Tag: nature

West Coast National Park – Dream Root – 3

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Description:

Silene undulata is a sticky, glandular, perennial herb up to 60 cm tall. The opposite spatula-shaped basal leaves are up to 15 cm long and the smaller lance-shaped leaves on the stem up to 8 cm long. The flowers at the tip of the stems are glandular and sticky. The spreading petals are white or pinkish. Anthers are on slender paired filaments. The narrow ovary is oblong-ovoid, 1-locular, on a hairy stalk up to 7·5 mm long; the styles, 1,5 cm long, are slender and papillate along one side. The capsule, up to 1.8 cm long, opens by recurved valves at the tip. Seeds are almost black and kidney-shaped with flattened sides.

The white, narrowly tubular flowers, with their nectar difficult to reach, develop their fragrance late in the day. All these characteristics are typical of flowers pollinated by night-flying insects with a long proboscis, such as hawk moths.

Habitat:

Silene undulata is native to the Eastern Cape, it is also found on damp slopes and flats in Southern and tropical Africa.

Some Interesting Information:

Plants have been used worldwide for thousands of years by diviners and shaman to induce states of lucid dreaming in order to receive divinatory messages. Such sacred plants are classified as oneirogens, from the Greek oneiros meaning dream, and gen meaning to create.

For amaXhosa people dreams are considered to be a means of direct communication between the living and the ancestors, and dreams are closely integrated into traditional healing practices. Good dreams are considered to be those directly connected with the ancestors while bad dreams as being sent by someone who wishes to harm the dreamer.

A number of plants, collectively called izilawu and singly as ubulawu, are used in various ways to facilitate communication with the ancestors (iminyanya – referred to as shades in early literature), most often but not exclusively, during religious rituals. Ritual purity is essential for communication with the ancestors and can be achieved by washing yourself with ubulawu plants. The foam-producing roots are crushed or grated, added to a billycan of cold water, and whisked rapidly using a forked stick that, according to custom is carved from a wild olive branch, until a head of frothy white foam is produced. Close attention is paid to the way the ubulawu foams. A lack of foam is interpreted as either incorrect timing for the ritual or the disapproval of the ancestors. This foam, called isilawu , is used as a face- and body-wash or ingested.

The word ubulawu derives from the verb ukulawula meaning (in everyday use) to give instructions, but in this sense ukulawula means to ‘tell of your dreams in which you have received instructions from the ancestors’. The word is believed to have come from the Khoekhoen word laula , meaning to apologize. The white color of isilawu is said to indicate that the medicine is clean and pure.

A number of anthropological studies have been undertaken towards a better understanding of the use of Silene undulata in the Eastern Cape.

Silene undulata is the most commonly used ubulawu plant in the Eastern Cape. The roots are harvested from wild populations and sold at informal street markets and iikemisti ( muthi shops). The trade of this species and many others has raised concern over their sustainable use and conservation status.

Dream Root, Silene undulata, West Coast National Park, Langebaan, Western Cape, South Africa
  • Location: West Coast National Park, Langebaan, Western Cape, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-08-22
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/6.3
  • Exposure Time: 1/320 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-200
  • Focal Length: 190 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: PlantZAfrica.com

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my post.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. ☕ I am busy saving for a few upcoming Landscape Photography Trips to Namibia and a few local National Parks here in South Africa. The most important one is honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland and capture the beautiful landscapes and Puffins. Your help to make these trips a reality would be much appreciated in today’s economy.

Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕

West Coast National Park – Dream Root – 2

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Description:

Silene undulata is a sticky, glandular, perennial herb up to 60 cm tall. The opposite spatula-shaped basal leaves are up to 15 cm long and the smaller lance-shaped leaves on the stem up to 8 cm long. The flowers at the tip of the stems are glandular and sticky. The spreading petals are white or pinkish. Anthers are on slender paired filaments. The narrow ovary is oblong-ovoid, 1-locular, on a hairy stalk up to 7·5 mm long; the styles, 1,5 cm long, are slender and papillate along one side. The capsule, up to 1.8 cm long, opens by recurved valves at the tip. Seeds are almost black and kidney-shaped with flattened sides.

The white, narrowly tubular flowers, with their nectar difficult to reach, develop their fragrance late in the day. All these characteristics are typical of flowers pollinated by night-flying insects with a long proboscis, such as hawk moths.

Habitat:

Silene undulata is native to the Eastern Cape, it is also found on damp slopes and flats in Southern and tropical Africa.

Some Interesting Information:

Plants have been used worldwide for thousands of years by diviners and shaman to induce states of lucid dreaming in order to receive divinatory messages. Such sacred plants are classified as oneirogens, from the Greek oneiros meaning dream, and gen meaning to create.

For amaXhosa people dreams are considered to be a means of direct communication between the living and the ancestors, and dreams are closely integrated into traditional healing practices. Good dreams are considered to be those directly connected with the ancestors while bad dreams as being sent by someone who wishes to harm the dreamer.

A number of plants, collectively called izilawu and singly as ubulawu, are used in various ways to facilitate communication with the ancestors (iminyanya – referred to as shades in early literature), most often but not exclusively, during religious rituals. Ritual purity is essential for communication with the ancestors and can be achieved by washing yourself with ubulawu plants. The foam-producing roots are crushed or grated, added to a billycan of cold water, and whisked rapidly using a forked stick that, according to custom is carved from a wild olive branch, until a head of frothy white foam is produced. Close attention is paid to the way the ubulawu foams. A lack of foam is interpreted as either incorrect timing for the ritual or the disapproval of the ancestors. This foam, called isilawu , is used as a face- and body-wash or ingested.

The word ubulawu derives from the verb ukulawula meaning (in everyday use) to give instructions, but in this sense ukulawula means to ‘tell of your dreams in which you have received instructions from the ancestors’. The word is believed to have come from the Khoekhoen word laula , meaning to apologize. The white color of isilawu is said to indicate that the medicine is clean and pure.

A number of anthropological studies have been undertaken towards a better understanding of the use of Silene undulata in the Eastern Cape.

Silene undulata is the most commonly used ubulawu plant in the Eastern Cape. The roots are harvested from wild populations and sold at informal street markets and iikemisti ( muthi shops). The trade of this species and many others has raised concern over their sustainable use and conservation status.

Dream Root, Silene undulata, West Coast National Park, Langebaan, Western Cape, South Africa
  • Location: West Coast National Park, Langebaan, Western Cape, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-08-22
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/7.1
  • Exposure Time: 1/320 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-200
  • Focal Length: 190 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: PlantZAfrica.com

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my post.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. ☕ I am busy saving for a few upcoming Landscape Photography Trips to Namibia and a few local National Parks here in South Africa. The most important one is honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland and capture the beautiful landscapes and Puffins. Your help to make these trips a reality would be much appreciated in today’s economy.

Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕

West Coast National Park – Dream Root – 1

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Description:

Silene undulata is a sticky, glandular, perennial herb up to 60 cm tall. The opposite spatula-shaped basal leaves are up to 15 cm long and the smaller lance-shaped leaves on the stem up to 8 cm long. The flowers at the tip of the stems are glandular and sticky. The spreading petals are white or pinkish. Anthers are on slender paired filaments. The narrow ovary is oblong-ovoid, 1-locular, on a hairy stalk up to 7·5 mm long; the styles, 1,5 cm long, are slender and papillate along one side. The capsule, up to 1.8 cm long, opens by recurved valves at the tip. Seeds are almost black and kidney-shaped with flattened sides.

The white, narrowly tubular flowers, with their nectar difficult to reach, develop their fragrance late in the day. All these characteristics are typical of flowers pollinated by night-flying insects with a long proboscis, such as hawk moths.

