Plants of the Week

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E.g., 03/10/2024
E.g., 03/10/2024

Pavetta zeyheri subsp. zeyheri

Pavetta zeyheri
Common names: grey-leaved bride’s bush, small-leaved bride’s bush, narrow-leaved bride’s bush (Eng.); fynblaarbruidbos (Afr.); igcegceleya, igceya (isiXhosa);
Family: Rubiaceae

A flowering plant from the genus Pavetta, P. zeyheri is a shrub or small tree that has beautiful, radiant, faintly scented white flowers in summer, that...

15 / 03 / 2021 | Sisanda Alakhe Velembo-Mhlauli | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Ixia vinacea

Ixia vinacea
Common names: purple Tulbagh ixia (Eng.); tulbagh-perskalossie (Afr.)
Family: Iridaceae

Ixia vinacea is a beautiful, critically endangered, winter-growing geophyte from the Western Cape....

08 / 03 / 2021 | Aarifah Jakoet | Compton Herbarium
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Encephalartos ngoyanus

Encephalartos ngoyanus
Common names: Ngoye dwarf cycad (Eng.)
Family: Zamiaceae

Encephalartos ngoyanus is a small cycad with a subterranean stem that is kept underground by contractile roots. This cycad rarely produces suckers, unless...

08 / 03 / 2021 | Lungisani Zondi | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Killickia grandiflora

Killickia grandiflora
Common names: Cathedral Peak killickia
Family: Lamiaceae

The relatively unknown small genus, Killickia, consists of four species: three are endemic to the Drakensberg Mountain Centre and the fourth species has...

01 / 03 / 2021 | Portia Kgaboesele | National Herbarium Pretoria
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Bulbine meiringii

Bulbine meiringii
Common names: Meiringspoort bulbine (Eng.); Meiringspoortkopieva (Afr.)

Family: Asphodelaceae

Bulbine meiringii is an obligate cliff-hanger, with soft, drooping leaves and solitary inflorescences bearing yellow flowers in spring. Plants hang from...

01 / 03 / 2021 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Searsia incisa

Searsia incisa
Common names: rub-rub currant (Eng.); baardbessie (Afr.); unongqutu (isiXhosa)
Family: Anacardiaceae

Rub-rub currant is an attractive shrub, and, as the common name says, it has edible, furry fruits, that need to be rubbed in the hand a couple of times...

22 / 02 / 2021 | Sibahle Gumede | Millennium Seed Bank Partnership
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Ledebouria burkei subsp. burkei

Ledebouria burkei subsp. burkei
Common names: brown African hyacinth (Eng.)
Family: Hyacinthaceae

Dwarf bulbous plant usually with leaves pressed to the ground or presented close to the ground. The leaves are brownish-green and usually deep red underneath....

22 / 02 / 2021 | Andrew Hankey | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Protea speciosa

Protea speciosa
Common names: brown-beard sugarbush, brown-bearded protea (Eng); bruinbaard suikerkan, baardsuikerkan, baardsuikerbos, brandhout, kreupelboom, kreupelbos, kreupelbo
Family: Proteaceae

This is a beautiful, low-growing shrub that occurs on sandstone slopes in the mountains of the Western Cape; it produces magnificent flower heads that...

15 / 02 / 2021 | Mashudu Nndanduleni | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Vitex rehmannii

Vitex rehmannii
Common names: pipe-stem fingerleaf, pipe-stem tree (Eng.), pypsteelvingerblaar, pypsteelboom (Afr.), munyongatshifumbu (Tshivenda), umluthu (isiZulu), mokgale (Sepe
Family: Lamiaceae

Vitex rehmanni is categorized as a shrub and a tree and is endemic to southern Africa. It has  yellow-green to olive-green, aromatic leaves and white...

15 / 02 / 2021 | Thandy Makgolane | National Herbarium Pretoria
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Aloe kouebokkeveldensis

Aloe kouebokkeveldensis
Common names: Kouebokkeveld aloe (Eng.); kouebokkeveldaalwyn (Afr.)
Family: Asphodelaceae

Aloe kouebokkeveldensis is a rare, medium-sized, cliff-squatting aloe with a decumbent to ascending rosette of faintly spotted, striate, pale-green leaves...

