On a still night at Phillipskop during spring, the air is filled with a beautiful but elusive scent. A cat’s tail would not be the first place one would go when hunting down such a scent, but in the fynbos that is one of the primary sources of night-time fragrance.…
A waterlily needs no introduction. It must be one of the first plants that children become familiar with. Whether through reading fairy tales about princesses and frogs or Beatrix Potter’s Jeremy Fisher, a lily pad is standard ingredient of ponds in children’s books. Furthermore, waterlilies are a feature of ponds,…
The small blue spikes of Micranthus plantagineus are unlike any other flower at Phillipskop. They appear from the end of November and continue to flower throughout December. The species name means that they are like a plantain, i.e. a member of the genus Plantago. Plants of that genus also have…
One of the most confusing generic names to any gardener is Geranium. Anyone familiar with temporary planting schemes will know the popular Bedding Geraniums. This is the rather misleading common name for hybrids of the genus Pelargonium (mainly derived from Pelargonium zonale). To distinguish them true Geranium are often called…
There is no doubt that among the greatest masters of disguise in the invertebrate world are stick-insects. In the normal course of events, one will not casually spot them just walking through the fynbos. However, I was fortunate to find this one crawling up my leg after such a walk.…
Most proteas are winter or spring flowering, so by mid-summer their spectacle is over. This does not mean to say that the fynbos is then devoid of their unusual shape and form. There are other members of the protea family, Proteaceae, to take their place. At Phillipskop, the most prominent…
