Plants of the Week

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E.g., 15/12/2024
E.g., 15/12/2024

Erica nana

Common names: dwarf heath
Family: Ericaceae

As winter begins to loosen its grip in the Cape, spring is heralded by a magnificent profusion of sunshine yellow as Erica nana comes into flower....

17 / 05 / 2010 | Julia Dabush | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Erica nevillei

Erica nevillei flowers showing anthers foliage
Common names: red rock-heath (Eng.); klouterplant (Afr.)
Family: Ericaceae

The tubular, bright red flowers of Erica nevillei are breathtaking and the low-growing, sprawling habit of this Cape Peninsula endemic will fascinate...

29 / 11 / 2010 | Julia Dabush | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Erica perspicua

Erica perspicua
Common names: Prince of Wales heath (Eng.); veerheide (Afr.)
Family: Ericaceae

The Kogelberg Biosphere is well known for its plant diversity, with ericas being plentiful, amongst them  Erica perspicua,  one of the most well...

28 / 07 / 2003 | Berenice Carolus | Harold Porter NBG
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Erica plukenetii

Erica plukenetii shrub
Common names: Plukenet's heath (Eng.); hangertjie (Afr.)
Family: Ericaceae

Erica plukenetii is a common species that is found on mountain slopes throughout most of the Cape Floristic Region....

29 / 12 / 2008 | Anthony Hitchcock | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Erica psittacina

Erica psittacina flowers
Common names: Hlabeni heath
Family: Ericaceae

Erica psittacina, discovered by chance in 2002 during an orchid field trip, is the most restricted Erica species in KwaZulu-Natal province....

10 / 05 / 2010 | Suvarna Parbhoo | CREW
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Erica quadrangularis

White form in flower
Common names: baby heath, square heath
Family: Ericaceae

Erica quadrangularis is an easy-to-grow, graceful shrub, which turns white or pink during late winter, spring to early summer.when it gets covered in...

18 / 02 / 2013 | Alice Notten | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Erica quadrisulcata

Erica quadrisulcata
Common names: orange rock-heath, Swartkop heath, four-groove heath
Family: Ericaceae

A lovely fynbos shrub with bright golden-orange, curved, tubular flowers in showy heads at the tips of branches in mid-summer —  ideal for a...

20 / 01 / 2014 | Alice Notten | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Erica recurvata

Image Ross Turner
Common names: Soetmuisberg heath, drooping round-headed heath (Eng.); soetmuisbergheide (Afr.)
Family: Ericaceae

Erica recurvata is a critically endangered species that was previously known only from a botanical painting published by Henry Charles Andrews between...

03 / 02 / 2014 | Victoria Wilman | Millennium Seed Bank Partnership
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Erica regia subsp . regia

Erica regia: copyright Plantweb
Common names: Elim heath, bell heath, royal heath (Eng.); belletjieheide, elimsheide (Afr.)
Family: Ericaceae

Erica regia is a very popular garden plant in South Africa and features in many of the older gardening books. It is quite easy to grow and has very...

19 / 05 / 2008 | Anthony Hitchcock | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Erica scabriuscula

Flowers with bee
Common names: none recorded
Family: Ericaceae

Erica scabriuscula is a most impressive, hardy erica that grows into a large bush covered with thousands of small white to pale pink flowers through...

17 / 12 / 2012 | Anthony Hitchcock | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Erica sessiliflora

Erica sessiliflora
Common names: green heath, white bottlebrush heath (Eng.); groenheide, groenbottelheide (Afr.)
Family: Ericaceae

Erica sessiliflora has intriguing, pale yellowish green, tube-shaped flowers in showy heads and is a rewarding and decorative garden plant....

28 / 09 / 2009 | Liezel Brand | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Erica shannonii

Erica shannonii
Common names: bottle heath, Countess of Shannon's erica (Eng.); bottelheide (Afr.)
Family: Ericaceae

Erica shannonii is one of the most spectacular ericas with its long porcelain-white flowers arranged in clusters at the ends of its branches....

28 / 11 / 2011 | Anthony Hitchcock | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Erica taxifolia

Erica taxifolia foliage
Common names: yew-leaved heath
Family: Ericaceae

With its showy, bright pink, late summer flowers Erica taxifolia is a colourful addition to the fynbos garden, rockery or patio....

14 / 02 / 2011 | Alice Notten | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Erica triflora

Erica triflora shrub
Common names: bearded tree heath, three-flower erica (Eng.); baardboomheide (Afr.)
Family: Ericaceae

Erica triflora has been in cultivation for a long time and appears on a list of heaths that were cultivated by Messrs Lee and Kennedy at Hammersmith,...

18 / 10 / 2010 | Anthony Hitchcock | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Erica turgida

Flowers of Erica turgida
Common names: Kenilworth heath
Family: Ericaceae

Erica turgida is an erect, bushy plant 300-400 mm high, with slender, willowy and slightly hairy branches. ...

01 / 12 / 2003 | Anthony Hitchcock | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Erica urna-viridis

Flowers of Erica urna-viridis: Photo: P Swart
Common names: green sticky heath (Eng.); groentaaiheide (Afr.)
Family: Ericaceae

Erica urna-viridis is a very unusual erica as it produces green sticky flowers. This is a very unusual colour in the Cape Flora....

27 / 05 / 2002 | Anthony Hitchcock | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Erica ventricosa

Erica ventricosa
Common names: wax heath, washeide, porcelain heath, Franschhoek heath, Franschhoekheide
Family: Ericaceae

Erica ventricosa, with its exquisite flowers and dense, compact habit, is one of the most attractive of the Erica species. ...

19 / 11 / 2001 | Anthony Hitchcock | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Erica verticillata

Erica verticillata Belvedere in the Erica garden at Kirstenbosch
Common names: whorled heath, marsh heath
Family: Ericaceae

How could a plant as hardy and strikingly beautiful as Erica verticillata have been allowed to reach the precipice of extinction? Fortunately the story...

04 / 02 / 2013 | Anthony Hitchcock | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Erica patersonii

Erica patersonia
Common names: mielie heath (Eng.); mielieheide (Afr.)
Family: Ericaceae

This is one of a number of erica species that are threatened by urban expansion and farming practices....

16 / 06 / 2003 | Anthony Hitchcock | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Eriocephalus africanus

Eriocephalus africanus
Common names: wild rosemary (Eng.), wilderoosmaryn, kapokbos (Afr.)
Family: Asteraceae

Wild rosemary is one of the shrubs that most people in the Cape know because it is so common in the veld and easy to identify with its thin, grey leaves,...

11 / 06 / 2001 | Liesl Van der Walt | Kirstenbosch NBG
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