, white or purple daisies
Common names: wild cineraria, veld cineraria, greater purple ragwort, purple senecio (Eng.); strandblommetjie (Afr.); izuba (isiXhosa)
Family: Asteraceae

During spring, this annual daisy flowers in abundance along the west and south coast of South Africa, making a beautiful display when flowering in mass,...

15 / 11 / 2022 | Roger Oliver | 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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Bulbine capitata

Bulbine capitata flowers
Common names: scented grass-bulbine, narrow-leaved bulbine (Eng.)
Family: Asphodelaceae

That striking, luminous yellow flower showing off in the grasslands during spring is the beautiful Bulbine capitata, a perennial herb with slender, grass-like...

28 / 11 / 2022 | Rofhiwa Ingrid Mudau | Pretoria NBG
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Ledebouria atropurpurea

Ledebouria atropurpurea
Common names: purple African hyacinth
Family: Hyacinthaceae

An uncommon bulbous plant with broadly lanceolate, hairy leaves and small purple flowers in spring....

28 / 11 / 2022 | Andrew Hankey | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Erica walkeria

Erica walkeria
Common names: Swellendam heath, quality heath, Walker’s heath (Eng.); swellendamsheide (Afr.)
Family: Ericaceae

Erica walkeria is a densely leafy, shrubby heath with masses of starry, pink, urn-shaped flowers in small heads in spring, and makes a rewarding potplant...

05 / 12 / 2022 | Kamogelo Solomon Modimola | Kirstenbosch NBG
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