Erica banksii is one of the iconic ericas of the mountains of the south-western Overberg, including the Klein River Mountains. It is an unmistakable species. The flowers occur in bunches of 3 at the end of short branches. The corolla is a straight white tube. The white filaments of the…
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…
Pink and yellow may not be people’s first choice when it comes to home décor or fashion, but when it occurs naturally the combination is exquisite. Here at Phillipskop, we have two species of Oxalis that flower at the same time and in more or less the same habitat: the…
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,…
