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…
Monopsis is a genus closely related to Lobelia. It is a small genus of about 13 species confined to sub-Saharan Africa of which 8 are found in the Cape. All the species form small herbaceous plants with colourful flowers. There are two species in the Klein River Mountains, Monopsis lutea…
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…
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…
It is difficult to capture on camera the essence of some plants. The flowers can be separated from the leaves, which might be hidden by surrounding foliage or the flowers may be so diffuse on a plant that one can only focus on a single flower at a time. One…
