South Africa 6. North of Cape Town

Looking back on Cape Town and Table Mountain from the north, as we begin our journey up the west coast.

The countryside around Cape Town is similar to much of the south coast region: rich in flowering shrubs and geophytes - plants that emerge from bulbs, rhizomes and corms for the brief spring season.  It is a region of towns, farms, and nature reserves.  The people here are well aware of their incredible botanical heritage, and quite proud of it.  I don't know anywhere else where native plant societies dominate all others as they do here.  There are numerous wildflower shows during the flowering season, and many wildflower and nature reserves where the spectacular South African flora can be seen in its natural setting.

In a short trip to the area just north of Cape Town, the highlight was the Waylands Wild Flower Reserve, off Highway R315 north.  It was in spectacular full bloom in mid-September.  From there we made our way to the West Coast National Park, where we could view native coastal vegetation, as well as wildlife such as springbok, sacred ibis, ostriches, oryxes, wildebeest and eland.  As usual, I will let the pictures talk for themselves.  There are a lot this time, so brace yourselves!  As usual, I welcome corrections to any mistakes in identification.

Ornithogalum thyrsoides (Asparagaceae), blooms at the Waylands Wild Flower Reserve.

Hermannia sp. (Sterculiaceae) is a fynbos shrub
that is covered with creamy, bell-shaped flowers
in the spring.

A species of Geranium sports its
characteristic crane's bill fruits.

Sparaxis bulbifera (Iridaceae). Most members of this family
don't look like our familiar irises.

The bright blue and white flowers of this species of
  Heliophila are unusual in the Brassicaceae.

Ixia maculata (Iridaceae)

Geissorhiza radians, also in the Iridaceae, has a white ring
separating the blue and red regions of the flower.

Geissorhiza eurystigma lacks the white ring.

Gladiolus meliusculus is one of many African species of this
genus of garden favorites, and is also in the Iridaceae.

Albuca flaccida (Asparagaceae)

Coricium orbanchoides (Orchidaceae),
one of many ground orchids in South Africa.

Solanum linnaeanum (Solanaceae), a South African relative of the tomato
and potato .

Crassula dichotoma, a member of the widespread succulent
family, Crassulaceae.

Helichrysum revolutum (Asteraceae) 

Indigofera incana (Fabaceae)

Monopsis debilis (Campanulaceae)

Senecio elegans, in the Asteraceae, might be confused with Felicia.

A wildflower bed at Waylands, featuring Arctotis and Senecio.

Grielum grandiflorum (Neuradaceae) was once considered a member of the rose family,
but is now known to be more closely related to the hibiscus family.

Zaluzianskya villosa (Scrophulariaceae) with radially symmetrical flowers, doesn't look much like other members of the figwort family, which used to include the snapdragons. (See "Whatever became of the snapdragon family?"

A yellow form of Arctotis hirsuta with Zaluzianskya

There is a member of the genus Papaver (P. aculeatus) that is
native to South Africa, but this one here appears
 to be an escaped specimen of P. orientale,
 the horticulturally popular oriental poppy..

Waylands Wild Flower Reserve is one of nature's grandest flower gardens.

Zygophyllum flexuosum (Zygophyllaceae)

The coastal dunes of the West Coast National Park are covered with wildflowers
in the spring.

Didelta carnosa (Asteraceae) in the coastal dunes

Cyanella hyacinthoides (Tecophilaeaceae)

Drimia filifolia (Asparagaceae)

An lone oryx in a coastal grassland.

Dorotheanthus bellidiformis (Aizoaceae)

Romulea tabularis

Gazania pectinata (Asteraceae)

Conicosia puginiformis (Aizoaceae)

Romulea eximia (Iridaceae)

Moraea tripetala (Iridaceae) displays the
familiar 3-parted architecture of  garden
irises.

South Africa 5. Into the Karoo

Rainfall is sparse in the Karoo, but that means
fewer large shrubs and more space for spring
wildflowers.

At the end of our tour of the southern coast of South Africa, we turned inland, into the area known as the Karoo.  There is the lesser Karoo first, then further north the Great Karroo. The climate becomes increasingly arid as we move north.  Nevertheless this region is richly endowed with wildflowers that pop up within weeks of the winter rain.

Tourists can get close and personal with ostriches in
Oudtshoorn.

Ostrich chicks recently hatched in the
incubator.

This a region of wide open spaces is the beginning of the range of many iconic African animals, and our excursion made a stop at an Ostrich farm near Oudtshoorn.  Elsewhere we saw baboons foraging along the road.

The habitats here are diverse.  There are mountains and plains, and wet spots in seeps and streambeds, so room for a great variety of plants.

A species of the genus Babiana, probably either B. hypogea
or B. sambucina,  near Cango Caves.

Aptosimum procumbens is a creeping

 plant of the snapdragon family,

with spectacular blue-purple blossoms.

Aptosimum indivisum has a more compact growth form.

