Plants of the Week

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

Sesamum senecioides

Dicerocaryum senecioides
Common names: devil’s thorn, boot protectors, stud plant (Eng.); elandsdoring (Afr.); museto (Tshivenda)
Family: Pedaliaceae

A prostrate perennial, with annual creeping stems and white to pinkish flowers. It takes over open spaces in grassland and it is used as substitute for...

10 / 05 / 2021 | Meshack Nethavhani | Millennium Seed Bank Partnership
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Didelta spinosa

Didelta spinosa
Common names: spiny salad bush (Eng.); perdebos, perdebossie, slaaibos, slaaibossie, t'arda (Afr.)
Family: Asteraceae

Didelta spinosa is a fast-growing shrub or small tree with bright green leaves and large yellow flowers in winter and spring, that is drought-resistant...

10 / 05 / 2021 | Shireen Harris | Karoo Desert NBG
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Haworthiopsis tessellata

Haworthiopsis tessellata
Common names: veined haworthiopsis (Eng.); venstertjie (Afr.)
Family: Asphodelaceae

This species forms small to large clumps of numerous, small plants made up of short, leafy stems. Its leaves are customarily dark green, more or less deltoid,...

03 / 05 / 2021 | Sihle Nqentsu | Pretoria NBG
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Helichrysum sutherlandii

Helichrysum sutherlandii
Common names: Sutherland’s everlasting (Eng.); molepelle, ntlo-ea mokhobane, senkotoana (Sesotho)
Family: Asteraceae

This is an attractive shrublet and an ideal ornamental garden plant because of its grey foliage....

03 / 05 / 2021 | Sisanda Alakhe Velembo-Mhlauli | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Bulbine thomasiae

Bulbine thomasiae
Common names: Mbashe bulbine (Eng.); mbashekopieva (Afr.)
Family: Asphodelaceae

Bulbine thomasiae is an obligatory cliff-hugger, with rosettes of dull green, soft, succulent leaves that grow from the shale cliff faces along the Mbashe...

26 / 04 / 2021 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Gerrardanthus tomentosus

Gerrardanthus tomentosus
Common names: hairy gerrardanthus
Family: Cucurbitaceae

An uncommon tendril climber, with dark green, triangularly lobed leaves and a large succulent caudex, that grows among boulders and stones, in moist, shaded...

26 / 04 / 2021 | Buyisiwe Dlwati | CREW
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Bulbine rupicola

Bulbine rupicola
Common names: dwarf cliff bulbine (Eng.); dwergkopieva (Afr.)
Family: Asphodelaceae

A dwarf cliff-hugger, with numerous dwarf rosettes of dull green, rounded, soft, succulent leaves from cliffs in the southwestern corner of the Eastern...

19 / 04 / 2021 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Elegia spathacea

Elegia spathacea
Common names: pagoda goldreed (Eng.)
Family: Restionaceae

This is a small, aesthetic, slender plant, with striking tan-coloured spathes with reddish brown speckles, suitable for planting in containers....

19 / 04 / 2021 | Mashudu Nndanduleni | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Erica densifolia

Erica densifolia
Common names: sticky red-and-green heath (Eng.)
Family: Ericaceae

This evergreen shrub produces tubular red flowers with light yellow tips, from spring until autumn, and is a great addition for attracting birds to your...

12 / 04 / 2021 | Benjamin Festus | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Stapelia gigantea

Flowering plant of Stapelia gigantea in habitat. (Photo Cameron McMaster)
Common names: giant stapelia, giant carrion flower, carrion flower (Eng.); reuseaasblom, aasblom, duikershoring, haasoor (Afr.); ililo elikhulu, isihlehle, uzililo
Family: Apocynaceae

Stapelia gigantea has the largest flowers (up to 40 cm across) of any plant in our region and is one of the easiest stapeliads to grow. Plants are widely...

12 / 04 / 2021 | Stoffel Petrus Pieter Bester | National Herbarium Pretoria
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Bulbine ramosa

Bulbine ramosa
Common names: Badspoort bulbine (Eng.); badspoortkopieva (Afr.)
Family: Asphodelaceae

Bulbine ramosa is an obligatory cliff-hugger, with bright green, ascending, pencil-like, tapering leaves and a solitary inflorescence of yellow flowers...

05 / 04 / 2021 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Aloe grandidentata

Aloe grandidentata
Common names: dwarf soap aloe (Eng.); bontaalwyn, kleinbontaalwyn, kanniedood (Afr.); lekghala (Sso.)
Family: Asphodelaceae

A low-growing, cluster-forming aloe with attractive, white-spotted leaves and tall inflorescences of pinkish red, tubular flowers in early spring; well...

05 / 04 / 2021 | Samuel Lekhetho | Free State NBG
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Acalypha punctata

Acalypha punctata
Common names: sticky brooms and brushes (Eng.); umsongo (Swa.); usunundu (Zul.)
Family: Euphorbiaceae

An unusual herbaceous perennial, with a distinctive and very strong scent, not common in commercial horticulture....

05 / 04 / 2021 | Sicelo Sithole | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Cyrtanthus elatus

Cyrtanthus elatus
Common names: George lily, Scarborough lily (Eng.); george-lelie, knysna-lelie (Afr.)
Family: Amaryllidaceae

Cyrtanthus elatus is a bulbous plant from the fynbos, with spectacular, scarlet, deep red, rose-pink or rarely, white blooms, which appear from late spring...

29 / 03 / 2021 | Graham Duncan | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Brachystelma gerrardii

Brachystelma gerrardii
Common names: Gerrard’s Brachystelma (Eng.)
Family: Apocynaceae

The shiny, lush, metallic green, or sometimes black flowers, are a rare delight to the eyes. Although having an extensive range across 3 provinces, this...

29 / 03 / 2021 | Aaliyah Motala | CREW
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Bulbine suurbergensis

Bulbine suurbergensis
Common names: Suurberg Bulbine (Eng.); suurbergkopieva (Afr.)
Family: Asphodelaceae

Bulbine suurbergensis is an aloe-like plant, with drooping, sparsely branched stems and soft leaves, that hangs from the quartzitic sandstone cliff faces...

22 / 03 / 2021 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Pteronia paniculata

Pteronia paniculata
Common names: gum-bush (Eng.); gombos, gombossie (Afr.)
Family: Asteraceae

...

22 / 03 / 2021 | Thabang Makola | Karoo Desert NBG
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Gladiolus papilio

Gladiolus papilio
Common names: butterfly gladiolus, goldblotch gladiolus (Eng.); ibutha, igulusha (Zul.).
Family: Iridaceae

When exploring the wetlands of the eastern regions of South Africa, these pinkish mauve, nodding flowers are sure to capture your attention....

15 / 03 / 2021 | Simone Chetty | CREW
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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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