September Fynbos Rambles St James Mule Track, Rondebosch Common and Elsie's Peak

  

by Diana Studer

- gardening for biodiversity

 in Cape Town, South Africa

 

Hiking among wildflowers

in the mountains

around Cape Town

 

We began September on the Mule Track winding above St James. I enjoy seeing our same old same old thru fresh eyes as our hiking group grows slowly. Again seeking fire flowers, with the burnt slope dotted with tall and proud creamy Gerbera wrightii. Searsia lucida shows that waxy white line, if you remember to fold the leaf and check.

 

Gerbera wrightii on Mule Track above St James in September

The next tall white daisy is Dimorphotheca nudicaulis (with a bare of leaves flowerstalk). Not so unusual, nor as impressive. Morella kraussiana has weird oval fruit. Dark sheet-webber spider.

 

Dimorphotheca nudicaulis September above St James 

Moraea gawleri leaves with riffled margins caught our attention. Oblong capsule fruit of Nemesia macrocarpa. Cyphia latipetala (climber) - broad petals with a dark spotted eye. Cyphia bulbosa (but Campanulaceae, not actually a bulb) softly pink with fine leaves.

 

Moraea gawleri September above St James

Aspalathus carnosa because of bracts. Satyrium bicallosum - small and pale. Peachy Oxalis obtusa. Pelargonium triste is often with us. Stachys aethiopica a quietly understated beauty. Podalyria calyptrata blasting our faces with PERFUME, too much for me.

 

On the Mule Track above St James in September

 On to Rondebosch Common for spring flowers. Moraea aristata with peacock eye petals, in a nice population spreading steadily. Moraea gawleri in mostly soft pink, but also clear yellow. Moraea fugacissima gold sequins scattered along the damp paths. Rain daisies! Dimorphotheca pluvialis in drifts across the Common. Struthiola dodecandra grows tall with a happy mass of flowers.

 

Moraea on Rondebosch Common in September

White flowers. Tall Sparaxis bulbifera with papery bracts. And short Geissorhiza imbricata. Romulea hirsuta peach, burgundy and yellow! Lachenalia variegata was new to us, leaf base is spotted not zebra stripes. Baeometra uniflora has orange buds.

 

September bulbs on Rondebosch Common

Beetle with long legs. Black and yellow spotted beetle on deep blue Felicia heterophylla. Low in purple and white Babiana ambigua. Monkey beetles on a huge Pauridia capensis in a burnt patch. Tall in soft blue Babiana fragrans. Sadly a dead Cape dune mole rat (people walking off leash dogs!) Compensated by a tall long legged bird Western grey heron.

 

Babiana in September on Rondebosch Common

Finishing September on Elsie's Peak. Drimia exuviata. But first for the Serruria cyanoides we walk in the firebreak. Drosera cisticola. Small pink Muraltia demissa. Polygala bracteolata with white tassels. Diascia capensis.

 

Serruria on Elsie's Peak in September

Up to the top for Gladiolus debilis (debilis meaning delicate, but these were tall sturdy plants) burgundy calligraphy on white. Morella quercifolia (the 'oak' leaves). Where the path divided, we walked down to the right.

 

Gladiolus debilis in September on Elsie's Peak

Then across to explore the burnt area. Trachyandra hirsutiflora has hairy buds. Stately Aristea spiralis. Moraea fugax in the usual yellow. Wachendorfia paniculata. But also one blue Moraea fugax. Moraea ochroleuca plants in 3 variations from this deep orange to butter yellow.

 

September bulbs on Elsie's Peak

Ferraria crispa 2 plants on the rocky ridge. Oedera imbricata (with the 9 heads). A dark Satyrium lupulinum. Manulea cheiranthus orange spider flowers. Bee fly on Ursinia.

 

With a bee fly on Elsie's Peak in September

My hikes are listed on my Hiking page.

 

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