A species of Felicia in the sunflower family. The flowers of
many species in this genus are blue to violet, adding a
distinctive splash of color to the spring landscape.

In moist meadows, particularly in coastal
areas one can find many wild gladioli.
This appears to be Gladiolus liliaceus.

Aspalathus is a genus in the legume family, and the source

of rooibos tea.

A shrubby, succulent species of the huge African genus Euphorbia.  this appears 

to be E. burmannia or possibly E. mauritanica 

One of many species of Erica occurs in the foothills along
the south side of the Little Karoo.

Moraea polystachya, a member of the
Iris family, pokes up among shrubs.

Rhizogum obovatum is a spectacular flowering shrub 
in the Karoo.

Melianthus comosus grows along streams.

Oxalis obtusa pokes up from under a shrub.
Known as a weed in the U.S., and occasionally
mistaken for clover or the Irish shamrock, this
genus has many beautiful species native to
South Africa.

A bewildering array of yellow-flowered members
of the Asteraceae fill the open spaces of South
Africa in the spring.  This appears to be Gazania krebsiana.

A group of tiny red sundews have sprouted up in a moist spot.

A great variety of species belonging to the
succulent family Mesembryanthaceae add to the brilliance of
the spring flora.

Erica cubica has interesting, bicolored
flowers.

Aloe variegata is a compact triangular plant with
variegated leaves.

The dry karoo becomes a lush garden in the spring, with color here provided by
several species of Erica, and an accent in the back by a large sedge.

South Africa 4. The Incredible Pelargoniums

Pelargonium incrassatum provides brilliant
color in the northern Namaqualand region of 
South Africa.  Notice the characteristic 
stork's-bill fruits developing in this specimen.

 Pelargoniums are extremely popular garden and pot flowers around the world. They are planted in the cool season in Florida, and in the summer in the north.  They are often mistakenly called Geraniums, stemming from the fact that they were once in the same genus. You saw the difference in Part 3 of this series.  Geraniums, mostly dark blue or purple in South Africa, are radially symmetrical (petals all the same size and shape), while Pelargoniums are mostly bilaterally symmetrical, with an upper group of petals different from a lower group.

In any case, the genus Pelargonium has exploded in southern Africa, with over 200 species.  Only a few species occur elsewhere,including some in Australia and southwestern Asia. Most of the cultivated Pelargoniums are derived from just a few wild ancestors, and the other species are rarely seen in Amerian or European gardens.  So a trip to Sourh Africa in the springtime can be a real eye-opener.

Pelargonium peltatum is the source of cultivated "Ivy geraniums," which are neither ivy nor
geraniums.  This  vining species is commonly found growing among shrubs in coastal areas.

The diversity of flower form and color in Pelargonium reflects a spectacular array of pollination mechanisms, including much convergence (Struck & van der Walt, 1996).  This makes the classification and identification of species difficult.  The species also show a wide range of habitat preferences and include shrubs, vines, geophytes (bulb-like perennials), and spiny xerophytes (adapted to arid climates), with every imaginable form of leaf.  I have taken a stab at identifying the many species I saw in South Africa, but have only been partially successful. So I appeal to any South African readers to provide any assistance they can.

Several species have already been pictured in my previous posts, including the bright red Pelargonium fulgidum, and the common P. cordifolium. Here are a number of additional species, some identified and some not.

Pelargonium echinatum i a succulent species, with  bright magenta flowers with distinctive darker blotches on the petals, though apparently a white form is more common. The flowers of this species are nearly radially symmetrical, but like most members of the genus the upper two are larger, and the blotches of a different shape.

This appears to be a form of Pelargonium triste,  a geophyte with
a basal cluster of compound leaves
and a long stalk bearing an umbel of flowers.

Pelargonium crithmifolium has deeply divided
leaves

Pelargonium zonale, with familiar roundih, scalloped
leaves, is an ancestor of  the most common cultivars
(along with P. inquinans, P. scandens, and P. frutetorum).

An unidentified shrubby Pelargonium in the dry north
has managed to squeeze out a pair of flowers.

Pelargonium capitatum is a fragrant species,
and one of the commercial sources of
pelargonium or geranium oil.

An unidentified species from the west coast has odd leaves consisting of a
small, spade-shaped blade at the end of a very long petiole.

An unidentified species with small, reddish leaves,
 from the dry north along the west coast.

Pelargonium spinosum is a resident of the inland desert region of South Africa.
It drops its small leaves during the dry season and behaves like a cactus.

References: 

Key, Hazel, 2000. 1001 Pelargoniums. B. T. Batsford. London.

Webb, William J. 1984. The Pelargonium family: the species of Pelargonium, Monsonia, and Sarcoculon. Croom Helm, Dover, NH.

Struck & van der Walt, 1996, in van der Maesen, L. J. G. et al., The biodiversity of African Plants. pp. 631-638. Kluwer Academic Publishers. Springer Netherlands.