Cape Beauty

I have noticed this flower fairly often in the Cape. With its tight buds and sturdy stem, it seems quite different from what one might encounter in Durban. I’m new to the Cape. Does anyone know this plant? Is it indigenous?

Bonsai Tulip

A few weeks back I went to the nursery to get a small tree for an empty bonsai pot I had when I got distracted by the display of bulbs. I’ve never actually grown bulbs but decided to give the tulips a go, what with my niece being Dutch. So, I grabbed a bag and packed my ceramic bonsai pot with them, watered and left. I’m happy to say that the bulbs have survived and started to sprout. I can now see the excitement in bulbs as every morning I head outside to see if any more have sprouted or how much they have grown.

Being a plant and computer nerd, I have documented the whole process and will undoubtably post some pictures once they flower.

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Spekboom in South Africa

Here’s some info I found on Spekboom’s distribution in South Africa.

Addo Elephant National Park

Spekboom (Portulacaria Afra) grows in abundance in the drier parts of the Eastern Cape, especially on the high plateau Karoo hill slopes or flats (c. 400 to 1,060 meters above sea level) and is particularly prominent in the Addo bush to the south where there is significant summer heat. A vast section of Spekboom grows in the Addo Elephant National Park, situated in the Eastern Cape Province, near Port Elizabeth. The park was created to protect the once numerous Eastern Cape elephants. It consists of 12,126 hectares (30,315 acres) of bushveld, dominated mostly by Spekboom, which covers approximately 80% of the park’s area. Some 500 species of plants are to be found in the park. Elephants eat P. Afra from the top downwards allowing the plant to spread itself vegetatively by spreading [...]

Fynbos Wiki

The universities of Cape Town and Regensberg in Germany have joined forces to create a Fynbos Wiki to make information on fynbos and fynbos ecology readily available online.  See it here and contribute if you are an expert

http://fynbos.hallowiki.biz/index.php/Main_Page

Aloe for ID submitted Oct 2009

I submitted a photo of a flower of an aloe in Oct last year. I have managed to get hold of a stem of the plant that may assist in the positive ID of the Aloe. Have a look.

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