Habitat:

Silene undulata is native to the Eastern Cape, it is also found on damp slopes and flats in Southern and tropical Africa.

Some Interesting Information:

Plants have been used worldwide for thousands of years by diviners and shaman to induce states of lucid dreaming in order to receive divinatory messages. Such sacred plants are classified as oneirogens, from the Greek oneiros meaning dream, and gen meaning to create.

For amaXhosa people dreams are considered to be a means of direct communication between the living and the ancestors, and dreams are closely integrated into traditional healing practices. Good dreams are considered to be those directly connected with the ancestors while bad dreams as being sent by someone who wishes to harm the dreamer.

A number of plants, collectively called izilawu and singly as ubulawu, are used in various ways to facilitate communication with the ancestors (iminyanya – referred to as shades in early literature), most often but not exclusively, during religious rituals. Ritual purity is essential for communication with the ancestors and can be achieved by washing yourself with ubulawu plants. The foam-producing roots are crushed or grated, added to a billycan of cold water, and whisked rapidly using a forked stick that, according to custom is carved from a wild olive branch, until a head of frothy white foam is produced. Close attention is paid to the way the ubulawu foams. A lack of foam is interpreted as either incorrect timing for the ritual or the disapproval of the ancestors. This foam, called isilawu , is used as a face- and body-wash or ingested.

The word ubulawu derives from the verb ukulawula meaning (in everyday use) to give instructions, but in this sense ukulawula means to ‘tell of your dreams in which you have received instructions from the ancestors’. The word is believed to have come from the Khoekhoen word laula , meaning to apologize. The white color of isilawu is said to indicate that the medicine is clean and pure.

A number of anthropological studies have been undertaken towards a better understanding of the use of Silene undulata in the Eastern Cape.

Silene undulata is the most commonly used ubulawu plant in the Eastern Cape. The roots are harvested from wild populations and sold at informal street markets and iikemisti ( muthi shops). The trade of this species and many others has raised concern over their sustainable use and conservation status.

Dream Root, Silene undulata, West Coast National Park, Langebaan, Western Cape, South Africa
  • Location: West Coast National Park, Langebaan, Western Cape, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-08-22
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/7.1
  • Exposure Time: 1/320 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-200
  • Focal Length: 190 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: PlantZAfrica.com

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my post.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. ☕ I am busy saving for a few upcoming Landscape Photography Trips to Namibia and a few local National Parks here in South Africa. The most important one is honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland and capture the beautiful landscapes and Puffins. Your help to make these trips a reality would be much appreciated in today’s economy.

Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Wild Mignonette – 2

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Reseda lutea, the yellow mignonette or wild mignonette, is a species of fragrant herbaceous plant. Its leaves and flowers have been used to make a yellow dye called “weld” since the first millennium BC, although the related plant Reseda luteola was more widely used for that purpose.

Mignonette has a long history in gardens. Native to Egypt, it was said to be one of the flowers strewn in tombs to fragrance the eternal rest of mummified persons, and in the early 1800s, it was fashionable to have a winter bouquet of mignonette fresh from the fields in the south of France.

Description:

Mignonette is a medium to tall, branched, bushy, hairless plant. Generally, it is about 12 inches tall but can be significantly taller. There may be a basal rosette of leaves. Leaves are mostly small, pinnately lobed with one or two pairs of lobes on each side. Flowers pale yellow with 6 sepals and petals borne in terminal spikes.

In high summer the pale greenish yellow spires of the wild mignonette stand out conspicuously amongst the grassland in which they are generally found.

Although not as fragrant as the garden mignonette, its flowers do have a musky scent.

Habitat:

Mignonette grows in disturbed, waste and cultivated land, usually on calcareous soils. On well-drained soils in open habitats, occurring on waste ground and roadside verges, in marginal grassland, disused railway land, quarries and arable land, in disturbed chalk and limestone grassland and on fixed sand dunes.

Continues to be common throughout England and the north and south of Wales, but in Scotland it is largely restricted to lowland areas in the south.

A native of Eurasia and North Africa, the plant is present on other continents as an introduced species and a common weed. In Australia it is a noxious weed and pest of agricultural crops.

Some Interesting Information:

In the Language of Flowers mignonette means ‘Your qualities surpass your charms’.

The leaves are eaten by the caterpillars of various butterflies, including the Cabbage White, Bath White and Orange Tip.

The name ‘mignonette’ comes from the French ‘mignon’, meaning ‘dainty’.

“You sent me a sprig of mignonette,
Cool-colored, quiet, and it was wet
With green sea-spray…
You said: ‘My sober mignonette
Will brighten your room and you will not forget’.”

Amy Lowell, “Merely Statement”
Wild Mignonette, Reseda lutea, Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Location: Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-10-25
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/7.1
  • Exposure Time: 1/250 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-100
  • Focal Length: 80 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: Wikipedia, Plantlife, NatureSpot, and Brittanica

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my photo.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment. I read all my comments, and try to answer them all.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕. I have to save up enough money to cover some of the expenses for my Landscape Photography Trip to Namibia and also honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland.

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Wild Mignonette – 1

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Reseda lutea, the yellow mignonette or wild mignonette, is a species of fragrant herbaceous plant. Its leaves and flowers have been used to make a yellow dye called “weld” since the first millennium BC, although the related plant Reseda luteola was more widely used for that purpose.

Mignonette has a long history in gardens. Native to Egypt, it was said to be one of the flowers strewn in tombs to fragrance the eternal rest of mummified persons, and in the early 1800s, it was fashionable to have a winter bouquet of mignonette fresh from the fields in the south of France.

Description:

Mignonette is a medium to tall, branched, bushy, hairless plant. Generally, it is about 12 inches tall but can be significantly taller. There may be a basal rosette of leaves. Leaves are mostly small, pinnately lobed with one or two pairs of lobes on each side. Flowers pale yellow with 6 sepals and petals borne in terminal spikes.

In high summer the pale greenish yellow spires of the wild mignonette stand out conspicuously amongst the grassland in which they are generally found.

Although not as fragrant as the garden mignonette, its flowers do have a musky scent.

Habitat:

Mignonette grows in disturbed, waste and cultivated land, usually on calcareous soils. On well-drained soils in open habitats, occurring on waste ground and roadside verges, in marginal grassland, disused railway land, quarries and arable land, in disturbed chalk and limestone grassland and on fixed sand dunes.

Continues to be common throughout England and the north and south of Wales, but in Scotland it is largely restricted to lowland areas in the south.

A native of Eurasia and North Africa, the plant is present on other continents as an introduced species and a common weed. In Australia it is a noxious weed and pest of agricultural crops.

Some Interesting Information:

In the Language of Flowers mignonette means ‘Your qualities surpass your charms’.

The leaves are eaten by the caterpillars of various butterflies, including the Cabbage White, Bath White and Orange Tip.

The name ‘mignonette’ comes from the French ‘mignon’, meaning ‘dainty’.

“You sent me a sprig of mignonette,
Cool-colored, quiet, and it was wet
With green sea-spray…
You said: ‘My sober mignonette
Will brighten your room and you will not forget’.”

Amy Lowell, “Merely Statement”
Wild Mignonette, Reseda lutea, Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Location: Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-10-25
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/7.1
  • Exposure Time: 1/250 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-100
  • Focal Length: 28 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: Wikipedia, Plantlife, NatureSpot, and Brittanica

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my photo.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment. I read all my comments, and try to answer them all.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕. I have to save up enough money to cover some of the expenses for my Landscape Photography Trip to Namibia and also honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland.

