Plants of the Week

Protea caffra

Common names: sugar bush (English); gewone suikerbos (Afrikaans); isiQalaba (Zulu, Xhosa)

Family: Proteaceae

The common sugar bush is one of three proteas which occur in the Witwatersrand area. ...

05 / 02 / 2001 | Alice Aubrey | Walter Sisulu NBG

Protea burchellii

Common names: Burchell's sugarbush ( Eng. ); blinksuikerbos (Afr.)

Family: Proteaceae

Protea burchellii is a medium-sized, winter-flowering shrub and a delightful addition to any fynbos garden....

23 / 06 / 2008 | Monique Mcquillan | Kirstenbosch NBG

Protea aurea subsp. potbergensis

Common names: Potberg sugarbush, Potberg shuttlecock protea (Eng.); Potberg-langknopsuikerbos (Afr.)

Family: Proteaceae

Protea aurea subsp. potbergensis flowers in early winter when little else is flowering in the garden. The flowers are large and when planted en...

03 / 08 / 2009 | Louise Nurrish | Kirstenbosch NBG

Protea aristata

Common names: Ladismith sugarbush (Eng.); klein-den-suikerbos (Afr.)

Family: Proteaceae

Protea aristata would surely be among the five best-known South African proteas, even though it had a rather late documented discovery in the 1920s. It...

25 / 01 / 2016 | Megan Blatchford | Kirstenbosch NBG

Protea angustata

Common names: Kleinmond sugarbush

Family: Proteaceae

This is a protea you will be lucky to find when walking through the fynbos. Not only are there few plants, but they are also very cryptic. They are low-growing...

16 / 08 / 2010 | Jane Forrester | Harold Porter NBG

Protea amplexicaulis

Common names: clasping-leaf sugarbush (Eng.); aardroos (Afr.)

Family: Proteaceae

This sprawling protea shyly hides its velvety flowerheads under its unusual grey-green, pink-margined leaves....

31 / 08 / 2015 | Aimee Plutsick | Kirstenbosch NBG

Prionium serratum

Common names: palmiet (Eng.); palmiet, palmito, wildepalmiet, wilde palmit (Afr.); iNtsikane (Xhosa)

Family: Juncaceae

Palmiet is a robust shrub that plays an important role in mostly the Western Cape river ecology. This water-loving shrub is renowned for its practical...

05 / 09 / 2005 | Phakamani Xaba | Harold Porter NBG

Prenia vanrensburgii

Common names: Cape spinach, sea pumpkin (Eng.); seepampoen, strandspinasie (Afr.)

Family: Aizoaceae

A fast-growing, short-lived perennial succulent, endemic to the sunny, windy, littoral seafront or shoreline zone in the coastal parts of the eastern part...

29 / 07 / 2019 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG

Pouzolzia mixta

Common names: soap-nettle (Eng.); seepnetel, wildebraam (Afr.); isikukuku (IsiNdebele); nthadzwa (Setswana); muthanzwa, murovhadembe (Tshivenda); nthadzwa (Xitsonga

Family: Urticaceae

Pouzolzia mixta is a multi-stemmed shrub with conspicuously bicoloured (two coloured) leaves which are spirally arranged with smooth margins....

02 / 09 / 2013 | T.T. Masupa | Pretoria NBG

Portulacaria pygmaea

Common names: pygmy porkbush, dwarf porkbush (Eng.); dwergspekboom (Afr.)

Family: Didiereaceae

The pygmy porkbush is a shrublet with a tuberous, succulent base (caudex), small, grey-green, succulent leaves and small, light purplish, inconspicuous...

14 / 08 / 2023 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG

Portulacaria namaquensis

Common names: Namaqua porkbush (Eng.), wolftoon, Namakwariem, Namakwaspekboom (Afr.)

Family: Didiereaceae

Portulacaria namaquensis is an ascending, slow-growing shrub with pale creamy to yellowish or greyish, pencil-thin stems bearing many very short spur-branches...

23 / 10 / 2023 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG

Portulacaria longipedunculata

Common names: Kaoko porkbush (Eng.), langblaarwolftoon (Afr.)

Family: Didiereaceae

Portulacaria longipedunculata is an ascending, slow-growing shrub with reddish to pale brown peeling bark and scar-like nodes from which small, linear...

22 / 04 / 2024 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG

Portulacaria fruticulosa

Common names: rose porkbush (Eng.), suikerkanna, roos-wolftoon (Afr.)

Family: Didiereaceae

Portulacaria fruticulosa is an ascending, much-branched shrub about 700 mm tall, with slender reddish-brown branches less than 1 mm in diameter at the...

27 / 11 / 2023 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG

Portulacaria carrissoana

Common names: Angolan porkbush (Eng.), Angola-wolftoon (Afr.)

Family: Didiereaceae

Portulacaria carrissoana is an ascending shrub with rounded greyish-green succulent leaves, very small cream-coloured flowers on short racemes in late...

08 / 04 / 2024 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG

Portulacaria armiana

Common names: Whipstick-porkbush, large-leafed spekboom (Eng.); grootblaar-spekboom, sweepstok spekboom (Afr.)

Family: Portulacaceae

Portulacaria armiana is a large succulent-leafed shrub bearing grey-green leaves and long perennial whipstick-like branches with sprays of soft white flowers....

28 / 01 / 2013 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG

Portulacaria afra

Common names: Porkbush, Elephant's Food (English); Spekboom. Olifantskos (Afrikaans); iNtelezi, isiDondwane, isAmbilane, iNdibili, isiCococo (isiZulu); iGqwanitsha

Family: Portulacaceae

Portulacaria afra or Porkbush is a popular succulent garden plant in use around the world and is often used for bonsai. It has now been shown to be effective...

14 / 01 / 2002 | Andrew Hankey | Walter Sisulu NBG

Polyxena corymbosa

This plant is now known as Lachenalia corymbosa...

01 / 03 / 2003 | | Walter Sisulu NBG

Polytrichum commune

Common names: common hair cap moss

Family: Polytrichaceae

Polytrichum commune is one of the largest mosses in southern Africa and can grow up to 25 cm high. Its stiff, narrow leaves are spirally arranged at right...

15 / 08 / 2011 | Nonkululo Phephu | National Herbarium Pretoria