Plants of the Week

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E.g., 24/11/2024
E.g., 24/11/2024

Berzelia cordifolia

Berzelia cordifolia flowerheads
Common names: Potberg kolkol, heart-leaf berzelia (Eng.); kolkolbossie (Afr.)
Family: Bruniaceae

A small, upright shrub with clusters of ball-shaped, white flower heads in spring....

09 / 01 / 2023 | Mane Somtshu | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Carissa sebrabergensis

Carissa sebrabergensis
Common names: Sebraberg numnum (Eng.); Sebraberg-noemnoem (Afr.)
Family: Apocynaceae

The Sebraberg numnum is a rare shrub from the Sebraberg in northern Kaokoveld, Namibia. It is a diminutive, layered evergreen, spiny shrub, with small...

02 / 01 / 2023 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Erica empetrina

Flowers of Erica empetrina
Common names: crowberry heath (Eng.); kraaibessieheide (Afr.)
Family: Ericaceae

Erica empetrina boasts with a burst of pink to red flowers in spring, from September to December.Fig. 1. Flowers of Erica empetrina....

02 / 01 / 2023 | Benjamin Festus | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Kalanchoe waterbergensis

Kalanchoe waterbergensis
Common names: Waterberg Kalanchoe (Eng.); Waterbergplakkie (Afr.)
Family: Crassulaceae

A rare, dwarf leaf-succulent from the Waterberg in the Limpopo Province. The flat, broadly egg-shaped, bluish leaves are crowded at the base before flowering...

26 / 12 / 2022 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Ranunculus multifidus

Ranunculus multifidus. Photo Geoff Nichols
Common names: wild buttercup, common buttercup, African buttercup (Eng.); botterblom, brandblare, kankerblare, geelbotterblom, rhenoster (Afr.); hlapi (Sesotho); is
Family: Ranunculaceae

Wild Buttercup is a small evergreen herb, with bright green leaves and masses of yellow flowers in summer, that grows well in damp grassland and spreads...

26 / 12 / 2022 | T.T. Masupa | National Herbarium Pretoria
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Tetragonia fruticosa

Tetragonia fruticosa in flower. Photo Nanna Joubert
Common names: sprawling sea coral, trailing dune-spinach (Eng.); kinkelbossie, kinkelklappers, kleinsaadklappiesbrak, klimopkinkelbossie, porseleinbos, slaaibos, wa
Family: Aizoaceae

A bushy shrub with a yellow-green appearance and a red tinge, and in bright sunlight it appears to glisten, because the plant is covered in striking, minute...

19 / 12 / 2022 | Shireen Harris | Karoo Desert NBG
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Felicia tenella subsp. tenella

Felicia tenella subsp. tenella
Common names: bristly felicia (Eng.); astertjie (Afr.)
Family: Asteraceae

This striking, winter- or spring-flowering annual with bright blue and yellow daisies, is another of South Africa’s plant jewels. It performs well...

19 / 12 / 2022 | Roger Oliver | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Bulbine keiskammaensis

Bulbine keiskammaensis flowering in the succulent house at Babylonstoren Farm
Common names: Keiskamma bulbine (Eng.); Keiskamma kopieva (Afr.)
Family: Asphodelaceae

Bulbine keiskammaensis is an aloe-like plant that hangs from the cliffs of the Keiskamma River in the Eastern Cape. It has drooping, sparingly branched...

12 / 12 / 2022 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Moraea hiemalis

Moraea heimalis. Photo Richard Boon
Common names: winter yellow moraea
Family: Iridaceae

A threatened species that is endemic to the grasslands of central KwaZulu-Natal, its striking, rich golden yellow flowers stand out in the winter landscape...

12 / 12 / 2022 | Mlondi Sikhosana | KwaZulu-Natal NBG
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Galtonia regalis

Common names: Royal Berg Lily
Family: Hyacinthaceae

Galtonia regalis is now called Ornithogalum regale...

05 / 12 / 2022 | | KwaZulu-Natal NBG
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Ornithogalum regale

Ornithogalum regale. Photo Peter Warren
Common names: Royal Berg Lily (Eng.)
Family: Hyacinthaceae

The ever so graceful Ornithogalum regale is one of the summer flowering gems of the Drakensberg....

05 / 12 / 2022 | Dineo Dibakwane | 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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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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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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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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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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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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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 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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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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