May hikes to Elsie's Peak and Silvermine

  

by Diana Studer

- gardening for biodiversity

 in Cape Town, South Africa

 

Hiking among wildflowers

in the mountains

around Cape Town

 

We began May on Elsie's Peak. Looking across to Clovelly. The slope covered with felled invasive aliens, waiting for a perfect day suited to stack burning. One day we hope to explore the returning wildflowers there. Puff of green smoke from a naval exercise above Simon's Town.

 

Green smoke and cleared invasive aliens

Weird leaves, when accompanied by fruit, revealed themselves as Tritoniopsis triticea. Fynbos pinwheel snail. This pied crow was determined to approach, has been hand-fed the birders say.

 

Elsie's Peak Tritoniopsis, snail, crow

The only Audouinia capitata we have seen this season. Erica similis with split anthers (you need good eyes, a hand lens, or my zoom on the screen for botanising!) Our friend Teedia lucida is embattled but still surviving (flowers and fruit). Orchid with lichen and Cape lip fern.

 

May plants on Elsie's Peak

Cyclopia galioides 'stick in eye' Eina! Ouch! Butter yellow and burgundy spots Roepera flexuosa. Fire dots lichen

 

Elsie's Peak with Cyclopia

Along Silvermine Crags. IN the cloud, The Tablecloth spread over us. Starring a gloomy Gladiolus maculatus and a glowing scarlet Gladiolus priorii.

 

Gladiolus at Silvermine

Mushroom with delicate gills, accidentally tipped over so we got both sides for an ID, and that touch of blue on the broken stem which seems like a Do NOT Eat warning. Braver mushroom foragers say - and after the pictures, I ate it! (But, you know, not THIS one) Erica glabella. Anaxeton arborescens usually has those pretty and distinctive strawberry buds, but we found this one having a blonde moment.

 

May flowers at Silvermine Crags

Next Maiden Peak in Silvermine. Always just that one Gomphocarpus cancellatus, but this year on the other side of the jeep track. Aristea africana has papery silvery bracts. Amphithalea ericifolia. Strawberry bracts on Metalasia densa.

 

Silvermine Maiden Peak May flowers

Gladiolus maculatus in the gloom as we walked up, but glowing in sunshine by midday.

 

Gladiolus maculatus

We took a different route down to Silvermine stream and across the valley. The water flows over the waterfall. Past the golf club. Down to the wetland - where they are clearing masses of reeds and years of silt accumulation. From where Silvermine River flows across Fish Hoek beach into False Bay. Source to the sea with one small dam used by swimmers.

 

Silvermine stream

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Pictures by Diana Studer

of Elephant's Eye on False Bay

 

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