Plants of the Week

Browse through all previous entries of Plants Of The Week

  • Sort by date added
  • Sort Alphabetically
Go to Plants of the Week Advanced Search
E.g., 03/12/2024
E.g., 03/12/2024

Othonna perfoliata

Othonna perfoliata (John Manning)
Common names: trailing othonna (Eng.); bobbejaankoolklimop (Afr.)
Family: Asteraceae

An Othonna with striking yellow flowers, found lurking among tall vegetation, to brighten your garden in the cold winter days....

09 / 04 / 2018 | Luvo Magoswana | Compton Herbarium
Read More

Othonna quinquedentata

Othonna quinquedentata
Common names: Five-tooth baboon cabbage, heavenly daisy (Eng.); bobbejaankool (Afr.)
Family: Asteraceae

The five-tooth baboon cabbage, with its thick, light green, slightly fleshy leaves, looks inconspicuous at most times of the year but a few months after...

30 / 08 / 2021 | Karen Wall | Harold Porter NBG
Read More

Othonna retrofracta

Seedheads
Common names: none known
Family: Asteraceae

Othonna retrofracta, with its bonsai-like appearance, is suitable for water-wise gardens in arid areas....

03 / 03 / 2014 | Shireen Harris | Karoo Desert NBG
Read More

Othonna triplinervia

Othonna triplinervia
Common names: three-veined othonna
Family: Asteraceae

A succulent shrub that flourishes in heavy, winter rainfall areas. Its rounded growth form and velvety foliage, makes this plant a desirable specimen for...

26 / 12 / 2016 | Jermaine Christoffels | Kirstenbosch NBG
Read More

Ottosonderia monticola

Ottosonderia monticola fruits
Common names: crossvygie (Eng.), kruisvygie, granietvygie, bergvingertjies (Afr.)
Family: Aizoaceae

Ottosonderia monticola is a dwarf, tufted mesemb, with ascending flowering branches above the leaf canopy. The flowering branch remains active for more...

26 / 10 / 2015 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
Read More

Oxalis

Oxalis zeekoevleyensis
Common names: sorrel (Eng.); suring (Afr.)
Family: Oxalidaceae

Members of the genus Oxalis — with their brightly coloured delicate flowers, clover-like leaves and corolla lobes twisted in the bud — are...

30 / 08 / 2004 | Elizabeth Retief | National Herbarium Pretoria
Read More

Oxalis hirta

Oxalis hirta
Common names: hairy oxalis (Eng.); suring (Afr.)
Family: Oxalidaceae

A vigorous, easy-to-grow, ornamental Oxalis with branched stems and attractive magenta-pink flowers in winter and spring....

13 / 01 / 2020 | Azwinndini Mudau | Free State NBG
Read More

Oxalis purpurea

Pink Oxalis purpurea
Common names: grand duchess sorrel (Eng.); suuring (Afr.)
Family: Oxalidaceae

A common but undervalued South African native plant, Oxalis purpurea can make a most magnificent garden plant that flowers for half the year....

21 / 12 / 2009 | Adam Harrower | Kirstenbosch NBG
Read More

Oxyanthus pyriformis subsp. pyriformis

Oxyanthus pyriformis flowers and foliage (Geoff Nichols)
Common names: hatpins loquat, Natal loquat (Eng.); hoedespeldlukwart, Natallukwart (Afr.); isibinda esingakhali-amasi (isiZulu); umgungununu (siSwati)
Family: Rubiaceae

Medley Wood described this loquat-like shrub as ‘an exceedingly handsome shrub of good habit, growing generally under large trees in those parts...

11 / 01 / 2016 | Alec Naidoo | Pretoria NBG
Read More

Oxytenanthera abyssinica

Oxytenanthera abyssinica growing in the DRC. Photo Duncan McKenzie
Common names: holy Venda bamboo, wild bamboo (Eng.); heilige Venda-bamboes, wilde-bamboes (Afr.); musununu (Ven.)
Family: Poaceae

A large, woody plant that belongs in the grass family, Poaceae, and is endemic to Africa, known as the holy Venda bamboo, wild bamboo or musununu in South...

16 / 01 / 2023 | Lesibana Petrus Maema | Thohoyandou NBG
Read More

Ozoroa barbertonensis

Ozoroa barbertonensis in flower and with fruit
Common names: Barberton ozoroa
Family: Anacardiaceae

Ozoroa barbertonensis is different from the rest of the southern African species of Ozoroa, with its beautiful, much longer, narrow leaves with shiny upper...

