Plants of the Week

Protorhus longifolia

Common names: red beech, purple currant, red Cape beech (Eng.); rooiboekenhout, rooimelkhout (Afr.); ikhubalo, isifuce (isiXhosa); umkomiso, uzintlwa (isiZulu)

Family: Anacardiaceae

The red beech is an excellent evergreen garden tree, quick growing and easily grown from seed. It attracts birds to a garden....

02 / 07 / 2012 | Alec Naidoo | Pretoria NBG

Pelargonium odoratissimum

Common names: sweet-scented pelargonium, peppermint pelargonium, apple-scented or apple-rose-scented geranium

Family: Geraniaceae

This is a lovely fragrant pelargonium suited to any scented garden....

25 / 06 / 2012 | Trevor Adams | Kirstenbosch NBG

Carissa edulis

Common names: simple-spined num-num, climbing num-num, small num-num, (Eng.); enkeldoringnoemnoem, ranknoemnoem, kleinnoemnoem (Afr.); mothokolo (North Sotho); mur

Family: Apocynaceae

A fast-growing, thorny, scrambling shrub with glossy foliage, masses of fragrant white flowers in spring and small, oval red edible fruits in summer....

25 / 06 / 2012 | R Malatjie | Walter Sisulu NBG

Pelargonium exstipulatum

Common names: sweet-scented pelargonium, soft-leaved trifid pelargonium, scented penny-royal (Eng.); vaalblaarmalva (Afr.)

Family: Geraniaceae

Most of the species in the Geraniaceae family are very attractive, and Pelargonium exstipulatum is no exception. It adds some character...

18 / 06 / 2012 | Olivia Tyambetyu | Millennium Seed Bank Partnership

Lasiospermum bipinnatum

Common names: ganskweek, gansbossie (Afr.); cocoonhead (Eng.)

Family: Asteraceae

Lasiospermum bipinnatum is a prolific and showy perennial daisy with beautiful white-rayed flowerheads and aromatic leaves. Although it has been recorded...

18 / 06 / 2012 | B Busch | Compton Herbarium

xRuttyruspolia 'Phyllis van Heerden'

× Ruttyruspolia `Phyllis van Heerden' shrub Photo © Stafford Smithies

Common names: ruttyruspolia (Eng.)

Family: Acanthaceae

Because of its beauty and prolific, long-lasting inflorescences, the shrub × Ruttyruspolia `Phyllis van Heerden' is now grown in many urban...

11 / 06 / 2012 | S Smithies | National Herbarium Pretoria

Gasteria excelsa

Common names: thicket ox-tongue, regal ox-tongue (Eng.); ruigte-beestong (Afr.)

Family: Asphodelaceae

Gasteria excelsa is a medium-sized aloe-like plant bearing triangular, spreading, ascending, dark-mottled green leaves and a dense panicle of pinkish...

11 / 06 / 2012 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG

Pellaea calomelanos

Common names: hard fern (Eng.); inkomankomo (isiZulu); lehorometso (Sotho); legogoana (Tswana)

Family: Pteridaceae

...

04 / 06 / 2012 | Mandisa Kondlo | Walter Sisulu NBG

Gladiolus guthriei

Common names: fragrant afrikaner, rock afrikaner (Eng.); kaneelpypie, aandblom (Afr.)

Family: Iridaceae

Gladiolus guthriei is a beautiful and highly fragrant species, making it a very worthy addition to the winter garden or container collection.South...

04 / 06 / 2012 | Victoria Wilman | Millennium Seed Bank Partnership

Plectranthus zuluensis 'Lupatana'

Common names: Lupatana spurflower (Eng.); Zoeloewitspoorsalie, Zoeloemuishondblaar (Afr.)

Family: Lamiaceae

Plectranthus zuluensis 'Lupatana' is a white-selected cultivar of Plectranthus zuluensis. It is an excellent pot plant and flowers from late summer...

28 / 05 / 2012 | Antonia Xaba | Kirstenbosch NBG

Hypocalyptus coluteoides

Common names: balloon-pod red-keur (Eng.); rooikeur, rooikeurtjie (Afr.)

Family: Fabaceae

Attractive, upright, bright pink to magenta flower heads at the ends of the branches are bound to catch one's attention when this lovely shrub is in...

28 / 05 / 2012 | Jane Forrester | Harold Porter NBG

Pelargonium hermanniifolium

Common names: none recorded

Family: Geraniaceae

Pelargonium hermanniifolium is a very attractive Pelargonium with large flowers....

21 / 05 / 2012 | Trevor Adams | Kirstenbosch NBG

Gladiolus alatus

Common names: common kalkoentjie, turkey-wattle flower (Eng.); kalkoentjie, kipkippies (Afr.)

Family: Iridaceae

Gladiolus alatus is a very brightly coloured plant and will catch your eye wherever you walk, with its showy orange, yellow and green flowers. It populates...

21 / 05 / 2012 | Ricardo Riddles | Karoo Desert NBG

Roella ciliata

Common names: prickly roella, white-eyed roella, giant capebell

Family: Campanulaceae

Roella ciliata is a sun-loving, summer-flowering fynbos shrublet with large, showy flowers, but it is not yet well known in cultivation because it is...

14 / 05 / 2012 | Zoleka Maphanga | Kirstenbosch NBG

Adenopodia spicata

Common names: spiny splinter bean (Eng.); stekelsplinterboontjie (Afr.); lugagane (siSwati); umlungumabele (isiXhosa); ibobo, ubobo, umbambangwe, umlungumabele (isi

Family: Fabaceae

It's spiny all over, and the whip-like young stems lean out into the path and make themselves felt by the unwary. Meet the spiny splinter bean, a characteristic...

14 / 05 / 2012 | Hugh Glen | KwaZulu-Natal Herbarium

Leucadendron laureolum

Common names: golden conebush, golden sunshine-conebush, laurel-leaf conebush (Eng.); louriergeelbos, louriertolbos (Afr.)

Family: Proteaceae

In midwinter, golden conebushes turn many Cape mountainsides bright yellow. These large fynbos shrubs thrive in a wide range of soils, and bring winter...

07 / 05 / 2012 | Alice Notten | Kirstenbosch NBG

Barleria meyeriana

Common names: Meyer's bushviolet (Eng.)

Family: Acanthaceae

Barleria meyeriana is an ideal groundcover to cover areas in full sun in your garden....

07 / 05 / 2012 | Willem Froneman | Lowveld NBG

Euphorbia clivicola

Family: Euphorbiaceae

This is a critically endangered, low-growing succulent perennial endemic to the Limpopo Province. It has short, spiny, 4-angled branches arising from an...

30 / 04 / 2012 | Lerato Hoveka | CREW

Eucomis vandermerwei

Common names: spotted-leaf eucomis

Family: Hyacinthaceae

Eucomis vandermerwei is a threatened alpine bulb with unusual maroon, fetid flowers and dark green leaves with deep maroon markings and strongly wavy...

30 / 04 / 2012 | Graham Duncan | Kirstenbosch NBG

Marchantia berteroana

M. berteroana male plant with antheridia and gemmae cups Photo S. Perold

Common names: umbrella liverwort (Eng.)

Family: Marchantiaceae

Marchantia berteroana is of one the most attractive and relatively large liverworts in South Africa. It thrives in constantly damp, shaded areas....

23 / 04 / 2012 | Nonkululo Phephu | National Herbarium Pretoria

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