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Water Blossom Pea – 8

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Podalyria calyptrata, also known locally as keurtjie or water blossom pea. It is a small, resilient, fast-growing tree of the Fabaceae (legume) family.

Description:

Podalyria calyptrata is a small, tough, fast-growing tree around 4 meters in height. The simple, oval leaves are silvery grey and velvety in texture.

The bright-pink, strongly fragrant flowers are very striking and usually appear in spring (although flowering time varies). The flowers are very strongly fragrant, and their sweet scent can be smelled from afar. The seeds are contained in hard little pods that appear considerably later.

They flower from August to November.

Habitat:

This tree occurs from Cape Town northwards as far as Tulbagh and eastwards across the Cape Fold mountains. It grows amongst fynbos and on the verges of forests.

Water Blossom Pea, Podalyria calyptrata, Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Location: Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-10-25
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/5.6
  • Exposure Time: 1/160 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-100
  • Focal Length: 120 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: Wikipedia

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my photo.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment. I read all my comments, and try to answer them all.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕. I have to save up enough money to cover some of the expenses for my Landscape Photography Trip to Namibia and also honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland.

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Water Blossom Pea – 7

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Podalyria calyptrata, also known locally as keurtjie or water blossom pea. It is a small, resilient, fast-growing tree of the Fabaceae (legume) family.

Description:

Podalyria calyptrata is a small, tough, fast-growing tree around 4 meters in height. The simple, oval leaves are silvery grey and velvety in texture.

The bright-pink, strongly fragrant flowers are very striking and usually appear in spring (although flowering time varies). The flowers are very strongly fragrant, and their sweet scent can be smelled from afar. The seeds are contained in hard little pods that appear considerably later.

They flower from August to November.

Habitat:

This tree occurs from Cape Town northwards as far as Tulbagh and eastwards across the Cape Fold mountains. It grows amongst fynbos and on the verges of forests.

Water Blossom Pea, Podalyria calyptrata, Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Location: Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-10-25
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/5.6
  • Exposure Time: 1/160 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-100
  • Focal Length: 120 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: Wikipedia

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my photo.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment. I read all my comments, and try to answer them all.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕. I have to save up enough money to cover some of the expenses for my Landscape Photography Trip to Namibia and also honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland.

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Water Blossom Pea – 6

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Podalyria calyptrata, also known locally as keurtjie or water blossom pea. It is a small, resilient, fast-growing tree of the Fabaceae (legume) family.

Description:

Podalyria calyptrata is a small, tough, fast-growing tree around 4 meters in height. The simple, oval leaves are silvery grey and velvety in texture.

The bright-pink, strongly fragrant flowers are very striking and usually appear in spring (although flowering time varies). The flowers are very strongly fragrant, and their sweet scent can be smelled from afar. The seeds are contained in hard little pods that appear considerably later.

They flower from August to November.

Habitat:

This tree occurs from Cape Town northwards as far as Tulbagh and eastwards across the Cape Fold mountains. It grows amongst fynbos and on the verges of forests.

Water Blossom Pea, Podalyria calyptrata, Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Location: Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-10-25
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/5.6
  • Exposure Time: 1/160 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-100
  • Focal Length: 120 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: Wikipedia

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my photo.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment. I read all my comments, and try to answer them all.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕. I have to save up enough money to cover some of the expenses for my Landscape Photography Trip to Namibia and also honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland.

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Water Blossom Pea – 5

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Podalyria calyptrata, also known locally as keurtjie or water blossom pea. It is a small, resilient, fast-growing tree of the Fabaceae (legume) family.

Description:

Podalyria calyptrata is a small, tough, fast-growing tree around 4 meters in height. The simple, oval leaves are silvery grey and velvety in texture.

The bright-pink, strongly fragrant flowers are very striking and usually appear in spring (although flowering time varies). The flowers are very strongly fragrant, and their sweet scent can be smelled from afar. The seeds are contained in hard little pods that appear considerably later.

They flower from August to November.

Habitat:

This tree occurs from Cape Town northwards as far as Tulbagh and eastwards across the Cape Fold mountains. It grows amongst fynbos and on the verges of forests.

Water Blossom Pea, Podalyria calyptrata, Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Location: Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-10-25
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/5.6
  • Exposure Time: 1/160 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-100
  • Focal Length: 120 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: Wikipedia

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my photo.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment. I read all my comments, and try to answer them all.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕. I have to save up enough money to cover some of the expenses for my Landscape Photography Trip to Namibia and also honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland.

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Water Blossom Pea – 4

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Podalyria calyptrata, also known locally as keurtjie or water blossom pea. It is a small, resilient, fast-growing tree of the Fabaceae (legume) family.

Description:

Podalyria calyptrata is a small, tough, fast-growing tree around 4 meters in height. The simple, oval leaves are silvery grey and velvety in texture.

The bright-pink, strongly fragrant flowers are very striking and usually appear in spring (although flowering time varies). The flowers are very strongly fragrant, and their sweet scent can be smelled from afar. The seeds are contained in hard little pods that appear considerably later.

They flower from August to November.

Habitat:

This tree occurs from Cape Town northwards as far as Tulbagh and eastwards across the Cape Fold mountains. It grows amongst fynbos and on the verges of forests.

Water Blossom Pea, Podalyria calyptrata, Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Location: Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-10-25
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/5.6
  • Exposure Time: 1/160 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-100
  • Focal Length: 120 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: Wikipedia

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my photo.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment. I read all my comments, and try to answer them all.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕. I have to save up enough money to cover some of the expenses for my Landscape Photography Trip to Namibia and also honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland.

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Water Blossom Pea – 3

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Podalyria calyptrata, also known locally as keurtjie or water blossom pea. It is a small, resilient, fast-growing tree of the Fabaceae (legume) family.

Description:

Podalyria calyptrata is a small, tough, fast-growing tree around 4 meters in height. The simple, oval leaves are silvery grey and velvety in texture.

The bright-pink, strongly fragrant flowers are very striking and usually appear in spring (although flowering time varies). The flowers are very strongly fragrant, and their sweet scent can be smelled from afar. The seeds are contained in hard little pods that appear considerably later.

They flower from August to November.

Habitat:

This tree occurs from Cape Town northwards as far as Tulbagh and eastwards across the Cape Fold mountains. It grows amongst fynbos and on the verges of forests.

Water Blossom Pea, Podalyria calyptrata, Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Location: Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-10-25
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/5.6
  • Exposure Time: 1/160 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-100
  • Focal Length: 120 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: Wikipedia

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my photo.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment. I read all my comments, and try to answer them all.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕. I have to save up enough money to cover some of the expenses for my Landscape Photography Trip to Namibia and also honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland.

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Water Blossom Pea – 2

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Podalyria calyptrata, also known locally as keurtjie or water blossom pea. It is a small, resilient, fast-growing tree of the Fabaceae (legume) family.

Description:

Podalyria calyptrata is a small, tough, fast-growing tree around 4 meters in height. The simple, oval leaves are silvery grey and velvety in texture.

The bright-pink, strongly fragrant flowers are very striking and usually appear in spring (although flowering time varies). The flowers are very strongly fragrant, and their sweet scent can be smelled from afar. The seeds are contained in hard little pods that appear considerably later.

They flower from August to November.

Habitat:

This tree occurs from Cape Town northwards as far as Tulbagh and eastwards across the Cape Fold mountains. It grows amongst fynbos and on the verges of forests.