08 / 02 / 2021 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Aloe neilcrouchii

Aloe neilcrouchii
Common names: Karkloof grass aloe (Eng.); karkloof grasaalwyn (Afr.); inhlaba (Zul.); inkalane (Xho.)
Family: Asphodelaceae

Aloe neilcrouchii is the largest and the most robust of the grass aloes (section Leptoaloe), with long, leafless stems, rosettes of white-spotted leaves...

08 / 02 / 2021 | Bathabile Ndlovu | KwaZulu-Natal NBG
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Ledebouria ensifolia

Ledebouria ensifolia
Common names: Eastern Cape African hyacinth (Eng.)
Family: Hyacinthaceae

This is a fairly common species found mainly in the Eastern Cape Province; it is easily confused with several other species of Ledebouria, be sure to look...

01 / 02 / 2021 | Andrew Hankey | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Gladiolus venustus

Gladiolus venustus
Common names: bright bonnet, purple kalkoentjie (Eng.); kalkoentjie, perskalkoentjie, haasblom, perdelelie, bontpatryspypie (Afr.)
Family: Iridaceae

Gladiolus venustus is a showy species, with fragrant, purple or pink and yellow flowers in spring, best suited for the arid regions of the winter-rainfall...

01 / 02 / 2021 | Shireen Harris | Karoo Desert NBG
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Gymnosporia senegalensis

Gymnosporia senegalensis
Common names: red spikethorn, confetti spikethorn (Eng.); bloupendoring, rooipendoring (Afr.); sephatho, mophatho (Sepedi); sihlangu lesimhlophe (siSwati); ubuhlang
Family: Celastraceae

A bright, white-flowered, sweet-scented indigenous shrub, often with wine-red branches. Its roots and leaves are used in traditional medicine to treat...

25 / 01 / 2021 | M.S. Mothogoane | National Herbarium Pretoria
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Aloe omavandae

Aloe omavandae
Common names: Omavanda aloe (Eng.); omavanda-aalwyn (Afr.)
Family: Asphodelaceae

Aloe omavandae is a rare, medium-sized, cliff-hanger aloe, with a drooping rosette of faintly spotted, greyish green leaves and a branched, rarely simple...

25 / 01 / 2021 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Aloe pavelkae

Aloe pavelkae
Common names: Hunsberg aloe (Eng.); hunsberg-aalwyn (Afr.)
Family: Asphodelaceae

Aloe pavelkae is a rare, medium-sized, cliff-dwelling aloe, with drooping rosettes of green leaves. It is cluster-forming, with the stems becoming pendent,...

18 / 01 / 2021 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Aloe framesii

Aloe framesii
Common names: Strandveld speckled aloe (Eng.); strandveld gespikkelde-aalwyn (Afr.)
Family: Asphodelaceae

This attractive aloe will enhance contrast in any garden setup with its colourful flowers and astonishing leaves, which are covered with many spots and...

18 / 01 / 2021 | Ricardo Riddles | Karoo Desert NBG
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Aloe dabenorisana

Aloe dabenorisana
Common names: Dabenoris aloe, Pella aloe (Eng.); pella-aalwyn (Afr.)
Family: Asphodelaceae

Aloe dabenorisana is a rare, medium-sized, cluster-forming, cliff-dwelling aloe, up to 300 mm high, with short, sometimes drooping stems and leaves in...

11 / 01 / 2021 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Holothrix randii

Holothrix randii
Common names: tassel orchid (Eng.)
Family: Orchidaceae

This orchid is easier to spot among the grasses in the morning, because the flowers look shiny and silver from a distance. A closer look at the front of...

11 / 01 / 2021 | Fergy Nkadimeng | Millennium Seed Bank Partnership
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Aloe meyeri

Aloe meyeri
Common names: Rosyntjiesberg aloe (Eng.); rosyntjiesberg-aalwyn (Afr.)
Family: Asphodelaceae

A rare, small, cliff-dwelling aloe with drooping rosettes of greyish green leaves and simple inflorescences of small, tubular, orange-red flowers with...

04 / 01 / 2021 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
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