Satyrium carneum is one of the largest plants in this genus of orchids. It can grow up to an impressive 80cm high and is easily distinguished by its large pink flowers that form a dense many-flowered spike. Each deeply hooded flower has two long back spurs and is subtended by bracts that are sharply flexed down. Both features being typical of the taxonomic group.

This is a fairly widespread coastal species over the southwestern and southern Cape and can occur in dense stands of several hundred plants, especially after a fire. It is however not dependent on fire to flower, as so many of the Cape orchids are, and happily competes to emerge in mature scrubland.

The species was introduced into England’s gardens as far back as 1787.

Two outstanding Felicia of the daisy family (Asteraceae) are exclusive to the local limestone habitats: Felicia nordenstamii and Felicia canaliculata. Both are robust perennial shrublets with rather firm, narrow, hairy, upright and densely overlapping leaves. In Felicia canaliculata the hairs are on the leaf edges while in Felicia nordenstamii they are on the lower surface.

The mauve ray florets and yellow disc florets of the large radiate flowerheads occur singularly on the ends of extended flowerstalks – more so in Felicia canaliculata.

Felicia canaliculata has a likeness to the more widespread Felicia filifolia from which it differs in the felty hairs on the stem and larger flowers.

Felcia nordenstamii is closest to Felicia echinata. The latter however has distinctly recurved (downward turning) leaf ends and occurs naturally from Mossel Bay eastwards up the coast. This species is also a very popular garden plant and has been planted all over the southern and western cape where it has escaped into the natural vegetation in habitats it would not naturally occur in.

Undertaking the identification of a species of southwestern cape Jordaaniella is to step into a maze of rather confusing plant characteristics that play out between the present taxonomic literature, plants in their natural habitat and their recorded distributions.

The most recent literature recognizes three Core Cape Flora only species. These plants were reinstated from three species in the closely related genus Cephalophyllum into Jordaaniella after a period of classification as a single species in the latter genus.

The plants recorded here on the well vegetated coastal dunes are most likely Jordaaniella dubia based on their habitat preference. Jordaaniella anemoniflora, also of coastal dunes, is restricted to the Cape Flats area further west from here and the other species, Jordaaniella maritima, is reportedly eastward on the limestones to Stillbaai. The three species may also differ in their flower colour – white, yellow, orange through to margenta.

Jordaaniella dubia is a ground sprawling perennial succulent with orange-red stems between nodes or points of leaf clusters. The slender fleshy leaves are smooth and spindle to club-shaped. The large attractive yellow flowers appear singly on short side branches and open around midday. As with most of the Aizoaceae (Ice plants or vygies) the seed capsules are central to identification. In the Jordaaniella there are many small compartments (locules) with smaller flaps (closing bodies) than Cephalophyllum.

Argyrolobium is a genus in the legume family, Fabaceae. The generic name is a reference to the silvery look of the seed pods that is brought about by the fine covering of hairs.

The flowers of Argyrolobium harmsianum are typically pea-like, yellow and occur singly on stalks that arise opposite to the leaves. The wing petals of the flower are distinctly longer than the keel petals and is one of the features that help distinguish the genus from the similar Polhillia. The green calyx cupping the petals has a lower lip shallowly divided into three.  The leaves comprise 3 leaflets that are only hairy on the underside. The seed pods are diagnostically flat.

Argyrolobium harmsianum is a limestone special and is listed as one of the Cape Flora’s threatened species. Threats come mainly from the expansion of farm lands and the aggressive invasion of the areas by the Australian legume, Acacia.

The succulent, Orbea variegata, is most often seen in pots where it is grown as a popular garden ornamental. As such, encountering the plant in its natural habitat is always a special treat. Here, contained by the occurring environmental conditions, the species has a low mat-forming growth structure, with the late summer flowers occurring on short stems around the periphery. The large creamy coloured flowers, speckled with deep maroon, are star-shaped and have a distinct raised bowl-shaped centre. The fetid smell of the flowers attracts carrion flies that are the species pollinator. 

Although there are a number of Orbea species in Southern Africa, this is the only one that occurs in the fynbos of the Cape Flora.

Euchaetis is a small genus in the citrus – or colloquially the buchu family – of flowering plants, Rutaceae, and is confined to the south and south western Cape Flora. The name Euchaetis means “beautifully tufted with hair” and refers to the transverse band of hairs across each of the five petals. These hairy beards form a cage at the throat of the flower and conceal the inner parts. The species in this genus are noticeably well represented on the coastal and limestone hills.

Euchaetis longibracteata is a stand-out species that is immediately recognised by the pale cream spreading upper leaves that form an involucre below the tight cluster of small pink to white flowers. This unique and attractive feature gives the flowerhead a deceptively daisy-like appearance.

The summer months of November and December saw the flowering of the Irid, Watsonia fergusoniae and the Amaryllis, Cyrtanthus fergusoniae – two eye-catching scarlet geophytes of the coastal limestones.

Watsonia fergusoniae is a relatively medium size watsonia up to 80cm in height. Flowering plants appeared scattered over the rocky ridges of the younger post fire veld. The unbranched stem has numerous trumpet-shaped scarlet flowers that are 2-ranked along the spirally twisted end spike. Two or more flat sword-shaped leaves reach up to below the lower flowers.

The Cyrtanthus fergusoniae flowered in much older veld with the umbel of spreading scarlet flowers arising from the top tip of the stem in the characteristically amaryllis fashion. The tubular flowers have relatively long tepals, the upper of which project forward forming a hood over the stamens. The two side tepal spread laterally with the lower one decurved. The two thin strap-shaped leaves may be green or dry at flowering.

Moving off the coastal limestones and onto the clay soils found further inland, Gladiolus floribundus is a strikingly similar species to Gladiolus miniatus described in the previous blog post.

The flowers of this gladiolus are more consistently white to cream in colour and present an even further impressively long flower tube – up to a giddy 8cms long. The nectar produced by Gladiolus floribundus is also recorded as being less copious and more concentrated; a combination that distinctly favours pollination by long-tongue flies over the sunbird. As with G. miniatus the multiple flowers appear off one side of Gladiolusa horizontally growing stem that emerges from a fan of robust sword-shaped leaves.

Gladiolus floribundis is a comparatively widespread species that is found as far north as the Cederberg mountains.