Water Blossom Pea, Podalyria calyptrata, Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Location: Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-10-25
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/5.6
  • Exposure Time: 1/400 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-100
  • Focal Length: 135 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: Wikipedia

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my photo.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment. I read all my comments, and try to answer them all.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕. I have to save up enough money to cover some of the expenses for my Landscape Photography Trip to Namibia and also honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland.

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Water Blossom Pea – 1

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Podalyria calyptrata, also known locally as keurtjie or water blossom pea. It is a small, resilient, fast-growing tree of the Fabaceae (legume) family.

Description:

Podalyria calyptrata is a small, tough, fast-growing tree around 4 meters in height. The simple, oval leaves are silvery grey and velvety in texture.

The bright-pink, strongly fragrant flowers are very striking and usually appear in spring (although flowering time varies). The flowers are very strongly fragrant, and their sweet scent can be smelled from afar. The seeds are contained in hard little pods that appear considerably later.

They flower from August to November.

Habitat:

This tree occurs from Cape Town northwards as far as Tulbagh and eastwards across the Cape Fold mountains. It grows amongst fynbos and on the verges of forests.

Water Blossom Pea, Podalyria calyptrata, Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Location: Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-10-25
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/5.6
  • Exposure Time: 1/320 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-100
  • Focal Length: 200 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: Wikipedia

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my photo.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment. I read all my comments, and try to answer them all.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕. I have to save up enough money to cover some of the expenses for my Landscape Photography Trip to Namibia and also honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland.

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Wand Watsonia – 6

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Description:

Watsonia laccata is a dwarf perennial.

Cormous geophyte up to 40cm. Leaves glossy, sword-shaped with lightly thickened margins, mostly 6-15mm wide and about half as long as the flowering stem. Flowers in a short spike, pink to purple or orange; perianth tube 18-22mm long, flared above; stamens declinate (curved downward); bracts 10-20mm long, clasping the stem.

Capsules spindle-shaped, tapering to a narrow tip.

They flower from September to November

Habitat:

Seasonally wet. Stony lower sandstone slopes in the Southern Cape.

Wand Watsonia, Watsonia laccata, Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Location: Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-10-25
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/5.6
  • Exposure Time: 1/200 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-100
  • Focal Length: 130 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: Field Guide to Wild Flowers of South Africa by John Manning

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my photo.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment. I read all my comments, and try to answer them all.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕. I have to save up enough money to cover some of the expenses for my Landscape Photography Trip to Namibia and also honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland.

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Wand Watsonia – 5

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Description:

Watsonia laccata is a dwarf perennial.

Cormous geophyte up to 40cm. Leaves glossy, sword-shaped with lightly thickened margins, mostly 6-15mm wide and about half as long as the flowering stem. Flowers in a short spike, pink to purple or orange; perianth tube 18-22mm long, flared above; stamens declinate (curved downward); bracts 10-20mm long, clasping the stem.

Capsules spindle-shaped, tapering to a narrow tip.

They flower from September to November

Habitat:

Seasonally wet. Stony lower sandstone slopes in the Southern Cape.

Wand Watsonia, Watsonia laccata, Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Location: Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-10-25
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/5.6
  • Exposure Time: 1/400 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-100
  • Focal Length: 200 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: Field Guide to Wild Flowers of South Africa by John Manning

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my photo.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment. I read all my comments, and try to answer them all.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕. I have to save up enough money to cover some of the expenses for my Landscape Photography Trip to Namibia and also honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland.

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Wand Watsonia – 4

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Description:

Watsonia laccata is a dwarf perennial.

Cormous geophyte up to 40cm. Leaves glossy, sword-shaped with lightly thickened margins, mostly 6-15mm wide and about half as long as the flowering stem. Flowers in a short spike, pink to purple or orange; perianth tube 18-22mm long, flared above; stamens declinate (curved downward); bracts 10-20mm long, clasping the stem.

Capsules spindle-shaped, tapering to a narrow tip.

They flower from September to November

Habitat:

Seasonally wet. Stony lower sandstone slopes in the Southern Cape.

Wand Watsonia, Watsonia laccata, Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Location: Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-10-25
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/5.6
  • Exposure Time: 1/400 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-100
  • Focal Length: 200 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: Field Guide to Wild Flowers of South Africa by John Manning

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my photo.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment. I read all my comments, and try to answer them all.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕. I have to save up enough money to cover some of the expenses for my Landscape Photography Trip to Namibia and also honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland.

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Wand Watsonia – 3

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Description:

Watsonia laccata is a dwarf perennial.

Cormous geophyte up to 40cm. Leaves glossy, sword-shaped with lightly thickened margins, mostly 6-15mm wide and about half as long as the flowering stem. Flowers in a short spike, pink to purple or orange; perianth tube 18-22mm long, flared above; stamens declinate (curved downward); bracts 10-20mm long, clasping the stem.

Capsules spindle-shaped, tapering to a narrow tip.

They flower from September to November

Habitat:

Seasonally wet. Stony lower sandstone slopes in the Southern Cape.

Wand Watsonia, Watsonia laccata, Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Location: Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-10-25
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/5.6
  • Exposure Time: 1/400 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-100
  • Focal Length: 18 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: Field Guide to Wild Flowers of South Africa by John Manning

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my photo.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment. I read all my comments, and try to answer them all.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕. I have to save up enough money to cover some of the expenses for my Landscape Photography Trip to Namibia and also honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland.

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Wand Watsonia – 2

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Description:

Watsonia laccata is a dwarf perennial.

Cormous geophyte up to 40cm. Leaves glossy, sword-shaped with lightly thickened margins, mostly 6-15mm wide and about half as long as the flowering stem. Flowers in a short spike, pink to purple or orange; perianth tube 18-22mm long, flared above; stamens declinate (curved downward); bracts 10-20mm long, clasping the stem.

Capsules spindle-shaped, tapering to a narrow tip.

They flower from September to November

Habitat:

Seasonally wet. Stony lower sandstone slopes in the Southern Cape.

Wand Watsonia, Watsonia laccata, Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Location: Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-10-25
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/5.6
  • Exposure Time: 1/400 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-100
  • Focal Length: 18 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: Field Guide to Wild Flowers of South Africa by John Manning

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my photo.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment. I read all my comments, and try to answer them all.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕. I have to save up enough money to cover some of the expenses for my Landscape Photography Trip to Namibia and also honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland.

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Wand Watsonia – 1

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Description:

Watsonia laccata is a dwarf perennial.

Cormous geophyte up to 40cm. Leaves glossy, sword-shaped with lightly thickened margins, mostly 6-15mm wide and about half as long as the flowering stem. Flowers in a short spike, pink to purple or orange; perianth tube 18-22mm long, flared above; stamens declinate (curved downward); bracts 10-20mm long, clasping the stem.

Capsules spindle-shaped, tapering to a narrow tip.

They flower from September to November

Habitat:

Seasonally wet. Stony lower sandstone slopes in the Southern Cape.

Wand Watsonia, Watsonia laccata, Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Location: Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-10-25
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/5.6
  • Exposure Time: 1/200 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-100
  • Focal Length: 130 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: Field Guide to Wild Flowers of South Africa by John Manning

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my photo.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment. I read all my comments, and try to answer them all.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕. I have to save up enough money to cover some of the expenses for my Landscape Photography Trip to Namibia and also honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland.

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Slender Falsepea – 4

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Polygala is also known as Milkwort, Butterfly Bush, September Bush, False Legume and Ertjiebos, Septemberbos in Afrikaans.

Description:

Polygala species vary in growth habit but they all have upright-growing stems and gracefully slender branches, densely covered with glossy, myrtle-like leaves, which can be green or slightly grey. Flowers come in shades of mauve or purple, but can also be pink, scarlet, or white; and although they can appear sporadically throughout the year, flowering peaks in late winter, spring, and early summer. Light brown fruits follow the flowers, and seedlings often germinate close to the parent plant.

