Plants of the Week

Watsonia hysterantha

Common names: autumn watsonia (Eng.); herfskanolpypie, suikerkan, rooipypie (Afr.)

Family: Iridaceae

Watsonia hysterantha is one of numerous, bright, dwarf watsonias endemic to Western Cape. While several tall-growing watsonias are frequently used in roadside...

12 / 01 / 2004 | Graham Duncan | Kirstenbosch NBG

Watsonia humilis

Common names: waxy watsonia (Eng.); waspypie (Afr.)

Family: Iridaceae

Watsonia humilis is a beautiful late-spring flowering cormous plant endemic to the southwestern Cape. Although highly threatened in the wild, successful...

09 / 12 / 2013 | Graham Duncan | Kirstenbosch NBG

Watsonia canaliculata

Family: Iridaceae

Watsonia canaliculata is a lovely small, purplish-pink flowering Watsonia with unusual erect, grooved leaves. Rare and restricted to the...

09 / 01 / 2006 | S Khanyile | KwaZulu-Natal NBG

Watsonia borbonica

Common names: pink watsonia ( Eng. ); suurkanol, kanolpypie (Afr.)

Family: Iridaceae

This magnificent bulbous plant with tall spikes of rose-pink, trumpet-shaped flowers makes a picturesque display, flowering for up to 4 or 5 weeks - a...

03 / 10 / 2005 | S Nonkenge | Kirstenbosch NBG

Watsonia angusta

Common names: red watsonia (Eng.); grootrooipypie, rooipypie (Afr.)

Family: Iridaceae

This beautiful plant, with striking red flowers, grows from an underground corm. It has light green leaves shaped like a sword. The plant is useful...

29 / 06 / 2015 | Bathabile Ndlovu | KwaZulu-Natal NBG

Wardia hygrometrica

Common names: Ward's moss

Family: Wardiaceae

Wardia hygrometrica is an aquatic moss restricted to the mountains of the Western Cape. It belongs to the Wardiaceae, the only endemic moss family in...

04 / 08 / 2014 | Jacques van Rooy | National Herbarium Pretoria

Warburgia salutaris

Common names: pepper-bark tree (Eng.); peperbasboom (Afr.); isibhaha (Zulu); manaka (Venda); shibaha (Tsonga)

Family: Canellaceae

This tree is a priority species for conservation and cultivation in gardens, as it is over-harvested in the wild for medicinal use and is a very popular...

09 / 08 / 2004 | Giles Mbambezeli | Kirstenbosch NBG

Waltheria indica

Common names: meidebossie (Afrikaans); isikolanjiba (IsiNdebele); mokhutesela (Sepedi); lexutasela (Sesotho); seretwane (Setswana.); delelemukula (Tshivenda)

Family: Malvaceae

Waltheria indica with its soft little yellow flowers and zig-zag-edged leaves, can be pruned into an attractive, bushy and hardy pot plant....

12 / 11 / 2018 | Siyabonga Tibini | National Herbarium Pretoria

Wahlenbergia undulata

Common names: African bluebell, wavy-leaf bluebell, pale bluebell, African bellflower (Eng.); blouklokkie (Afr.); letoao, moepetsane, tenane (Sesotho); isibahane, u

Family: Campanulaceae

A special delight for the summer garden is Wahlenbergia undulata with its soft mauve bells dancing on long slender stems....

22 / 01 / 2001 | Liesl Van der Walt | National Herbarium Pretoria

Wahlenbergia cuspidata

Common names: None recorded

Family: Campanulaceae

Wahlenbergia cuspidata is a bushy, perennial herb with large, showy, cup-shaped flowers, from summer-rainfall regions of South Africa....

01 / 09 / 2014 | C Cupido | Compton Herbarium

Wahlenbergia capensis

Common names: Cape bluebell

Family: Campanulaceae

Wahlenbergia capensis, the Cape bluebell, is a member of the Campanulaceae (the bellflower family). Its showy flowers start appearing from early spring,...

01 / 10 / 2007 | C Cupido | Compton Herbarium