We have highlighted some beautiful and interesting plants on these pages, but Asparagus rubicundus features on account of its status as one of my least favourite plants at Phillipskop. (At least it is native; the invasive alien plants easily beat it in the bad plant category.) It most commonly grows…
Autumn sees the appearance of small white candles of Bulbinella trinervis scattered through the fynbos. Their slender columns of starry white flowers top a leafless flowering stem that looks just like the surrounding restios. The open flowers belie the genus’s close relationship to their bold bright cousin, the red-hot pokers,…
The common name vygie is used for members of the Aizoaceae with showy daisy-like flowers. The name, prounounced “fay-gh-ee”, comes from the Afrikaans for “little fig”. The seedpods do look rather fig-like, especially those belonging to the genus Carpobrotus, which are fleshy and have numerous small seeds inside. Most vygies…
The beauty of the Cape heaths is one of the most notable attractions of the fynbos. Several species have large tubular flowers; many others produce numerous flowers that cover the plant. But not all Cape heaths produce such an eye-catching display. Brightly coloured flowers are usually adapted for animal pollinators,…
Gladiolus is not the first flower that one thinks of when asked to name a flower with good scent. It is true that the large florists’ gladioli have no scent to speak of, but many of the smaller flowered species have very attractive scent. At this time of the year,…