Although their pea-like flowers resemble those of legumes, Polygalas are easily distinguished from legumes by the feathery tuft on their lower petals.

Habitat:

Members of this large family of plants occur in temperate and warm climates around the world; and include perennials, shrubs and trees. 

There are approximately 88 species of Polygala that occur in Southern Africa, and they are especially prolific in the South-western Cape; and common from near Clanwilliam in the Western Cape, to Kwazulu-Natal. However, Polygala can be found growing wild in both the summer and winter rainfall regions of South Africa, and in most provinces. These showy indigenous plants are widespread pioneer shrubs, which can commonly be found growing on dunes and rocky slopes, as well as in scrub and open grasslands; thriving in forests, and alongside streams.

Slender Falspea, Polygala garcinii, Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Location: Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-10-25
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/7.1
  • Exposure Time: 1/200 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-100
  • Focal Length: 200 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: PlantZAfrica.com

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my photo.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment. I read all my comments, and try to answer them all.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕. I have to save up enough money to cover some of the expenses for my Landscape Photography Trip to Namibia and also honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland.

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Slender Falsepea – 3

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Polygala is also known as Milkwort, Butterfly Bush, September Bush, False Legume and Ertjiebos, Septemberbos in Afrikaans.

Description:

Polygala species vary in growth habit but they all have upright-growing stems and gracefully slender branches, densely covered with glossy, myrtle-like leaves, which can be green or slightly grey. Flowers come in shades of mauve or purple, but can also be pink, scarlet, or white; and although they can appear sporadically throughout the year, flowering peaks in late winter, spring, and early summer. Light brown fruits follow the flowers, and seedlings often germinate close to the parent plant.

Although their pea-like flowers resemble those of legumes, Polygalas are easily distinguished from legumes by the feathery tuft on their lower petals.

Habitat:

Members of this large family of plants occur in temperate and warm climates around the world; and include perennials, shrubs and trees. 

There are approximately 88 species of Polygala that occur in Southern Africa, and they are especially prolific in the South-western Cape; and common from near Clanwilliam in the Western Cape, to Kwazulu-Natal. However, Polygala can be found growing wild in both the summer and winter rainfall regions of South Africa, and in most provinces. These showy indigenous plants are widespread pioneer shrubs, which can commonly be found growing on dunes and rocky slopes, as well as in scrub and open grasslands; thriving in forests, and alongside streams.

Slender Falspea, Polygala garcinii, Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Location: Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-10-25
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/7.1
  • Exposure Time: 1/200 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-100
  • Focal Length: 200 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: PlantZAfrica.com

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my photo.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment. I read all my comments, and try to answer them all.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕. I have to save up enough money to cover some of the expenses for my Landscape Photography Trip to Namibia and also honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland.

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Slender Falsepea – 2

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Polygala is also known as Milkwort, Butterfly Bush, September Bush, False Legume and Ertjiebos, Septemberbos in Afrikaans.

Description:

Polygala species vary in growth habit but they all have upright-growing stems and gracefully slender branches, densely covered with glossy, myrtle-like leaves, which can be green or slightly grey. Flowers come in shades of mauve or purple, but can also be pink, scarlet, or white; and although they can appear sporadically throughout the year, flowering peaks in late winter, spring, and early summer. Light brown fruits follow the flowers, and seedlings often germinate close to the parent plant.

Although their pea-like flowers resemble those of legumes, Polygalas are easily distinguished from legumes by the feathery tuft on their lower petals.

Habitat:

Members of this large family of plants occur in temperate and warm climates around the world; and include perennials, shrubs and trees. 

There are approximately 88 species of Polygala that occur in Southern Africa, and they are especially prolific in the South-western Cape; and common from near Clanwilliam in the Western Cape, to Kwazulu-Natal. However, Polygala can be found growing wild in both the summer and winter rainfall regions of South Africa, and in most provinces. These showy indigenous plants are widespread pioneer shrubs, which can commonly be found growing on dunes and rocky slopes, as well as in scrub and open grasslands; thriving in forests, and alongside streams.

Slender Falspea, Polygala garcinii, Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Location: Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-10-25
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/7.1
  • Exposure Time: 1/200 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-100
  • Focal Length: 200 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: PlantZAfrica.com

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my photo.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment. I read all my comments, and try to answer them all.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕. I have to save up enough money to cover some of the expenses for my Landscape Photography Trip to Namibia and also honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland.

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Slender Falsepea – 1

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Polygala is also known as Milkwort, Butterfly Bush, September Bush, False Legume and Ertjiebos, Septemberbos in Afrikaans.

Description:

Polygala species vary in growth habit but they all have upright-growing stems and gracefully slender branches, densely covered with glossy, myrtle-like leaves, which can be green or slightly grey. Flowers come in shades of mauve or purple, but can also be pink, scarlet, or white; and although they can appear sporadically throughout the year, flowering peaks in late winter, spring, and early summer. Light brown fruits follow the flowers, and seedlings often germinate close to the parent plant.

Although their pea-like flowers resemble those of legumes, Polygalas are easily distinguished from legumes by the feathery tuft on their lower petals.

Habitat:

Members of this large family of plants occur in temperate and warm climates around the world; and include perennials, shrubs and trees. 

There are approximately 88 species of Polygala that occur in Southern Africa, and they are especially prolific in the South-western Cape; and common from near Clanwilliam in the Western Cape, to Kwazulu-Natal. However, Polygala can be found growing wild in both the summer and winter rainfall regions of South Africa, and in most provinces. These showy indigenous plants are widespread pioneer shrubs, which can commonly be found growing on dunes and rocky slopes, as well as in scrub and open grasslands; thriving in forests, and alongside streams.

Slender Falspea, Polygala garcinii, Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Location: Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-10-25
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/7.1
  • Exposure Time: 1/200 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-100
  • Focal Length: 200 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: PlantZAfrica.com

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my photo.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment. I read all my comments, and try to answer them all.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕. I have to save up enough money to cover some of the expenses for my Landscape Photography Trip to Namibia and also honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland.

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Redstem Stork’s-bill – 2

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Erodium cicutarium, also known as common stork’s-bill, Redstem filaree, Redstem stork’s bill or Pinweed, is an herbaceous annual – or in warm climates, biennial – member of the family Geraniaceae of flowering plants. It is native to Macaronesia, temperate Eurasia and north and northeast Africa, and was introduced to North America in the eighteenth century, where it has since become naturalized, particularly of the deserts and arid grasslands of the southwestern United States

Description:

It is a hairy, sticky annual, resembling herb Robert but lacking the unpleasant odor. The stems are reddish and bear bright pink flowers, which often have dark spots on the bases. The flowers are arranged in a loose cluster and have ten filaments – five of which are fertile – and five styles. The leaves are pinnate to pinnate-pinnatifid, with hairy stems. The long seed-pod, shaped like the bill of a stork, bursts open in a spiral when ripe, sending the seeds (which have long tails called awns) into the air.

Their flowering time is from May to October depending on your location. Here in South Africa, it flowers from June to October.

Habitat:

The plant is widespread across North America. It grows annually in the continent’s northern half. In the southern areas of North America, the plant tends to grow as a biennial with a more erect habit and with much larger leaves, flowers, and fruits. Common stork’s-bill can be found in bare, sandy, grassy places both inland and around the coasts. It is a food plant for the larvae of the brown argus butterfly.

The seeds of this annual are a species collected by various species of harvester ants.

