The first autumn rains bring the arrival of the Single-leaved Cape Stars, Pauridia monophylla, to the upper slopes of Phillipskop. These are members of the Hypoxidaceae family, one of the geophytic members of the fynbos flora with small corms. Most species flower in winter and spring, but the yellow star-shaped…
The genus Wachendorfia consists of four species found exclusively in the Greater Cape Floristic Region. All four of them also occur at Phillipskop. The genus is easily identified on account of the strongly pleated lanceolate leaves, and many-flowered inflorescences of apricot to yellow flowers. A more unusual feature of Wachendorfia…
The bright pink Ixia stricta, with its contrasting yellow anthers, appears towards the end of the season of spring bulbs in the Overberg. The stem is very thin and delicate, like most Ixia species, yet it holds itself quite upright. From this habit it gets its name, “stricta”. Stricta is…
February and March are the months for April Fools at Phillipskop. Or to be more helpful, they are the months when two different species, Haemanthus coccineus and Haemanthus sanguineus, come into flower. Both are commonly known as April Fools, though the name is not especially apt as they are frequently…
In the shimmering heat of summer, the spikes of Watsonia schlechteri appear as beacons amongst the fynbos. Often producing a single spike of up to 30 large trumpet-shaped lurid orange-scarlet flowers, the individual plants can be spotted from considerable distance across the mountain slopes. While this certainly attracts the attention…
Not all special plants are bold and beautiful. We found this Wurmbea glassii the other day. It is no more than a couple of centimetres high. The minute flowers are a greenish yellow and it took a second-look to realise that we were not looking at a small grass or…
