Plants of the Week

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Euryops virgineus

Euryops virgineus
Common names: honey euryops, river resin bush (Eng.); rivierharpuisbos, heuningmagriet (Afr.)
Family: Asteraceae

Many collectors of South African plants have raved about this attractive plant, and J.D. Keet, who collected a specimen as early as 1918 in the Knysna...

05 / 01 / 2004 | Paul Herman | National Herbarium Pretoria
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Euryops wageneri

Euryops wageneri flowers
Common names: Wagener's resin bush (Eng.); Wagener se harpuisbos (Afr.)
Family: Asteraceae

Anyone who has seen this species will agree that this is probably one of the most magnificent of all the Euryops species. It has the same visual impact...

03 / 01 / 2005 | Marinda Koekemoer | National Herbarium Pretoria
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Elegia tectorum

Elegia tectorum
Common names: Cape thatching reed, deckreed (Eng.), dakriet, dekriet (Afr.)
Family: Restionaceae

This restio makes a most attractive garden plant, and can be used for thatching....

13 / 08 / 2001 | Hanneke Jamieson | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Encephalartos eugene-maraisii

Encephalartos eugene-maraisii
Common names: Waterberg cycad (Eng.); bergpalm, waterberg-broodboom (Afr.); mofaka (Sepedi)
Family: Zamiaceae

This is a medium-sized to large, bluish-green cycad, which is suited to cool subtropical and temperate regions....

28 / 07 / 2014 | K w Sepheka | Pretoria NBG
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Erica 'Gengold'

Erica 'Gengold' (Peter Swart)
Common names: Gengold Heath
Family: Ericaceae

It is not often that one unearths a gem that has developed by chance. The hybridisation of two species of Erica in the Harold Porter National Botanical...

30 / 08 / 2000 | Anthony Hitchcock | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Eucomis humilis

Plant in flower (Nicki Brighton)
Common names: dwarf pineapple flower (Eng.); beskeie berglelie (Afr.)
Family: Hyacinthaceae

This irresistible, remarkable Eucomis humilis is one of the miniature Eucomis species. A summer-growing bulb with wavy margined leaves and an inflorescence...

07 / 07 / 2014 | Sibahle Gumede | KwaZulu-Natal NBG
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Erica annectens

Bush in flower
Common names: cliff-hanger heath
Family: Ericaceae

This late summer flowering erica  is only found on the Cape Peninsula....

29 / 12 / 2014 | Julia September | Millennium Seed Bank Partnership
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Encephalartos cupidus

Plant growing in garden
Common names: Blyde River cycad
Family: Zamiaceae

Encephalartos cupidus is a very attractive, desirable, frost-hardy, dwarf, multi-stemmed cycad with its usually subterranean stem and blue green leaves,...

05 / 01 / 2015 | K w Sepheka | National Herbarium Pretoria
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Erica diaphana

Flowers of Erica diaphana
Common names: diaphanous heath
Family: Ericaceae

Erica diaphana is a strong-growing heath from the southern Cape that brings summer colour to the fynbos garden....

26 / 01 / 2015 | Alice Notten | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Erica sparsa var. sparsa

Erica sparsa in flower
Common names: pink-smoke heath, ker-ker
Family: Ericaceae

Erica sparsa is a free-flowering, relatively easy-to-grow, fynbos shrub that produces masses of small flowers in late summer, autumn and winter, that turn...

09 / 02 / 2015 | Alice Notten | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Erica sociorum

Bush of Erica sociorum in flower
Common names: Noordhoek cliff heath, partner heath, companion heath
Family: Ericaceae

Erica sociorum is the most localized of all Cape Peninsula endemic ericas, and only found growing in a very limited area on cliffs above Noordhoek....

23 / 02 / 2015 | Anthony Hitchcock | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Eriosema kraussianum

Eriosema kraussianum
Common names: pale yellow eriosema (Eng.)
Family: Fabaceae

Eriosema kraussianum is an erect, fairly small, tufted, perennial herb, with its stems covered in silvery silky hairs and with pale yellow flowers. It...

13 / 04 / 2015 | Stemmer Ngalo | Free State NBG
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Erica cameronii

Erica cameronii. Photo Ross Turner
Common names: Hex River heath, Cameron heath, crimson heath (Eng.); heksrivierheide (Afr.)
Family: Ericaceae

Erica cameronii is a strikingly beautiful, rock-dwelling species, limited to high altitudes in the Hex River Mountains. One particular shrub known amongst...

22 / 06 / 2015 | Anthony Hitchcock | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Eucomis bicolor

Eucomis bicolor inflorescence
Common names: forest pineapple flower, variegated pineapple flower (Eng.); bontpynappelblom, bospynappellelie (Afr.); imbola, umbola (isiZulu); khampumpu-ya-thaba (
Family: Hyacinthaceae

...

07 / 07 / 2015 | Dineo Dibakwane | Millennium Seed Bank Partnership
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Eriocephalus racemosus

Eriocephalus racemosus
Common names: coast wild rosemary (Eng.); strandveldkapok, kapkappie, strandkapokbos, kapokkie (Afr.)
Family: Asteraceae

Eriocephalus racemosus is not only an ideal low screening plant but will also attract insects, and in turn the insects will encourage the birds to visit...

10 / 08 / 2015 | Benjamin Festus | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Euphorbia grandidens

Euphorbia grandidens. Photo Geoff Nichols
Common names: valleybush euphorbia, large-toothed euphorbia (Eng.); valleibosnaboom, groottandnaboom (Afr.); umhlontlo (isiXhosa); umhlonhlo wehlathi (isiZulu)
Family: Euphorbiaceae

Euphorbia grandidens is many branched shrub or tree, up to 16 m tall or more, with one to several, main succulent trunks....

31 / 08 / 2015 | Sifiso Mnxati | KwaZulu-Natal Herbarium
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Erica baueri subsp. gouriquae

Erica baueri subsp. gouriquae
Common names: Gouriqua heath, bridal heath
Family: Ericaceae

Erica baueri subsp. baueri is one of the best known ericas and popular as a South African fynbos garden plant. A second subspecies, subsp. gouriquae, was...

07 / 09 / 2015 | Anthony Hitchcock | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Eulophia ensata

This plant is now listed as Orthochilus ensatus....

14 / 04 / 2014 | | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Eumorphia prostrata

Eumorphia prostrata
Common names: silver cloud
Family: Asteraceae

...

09 / 11 / 2015 | Benjamin Festus | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Erica peziza

Erica peziza (Andrewm iSpot)
Common names: woollysnow heath, velvet bell heath, white heath (Eng.); kapokkie (Afr.)
Family: Ericaceae

A beautiful fynbos shrub that turns snowy white when it flowers in spring....

28 / 12 / 2015 | Nomama Mei | Kirstenbosch NBG
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