04 / 09 / 2023 | Sefularo Ramaboea | National Zoological Gardens
Read More

Ozoroa obovata var. elliptica

Ozoroa obovata tree
Common names: broad-leaved resin tree (Eng.); breë blaarharpuisboom (Afr.)
Family: Anacardiaceae

The broad-leaved resin tree is a semi-deciduous to evergreen shrub or tree that is suitable for small gardens....

05 / 09 / 2011 | J K Baloyi | Pretoria NBG
Read More

Ozoroa paniculosa

Ozoroa paniculosa tree
Common names: common resin tree, bushveld ozoroa (Eng.): gewone harpuisboom (Afr.); isifice (Zulu); monoko (N. Sotho/Sepedi); mudumbula (Venda)
Family: Anacardiaceae

An attractive, small to medium-sized tree. Its leaves are bluish grey above and silvery below with strikingly straight, parallel side veins....

12 / 04 / 2010 | Terence Mabela | Walter Sisulu NBG
Read More

Ozoroa sphaerocarpa

Tree growing in habitat
Common names: currant resin tree (Eng.); korenteharpuisboom (Afr.); imfuce lemnyamma (IsiSwati); monoko (Sepedi)
Family: Anacardiaceae

This relatively small tree has small whitish flowers, with the sexes occurring on separate plants.  It is highly valued by rural communities because...

08 / 12 / 2014 | Mahlatse Mogale | TSP
Read More

Pachycarpus acidostelma

Pachycarpus acidostelma
Common names: Highflats pachycarpus
Family: Apocynaceae

Recognized by its creamy to pale yellow, saucer-shaped flowers, the elusive Pachycarpus acidostelma remains one of South Africa’s hidden gems.Fig....

27 / 12 / 2021 | Kaveesha Naicker | CREW
Read More

Pachycarpus campanulatus

Pachycarpus campanulatus var. campanulatus showing the inflorescence with pendent flowers.
Common names: cluster bells, toad plant, fairy bell pachycarpus, thick-fruit (Eng.); trosklokkies (Afr.); ishongwe (isiZulu).
Family: Apocynaceae

Pachycarpus campanulatus is a showy plant with large, hanging, bell-shaped flowers of up to 5 per umbel and exuding milky latex, like most plants in the...

13 / 08 / 2018 | Stoffel Petrus Pieter Bester | National Herbarium Pretoria
Read More

Pachycarpus natalensis

Pachycarpus natalensis
Common names: Natal thick-fruit, Natal pachycarpus (Eng.); ishongwe elibomvu elikhulu (isiZulu)
Family: Apocynaceae

Pachycarpus natalensis is one of many amazingly beautiful indigenous plants, which is almost never cultivated. This is due to the short span of its flowering,...

04 / 12 / 2017 | Stoffel Petrus Pieter Bester | National Herbarium Pretoria
Read More

Pachycarpus schinzianus

Flowers of P.schinzianus
Common names: cream cups (Eng.); bitterwortel (Afr.)
Family: Apocynaceae

In spring and summer Pachycarpus schinzianus and Xysmalobium undulatum are the two largest and most readily distinguished asclepiads in the grasslands...

21 / 01 / 2008 | Stoffel Petrus Pieter Bester | National Herbarium Pretoria
Read More

Pachypodium

Pachypodium species
Common names: P. baronii var. windsorii : none; P. * bispinosum : bobbejaankos, kragman, sterkman, kamoa (Afr.); P. densiflorum var. densiflorum, P. geayi, P. horom
Family: Apocynaceae

Pachypodiums are caudiciform succulents and many of the species produce spectacular flowers. They exhibit a wide range of bizarre growth forms, from bottle-,...

10 / 12 / 2007 | Stoffel Petrus Pieter Bester | National Herbarium Pretoria
Read More

Pachypodium bispinosum

Pachypodium bispinosum flowers. Photo Jenny Potgieter
Common names: bell-flower thick-foot (English), bobbejaankos, kafferkambroo, kragman, sterkman, dikvoet (Afrikaans)
Family: Apocynaceae

A spiny succulent plant that shows off with bell-shaped, purple to pink, sometimes white flowers in spring and early summer....

20 / 02 / 2023 | Sisipho Mqungguthu | Karoo Desert NBG
Read More