You can find the Redstem Stork’s-bill in disturbed fields, gardens, yards, sandy areas, roadsides, harbors, and rubbish tips

Uses:

The young leaves are edible raw or cooked. The whole plant is reportedly edible with a flavor similar to sharp parsley if picked young. According to John Lovell’s Honey Plants of North America (1926), “the pink flowers are a valuable source of honey (nectar), and also furnish much pollen”. Among the Zuni people, a poultice of chewed root is applied to sores and rashes and an infusion of the root is taken for stomachache

This species is an important forage for domestic livestock, including cows, horses, and sheep. It is sometimes intentionally planted for this purpose.

Although intentionally planted in some areas, it is considered a noxious weed in others.

The flowers are a source of nectar for honey.

Redstem Stork’s-Bill, Erodium cicutarium, Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Location: Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-10-25
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/5.6
  • Exposure Time: 1/160 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-100
  • Focal Length: 200 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: PlantZAfrica.com

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my photo.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment. I read all my comments, and try to answer them all.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕. I have to save up enough money to cover some of the expenses for my Landscape Photography Trip to Namibia and also honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland.

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Redstem Stork’s-bill – 1

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Erodium cicutarium, also known as common stork’s-bill, Redstem filaree, Redstem stork’s bill or Pinweed, is an herbaceous annual – or in warm climates, biennial – member of the family Geraniaceae of flowering plants. It is native to Macaronesia, temperate Eurasia and north and northeast Africa, and was introduced to North America in the eighteenth century, where it has since become naturalized, particularly of the deserts and arid grasslands of the southwestern United States

Description:

It is a hairy, sticky annual, resembling herb Robert but lacking the unpleasant odor. The stems are reddish and bear bright pink flowers, which often have dark spots on the bases. The flowers are arranged in a loose cluster and have ten filaments – five of which are fertile – and five styles. The leaves are pinnate to pinnate-pinnatifid, with hairy stems. The long seed-pod, shaped like the bill of a stork, bursts open in a spiral when ripe, sending the seeds (which have long tails called awns) into the air.

Their flowering time is from May to October depending on your location. Here in South Africa, it flowers from June to October.

Habitat:

The plant is widespread across North America. It grows annually in the continent’s northern half. In the southern areas of North America, the plant tends to grow as a biennial with a more erect habit and with much larger leaves, flowers, and fruits. Common stork’s-bill can be found in bare, sandy, grassy places both inland and around the coasts. It is a food plant for the larvae of the brown argus butterfly.

The seeds of this annual are a species collected by various species of harvester ants.

You can find the Redstem Stork’s-bill in disturbed fields, gardens, yards, sandy areas, roadsides, harbors, and rubbish tips

Uses:

The young leaves are edible raw or cooked. The whole plant is reportedly edible with a flavor similar to sharp parsley if picked young. According to John Lovell’s Honey Plants of North America (1926), “the pink flowers are a valuable source of honey (nectar), and also furnish much pollen”. Among the Zuni people, a poultice of chewed root is applied to sores and rashes and an infusion of the root is taken for stomachache

This species is an important forage for domestic livestock, including cows, horses, and sheep. It is sometimes intentionally planted for this purpose.

Although intentionally planted in some areas, it is considered a noxious weed in others.

The flowers are a source of nectar for honey.

Redstem Stork’s-Bill, Erodium cicutarium, Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Location: Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-10-25
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/5.6
  • Exposure Time: 1/160 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-100
  • Focal Length: 200 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: PlantZAfrica.com

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my photo.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment. I read all my comments, and try to answer them all.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕. I have to save up enough money to cover some of the expenses for my Landscape Photography Trip to Namibia and also honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland.

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Rain Daisy – 1

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Dimorphotheca pluvialis, common names white African daisy, Cape marigold, weather prophet, Cape rain-daisy, ox-eye daisy, Cape daisy or rain daisy.

Description:

Dimorphotheca pluvialis is an annual herb up to 40 cm (16 in) tall. It has long, narrow leaves, sometimes entire but sometimes toothed or pinnately lobed. Ray flowers are white to yellowish, sometimes with blue or purple markings. Disc flowers are usually white to yellowish with purple tips.

Flowering in masses the glistening white daisies look like snow covering the ground of the large annual beds, small pockets along the footpaths and rockeries. For the best display it is important to visit the garden on a sunny day as these sun-loving daisies only open with the warmth of the sun from about 10 o’clock in the morning to 4 o’clock in the afternoon. As the sun moves across the sky their flowers follow, always facing the sun.

Dimorphotheca pluvialis forms a bushy plant that is covered with large white daisies all flowering at the same level. The flowering season is from July to October, depending on the rain. The narrow leaves are light green, about 7 cm long and have indented edges. They are numerous at the base of the stems, becoming fewer and smaller near the top.

Habitat:

Dimorphotheca pluvialis is endemic to Namibia, Namaqualand and the Western Cape, it occurs on sandy and clay flats and slopes from Gouritsmond to southern Namibia. During spring huge fields are covered with this bright white daisy, forming a dazzling mass.

In their natural habitat the flowers are pollinated by small horseflies that get covered with pollen as they fly from one daisy to the next in search of tiny amounts of nectar.

These annuals are adapted to germinate, grow, flower and set seed during the rainy winter and to survive the long dry summer as seed. The seeds are interesting in that two different forms are produced. The ones we usually sow is flat, papery and fly away easily in the wind. They are formed in the center of the flower by the disk florets. The outer ray florets form seeds which look like little thorns with a thick coat. Under favorable conditions the papery seed of the disk florets germinate in abundance, while the seeds of the ray florets have delayed germination to protect the species against unpredictable conditions in their arid environment.

Rain Daisy, Dimorphotheca pluvialis, Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Location: Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-10-25
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/7.1
  • Exposure Time: 1/200 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-100
  • Focal Length: 190 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: PlantZAfrica.com

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my photo.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment. I read all my comments, and try to answer them all.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕. I have to save up enough money to cover some of the expenses for my Landscape Photography Trip to Namibia and also honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland.

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Painted Lady Gladiolus – 13

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Description:

Gladiolus carneus is a perennial, 25-60 cm, with narrowly sword-shaped leaves; bears funnel-shaped, pink or white flowers, often with dark pink markings on the lower tepals, with a tube 20-40 mm long that is about as long as the upper tepal.

Their flowering season is from October to December.

Habitat:

Gladiolus carneus are mainly found on sandstone, often in damp sites in the Southwestern and Southern Cape.

Painted Lady Gladiolus, Gladiolus carneus, Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Location: Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-10-25
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/7.1
  • Exposure Time: 1/200 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-100
  • Focal Length: 190 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: Field Guide to Fynbos by John Manning

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my photo.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment. I read all my comments, and try to answer them all.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕. I have to save up enough money to cover some of the expenses for my Landscape Photography Trip to Namibia and also honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland.

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Painted Lady Gladiolus – 12

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Description:

Gladiolus carneus is a perennial, 25-60 cm, with narrowly sword-shaped leaves; bears funnel-shaped, pink or white flowers, often with dark pink markings on the lower tepals, with a tube 20-40 mm long that is about as long as the upper tepal.

Their flowering season is from October to December.

Habitat:

Gladiolus carneus are mainly found on sandstone, often in damp sites in the Southwestern and Southern Cape.

Painted Lady Gladiolus, Gladiolus carneus, Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Location: Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-10-25
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/7.1
  • Exposure Time: 1/200 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-100
  • Focal Length: 70 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: Field Guide to Fynbos by John Manning

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my photo.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment. I read all my comments, and try to answer them all.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕. I have to save up enough money to cover some of the expenses for my Landscape Photography Trip to Namibia and also honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland.

