Fynbos hikes among flowers and snow

by Diana Studer

- gardening for biodiversity

in Cape Town, South Africa

Hiking among wildflowers

in the mountains

around Cape Town

August gave me five fynbos flower hikes. We walked from Kommetjie to Soetwater along the coast past Slangkop lighthouse. Unexpected Asparagus asparagoides. Dasispermum suffruticosum carrot family with leathery leaves. Men-in-a-boat Colchicum eucomoides.

Roepera flexuosa twinleaf spekbos. Othonna coronopifolia daisy with semi-succulent leaves. Osteospermum incanum daisy bush.

Rusty Salvia africana-lutea. Solanum linnaeanum fierce prickly leaves. Solanum africanum clusters of mauve flowers. Pink Pelargonium capitatum.

Groundcover milkweed Cynanchum africanum. White Dimorphotheca fruticosa sleeping. Olea exasperata coast olive. Pointed succulent leaves Cotyledon orbiculata.

Kommetjie to Soetwater August flowers

He hiked above Kalk Bay. We have driven past these queuing trucks ... building site is horrifying!

Kalk Bay building site

We walked in Silvermine down to the Sunbird Centre. Struthiola ciliata - daphne family - creamy yellows and all the pinks - crowned with gold.

Struthiola ciliata in August

White stars Thesium viridifolium sandalwood family. Stachys aethiopica purple spotted lip and leaves. Tiny pink Metalasia divergens.

Pink bud to white Polyarrhena reflexa, or russet glory to yet a Nother yellow daisy Ursinia tenuifolia. Pink and blue Lobelia pinifolia.

Moederkappie Disperis capensis. Adenandra villosa China flower. White with red veins Roepera sessilifolia. Four dents at the base of the flower Erica mammosa.

Oxalis in salmon obtusa and yellow luteola. Pink Romulea rosea. Yellow pea standard sharply folded back Wiborgia obcordata.

Silvermine to Sunbird Centre August flowers

Both our groups hiked Simonsberg to see Serruria (Swartkops spiderhead protea). Black and yellow beetle on yellow Moraea collina. Orange garnish on yellow Sebaea exacoides gentian family. Twirled Hermannia alnifolia. Yellow daisy Arctotis acaulis.

Yellow daisy Ursinia paleacea. White feathery Metalasia densa. Hebenstreitia repens white flower orange throat and furry beastlie. Pink Cyphia bulbosa lobelia family.

Mauve blushed white Felicia echinata (from the Eastern Cape). SUCH blue Roella ciliata. Pink and blue changeant Lobostemon fruticosus. Blue sage Salvia chamelaeagnea.

Absolutely tiniest red spider web flowers Cliffortia ruscifolia female. Crassula fascicularis pink and cream. Fierce pink everlasting Phaenocoma prolifera. After fire Protea nitida buds.

Simonsberg flowers in August

To see this Serruria hirsuta critically endangered, rare after fire, found only on the slope above Simon's Town.

Serruria hirsuta
only above Simon's Town
seen in August

We had invasive Himalayan mountain tahr on Table Mountain (thanks to the former Groote Schuur zoo they escaped from). Since they caused severe erosion they have been methodically eliminated. Allowing us to reintroduce the klipspringer, smaller and shyer. He saw the elusive klipspringer.

Klipspringer on Simonsberg

We walked from Olifantsbos to Menskop on a cold breezy day at Cape Point. Malachite jewel beetle on Agathosma ciliaris. Nasty weather daisy Arctotheca calendula. Yellow pea bushes Aspalathus carnosa. Yellow daisy with a mound of leathery leaves Othonna bulbosa.

Pelargonium myrrifolium. Mimetes hirtus (in peaty marshes on the road back). Cleretum bellidiforme Bok Bay vygie. Dark Babiana ambigua.

Dipogon lignosus edible pea (in our garden fending off snails). Flower and lichen in matching lime orange Manulea tomentosa. Purplish frill Muraltia spinosa tortoise berry.

Blue and white Nemesia affinis. Mahogany and cream Pharnaceum lineare. Cream globes Hermannia hyssopifolia. A Live Stream at Olifantsbos.

Olifantsbos to Menskop in Cape Point August flowers

Typical Cape winter the two dams at Redhill was a bright sunny day. Salt and pepper Erica imbricata. Pink hearted Diosma hirsuta. Sundew Drosera cistiflora. Pink bud to cream flower Hesperantha falcata.

Stripy daisy bud Dimorphotheca nudicaulis. Robust sedge bergpalmiet on cool slopes Tetraria thermalis. Pincushion protea Leucospermum conocarpodendron and bee. Golden orchid Satyrium coriifolium.

Peachy Moraea flaccida. Mimetes fimbriifolius only on the South Peninsula. Kleinplaas Dam almost full. Sweetpea bush Podalyria sericea silvery leaves.

Selago luxurians tiny but densely crowded. Polygala bracteolata with white tassel. Senecio arenarius purple daisies are everywhere. Shrubby Pelargonium cucullatum.

Redhill August flowers between two dams 

They hiked Perdekop above Franschhoek to reach the snow.

Snow at Perdekop above Franschhoek in August

We hike with U3A.
Our hikes are listed on my page.

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