Whatever time of the year you visit Phillipskop there is a wide variety of beautiful flowers to see. However, because of the diversity, it can sometimes become bewildering even to know where to start. We have therefore created a series of Plant Spotter Guides for Phillipskop to help guests and…
Despite their name the majority of everlasting flowers are finished by mid-summer. They remain on the bush but their glory has faded. The autumn-flowering Syncarpha canescens, Pienksewejaartjie, however starts flowering in April and continues on into July. It is not as bold and noticeable in the fynbos as its cousins,…
As names go, Dogface is not a flattering one. Yet this rather derogatory name is given to an endearing shrub, Trichocephalus stipularis, which should be welcome in any garden. The unfortunate common name, Hondegesiggie in Afrikaans, is a reference to the fruiting heads. These apparently, though I don’t see it…
One of the most noticeable species on the reserve in autumn is Stoebe capitata. It is common plant of the disturbed fynbos at the side of the entrance road. It lines each side of the track with low bushes covered in a mass of pink pompom flowers. They start flowering…
Bright yellow Autumn Stars, Empodium plicatum, are common around the self-catering chalets and elsewhere on the reserve. They appear down at ground level, usually before the leaves emerge, at the end of April. The six petals are finely pointed, radiating from the centre like the arms of a star. In…
The toothbrush fern, Schizaea pectinata, is one of the most unusual ferns in South Africa if not the world. Indeed, it looks more like an odd sedge or strange grass than a fern. Most people recognise a fern by the many-divided segments that spread into a broad frond. But in…