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Painted Lady Gladiolus – 11

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Description:

Gladiolus carneus is a perennial, 25-60 cm, with narrowly sword-shaped leaves; bears funnel-shaped, pink or white flowers, often with dark pink markings on the lower tepals, with a tube 20-40 mm long that is about as long as the upper tepal.

Their flowering season is from October to December.

Habitat:

Gladiolus carneus are mainly found on sandstone, often in damp sites in the Southwestern and Southern Cape.

Painted Lady Gladiolus, Gladiolus carneus, Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Location: Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-10-25
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/7.1
  • Exposure Time: 1/200 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-100
  • Focal Length: 100 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: Field Guide to Fynbos by John Manning

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my photo.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment. I read all my comments, and try to answer them all.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕. I have to save up enough money to cover some of the expenses for my Landscape Photography Trip to Namibia and also honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland.

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Painted Lady Gladiolus – 10

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Description:

Gladiolus carneus is a perennial, 25-60 cm, with narrowly sword-shaped leaves; bears funnel-shaped, pink or white flowers, often with dark pink markings on the lower tepals, with a tube 20-40 mm long that is about as long as the upper tepal.

Their flowering season is from October to December.

Habitat:

Gladiolus carneus are mainly found on sandstone, often in damp sites in the Southwestern and Southern Cape.

Painted Lady Gladiolus, Gladiolus carneus, Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Location: Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-10-25
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/7.1
  • Exposure Time: 1/200 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-100
  • Focal Length: 100 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: Field Guide to Fynbos by John Manning

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my photo.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment. I read all my comments, and try to answer them all.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕. I have to save up enough money to cover some of the expenses for my Landscape Photography Trip to Namibia and also honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland.

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Painted Lady Gladiolus – 9

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Description:

Gladiolus carneus is a perennial, 25-60 cm, with narrowly sword-shaped leaves; bears funnel-shaped, pink or white flowers, often with dark pink markings on the lower tepals, with a tube 20-40 mm long that is about as long as the upper tepal.

Their flowering season is from October to December.

Habitat:

Gladiolus carneus are mainly found on sandstone, often in damp sites in the Southwestern and Southern Cape.

Painted Lady Gladiolus, Gladiolus carneus, Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Location: Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-10-25
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/7.1
  • Exposure Time: 1/200 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-100
  • Focal Length: 35 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: Field Guide to Fynbos by John Manning

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my photo.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment. I read all my comments, and try to answer them all.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕. I have to save up enough money to cover some of the expenses for my Landscape Photography Trip to Namibia and also honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland.

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Painted Lady Gladiolus – 8

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Description:

Gladiolus carneus is a perennial, 25-60 cm, with narrowly sword-shaped leaves; bears funnel-shaped, pink or white flowers, often with dark pink markings on the lower tepals, with a tube 20-40 mm long that is about as long as the upper tepal.

Their flowering season is from October to December.

Habitat:

Gladiolus carneus are mainly found on sandstone, often in damp sites in the Southwestern and Southern Cape.

Painted Lady Gladiolus, Gladiolus carneus, Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Location: Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-10-25
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/7.1
  • Exposure Time: 1/500 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-100
  • Focal Length: 100 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: Field Guide to Fynbos by John Manning

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my photo.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment. I read all my comments, and try to answer them all.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕. I have to save up enough money to cover some of the expenses for my Landscape Photography Trip to Namibia and also honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland.

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Painted Lady Gladiolus – 7

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Description:

Gladiolus carneus is a perennial, 25-60 cm, with narrowly sword-shaped leaves; bears funnel-shaped, pink or white flowers, often with dark pink markings on the lower tepals, with a tube 20-40 mm long that is about as long as the upper tepal.

Their flowering season is from October to December.

Habitat:

Gladiolus carneus are mainly found on sandstone, often in damp sites in the Southwestern and Southern Cape.

Painted Lady Gladiolus, Gladiolus carneus, Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Location: Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-10-25
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/7.1
  • Exposure Time: 1/500 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-100
  • Focal Length: 100 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: Field Guide to Fynbos by John Manning

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my photo.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment. I read all my comments, and try to answer them all.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕. I have to save up enough money to cover some of the expenses for my Landscape Photography Trip to Namibia and also honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland.

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Painted Lady Gladiolus – 6

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Description:

Gladiolus carneus is a perennial, 25-60 cm, with narrowly sword-shaped leaves; bears funnel-shaped, pink or white flowers, often with dark pink markings on the lower tepals, with a tube 20-40 mm long that is about as long as the upper tepal.

Their flowering season is from October to December.

Habitat:

Gladiolus carneus are mainly found on sandstone, often in damp sites in the Southwestern and Southern Cape.

Painted Lady Gladiolus, Gladiolus carneus, Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Location: Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-10-25
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/5.6
  • Exposure Time: 1/320 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-100
  • Focal Length: 100 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: Field Guide to Fynbos by John Manning

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my photo.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment. I read all my comments, and try to answer them all.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕. I have to save up enough money to cover some of the expenses for my Landscape Photography Trip to Namibia and also honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland.

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Painted Lady Gladiolus – 5

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Description:

Gladiolus carneus is a perennial, 25-60 cm, with narrowly sword-shaped leaves; bears funnel-shaped, pink or white flowers, often with dark pink markings on the lower tepals, with a tube 20-40 mm long that is about as long as the upper tepal.

Their flowering season is from October to December.

Habitat:

Gladiolus carneus are mainly found on sandstone, often in damp sites in the Southwestern and Southern Cape.

Painted Lady Gladiolus, Gladiolus carneus, Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Location: Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-10-25
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/5.6
  • Exposure Time: 1/320 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-100
  • Focal Length: 100 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: Field Guide to Fynbos by John Manning

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my photo.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment. I read all my comments, and try to answer them all.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕. I have to save up enough money to cover some of the expenses for my Landscape Photography Trip to Namibia and also honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland.

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Painted Lady Gladiolus – 4

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Description:

Gladiolus carneus is a perennial, 25-60 cm, with narrowly sword-shaped leaves; bears funnel-shaped, pink or white flowers, often with dark pink markings on the lower tepals, with a tube 20-40 mm long that is about as long as the upper tepal.

Their flowering season is from October to December.

Habitat:

Gladiolus carneus are mainly found on sandstone, often in damp sites in the Southwestern and Southern Cape.

Painted Lady Gladiolus, Gladiolus carneus, Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Location: Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-10-25
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/5.6
  • Exposure Time: 1/320 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-100
  • Focal Length: 100 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: Field Guide to Fynbos by John Manning

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my photo.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment. I read all my comments, and try to answer them all.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕. I have to save up enough money to cover some of the expenses for my Landscape Photography Trip to Namibia and also honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland.

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Painted Lady Gladiolus – 3

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Description:

Gladiolus carneus is a perennial, 25-60 cm, with narrowly sword-shaped leaves; bears funnel-shaped, pink or white flowers, often with dark pink markings on the lower tepals, with a tube 20-40 mm long that is about as long as the upper tepal.

Their flowering season is from October to December.

Habitat:

Gladiolus carneus are mainly found on sandstone, often in damp sites in the Southwestern and Southern Cape.

Painted Lady Gladiolus, Gladiolus carneus, Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Location: Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-10-25
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/5.6
  • Exposure Time: 1/320 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-100
  • Focal Length: 190 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: Field Guide to Fynbos by John Manning

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my photo.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment. I read all my comments, and try to answer them all.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕. I have to save up enough money to cover some of the expenses for my Landscape Photography Trip to Namibia and also honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland.

