August hikes to Simon's Town, St James Mule Track and Slangkop

  

by Diana Studer

- gardening for biodiversity

 in Cape Town, South Africa

 

Hiking among wildflowers

in the mountains

around Cape Town

 

To Simon's Town in August for a flamboyant little pink protea which grows nowhere else in the world. Black bearded Protea lepidocarpodendron. Wind pollinated with tiny understated flowers Erica axillaris. Turning to pink Serruria hirsuta our target feeding bees. Silvery Indigofera mauritanica. Changeant pink and blue Lobostemon glaucophyllus with soft leaves.

 

Simon's Town proteas in August

Yellow daisy from the more interesting side Arctotis acaulis. Gnidia laxa butter yellow with burgundy accents. A nother vygie Lampranthus aduncus. Almost yellow Romulea flava. Muraltia heisteria everyone notices, dense spikes of small purple and white flowers, and leaves have teeth with an attitude you don't forget.

 

Simon's Town with Muraltia in August

Along the path spikes of pink and white flowers with dark ferny leaves Cyphia bulbosa. Emerging from chunky leaves Satyrium odorum. Flowers of Euphorbia (erythrina now renamed as) genistoides are elaborately detailed up close. White berries and soft leaves Asparagus declinatus. St James Mule Track to catch Xiphotheca fruticosa but the plants were either too far below the path, or too high up the slope for me and my camera.

 

St James in August with Cyphia 

Hemimeris racemosa with delicately dotted detailing. Oxalis lanata distinguishes itself with an elbow on the flowerstalk - always more to learn. Deepest blue with flashes Babiana ambigua. Romulea rosea with stripes that begin on the bud and emerge again on the open flower.

 

St James August bulbs

Here we learnt to recognise, when the little white lawn daisies are a bit bigger with yellow petals Cotula pruinosa. Yet a nother yellow daisy, a full plant for Arctotis acaulis. Deep pink around Metalasia divergens fusca. Happy noise from the train tootling past below, a blue new one!

 

Daisies in August at St James

Slangkop pursuing waves of after fire flowers. Especially bulbs, annuals and orchids with little shrubs taking their opportunity too. Manulea in spidery pale yellow is cheiranthus. In chunkier red spiralling up the stem Manulea rubra. Only after fire, with red leaves, Hebenstretia fastigiosa. A sedge distinctive enough for me to name, comb club rush Ficinia secunda.  

 

Slangkop in August with Manulea

Yellow cups Vulnerable Geissorhiza humilis. Yellow trumpet opening Romulea. Striped bud will open to plain yellow Pauridia capensis. Mauves yellow and white (with friend) Gladiolus carinatus.

 

Bulbs at Slangkop in August

All the fresh emerging flowers support insects. Velvety mossy green monkey beetle. Striped asphodel leaf beetle. Spotted Ceroctis capensis. Upstaged by an operatic cherry spot caterpillar.

 

Insects at Slangkop in August

Daisy bracts and shimmer below, green ringed dark heart above Arctotis breviscapa. Glaucous Othonna undulosa. Soft yellow Aspalathus ... with silvery leaves.

 

August at Slangkop with daisies

Nemesia affinis usually in blue and white, but also in plain yellow. Bright pink Muraltia demissa. Catching the full force of the wind among the rocks on the crest Vulnerable Lachenalia luteola.

 

Nemesia in blue or yellow at Slangkop in August

Our hikes are listed on my page.

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Pictures by Diana Studer

of Elephant's Eye on False Bay

 

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