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Painted Lady Gladiolus – 2

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Description:

Gladiolus carneus is a perennial, 25-60 cm, with narrowly sword-shaped leaves; bears funnel-shaped, pink or white flowers, often with dark pink markings on the lower tepals, with a tube 20-40 mm long that is about as long as the upper tepal.

Their flowering season is from October to December.

Habitat:

Gladiolus carneus are mainly found on sandstone, often in damp sites in the Southwestern and Southern Cape.

Painted Lady Gladiolus, Gladiolus carneus, Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Location: Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-10-25
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/5.6
  • Exposure Time: 1/320 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-100
  • Focal Length: 190 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: Field Guide to Fynbos by John Manning

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my photo.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment. I read all my comments, and try to answer them all.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕. I have to save up enough money to cover some of the expenses for my Landscape Photography Trip to Namibia and also honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland.

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Painted Lady Gladiolus – 1

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Description:

Gladiolus carneus is a perennial, 25-60 cm, with narrowly sword-shaped leaves; bears funnel-shaped, pink or white flowers, often with dark pink markings on the lower tepals, with a tube 20-40 mm long that is about as long as the upper tepal.

Their flowering season is from October to December.

Habitat:

Gladiolus carneus are mainly found on sandstone, often in damp sites in the Southwestern and Southern Cape.

Painted Lady Gladiolus, Gladiolus carneus, Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Location: Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-10-25
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/5.6
  • Exposure Time: 1/320 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-100
  • Focal Length: 70 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: Field Guide to Fynbos by John Manning

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my photo.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment. I read all my comments, and try to answer them all.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕. I have to save up enough money to cover some of the expenses for my Landscape Photography Trip to Namibia and also honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland.

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Night scented Pelargonium – 3

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Description:

The night-scented pelargonium is a geophyte, usually about 25 cm (9.8 in), exceptionally up to 50 cm (20 in) high, that loses all above ground parts when it enters dormancy during the dry, hot summer. It lacks spines. From the subterranean rootstock emerge tuberous roots. The stems are hard and woody at their base and succulent towards their tip, initially green but eventually brown, and rough due to the scars left by discarded stipules and petioles. It is up to 15 cm (5.9 in) long and 0.5–1 cm (0.20–0.39 in) thick. The leaves in the basal rosette look somewhat like those of a carrot and are at least twice as long as wide, 10–45 cm (3.9–17.7 in) long and 4–15 cm (1.6–5.9 in) wide, on a petiole of up to 12 cm (4.7 in) long. These leaves may be upright or lay down. They are herbaceous, variably covered in short glandular hairs between short, whitish hairs. The rosette leaves are pinnately divided, the segments themselves mostly further pinnately divided or incised in linear leaflets or lobes, up to four times in total. The highest order leaflets are usually about 1 mm wide, but up to 8 mm wide in less divided leaves. The base of the segments is wedge-shaped or narrow into a stalk while the tips are rounded or squared-off, the margins entire and rolled upwards. The stipules are heart-shaped or oval with pointy tips, 5–8 mm (0.20–0.31 in) long and 6–10 mm (0.24–0.39 in) wide, thin and pliable becoming dry, and initially densely pubescent on the underside.

The flowers are 6 to 15 together in an umbel-like cluster on top of a sturdy unbranched peduncle of 5–25 cm (2.0–9.8 in) long and maximally 2.5 mm (0.098 in) in diameter. The part of the stalk of the individual flowers that contains the hollow, spur-like hypanthium is 30–55 mm (1.2–2.2 in) long, much longer than the remainder of the pedicel at its base that is up to 4 mm (0.16 in) long. The pedicel is densely set with straight, perpendicular (or strigose) hairs and with glandular hairs. The five sepals are 5–7 mm (0.20–0.28 in) long and 1–3 mm (0.039–0.118 in) wide, narrowly oval in shape with pointy tips, the outside densely strigose and some glandular hairs, the inside hairless, the margins with a row of hairs (or ciliate), dull green to yellowish green in color and sometimes with russet colored and slightly transparent margins. The five petals are almost equal in size and spade-shape with rounded tips, 10–18 mm (0.39–0.71 in) long, pale yellow in color but often adorned with a vague or intense burgundy to purplish black blotch that may leave only the outer margin yellow. The posterior two petals are 4–8 mm (0.16–0.31 in) wide, strongly curved backwards at their base and somewhat curved forwards at their tip. The anterior three petals are 2.5–6.0 mm (0.098–0.236 in) wide and less markedly reflexed. Four long and three short filaments initially carry anthers (best determined in a bud), three filaments are sterile. The pollen is bright yellow in color. The pale green, pear-shaped ovary is 3.5–4.5 mm (0.14–0.18 in) long and about 2.0 mm (0.079 in) wide, densely covered in hairs pointing to the tip. It is topped by a 2.0–2.5 mm (0.079–0.098 in) long style, that branches into five, reddish, curved stigmas.

Fruit and mericarps, showing plumes that assist distribution by wind and the coiled axil that aids in hygroscopic drilling to plant the seed

Like in all Geraniaceae, the fruit is reminiscent of the head and bill of a stork. It is schizocarp and consists of five units or mericarps. At the base of each mericarp is the enclosed seed that is 7–10 mm (0.28–0.39 in) long in the night-scented pelargonium, and a tail of 35–45 mm (1.4–1.8 in) long. The mericarps of Pelargonium are light and carry feather-like hairs to act like parachutes when dry and enable distribution by the wind. The awns of the mericarps coil when drying and uncoil when getting moist. These motions screw the seeds into the ground and in crevices.

Habitat:

The night-scented pelargonium is common in parts of the Northern and Western Cape Provinces of South Africa, from the Cape Peninsula in the southwest to the Orange River in the north and Mossel Bay in the east. It can be found on coastal sands, but is also present on slopes up to an elevation of 1,800 m (5,900 ft). Across this entire region, most precipitation falls during the winter half year, but the annual rainfall varies over its distribution area from about 100 mm (3.9 in) to over 600 mm (24 in). It is most apparent in open areas, but as the fynbos develop, the plants get shaded by the surrounding shrubs and stop flowering. The large underground tuber, however, enables the plants to survive for many years and reappear after a fire has destroyed the above ground vegetation. The deep hypanthium and night scents are suggestive that the flowers are pollinated by night-active, long-tongued insects such as moths. In Pelargonium, the seed capsule splits open along its length when dry, so releasing the seeds. The seed is dispersed on the wind carried by its feathery plumes. Each seed has a section in its tail that is spiraled when dry and uncoils when moist. Once the seed settles on the soil, it drills into the soil as it coils and uncoils with varying moisture. The continued survival of the night-scented pelargonium is considered to be of least concern.

Night scented Pelargonium, Pelargonium triste, Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Location: Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-10-25
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/7.1
  • Exposure Time: 1/200 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-100
  • Focal Length: 135 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: Wikipedia

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my photo.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment. I read all my comments, and try to answer them all.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕. I have to save up enough money to cover some of the expenses for my Landscape Photography Trip to Namibia and also honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland.

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Night scented Pelargonium – 2

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Description:

The night-scented pelargonium is a geophyte, usually about 25 cm (9.8 in), exceptionally up to 50 cm (20 in) high, that loses all above ground parts when it enters dormancy during the dry, hot summer. It lacks spines. From the subterranean rootstock emerge tuberous roots. The stems are hard and woody at their base and succulent towards their tip, initially green but eventually brown, and rough due to the scars left by discarded stipules and petioles. It is up to 15 cm (5.9 in) long and 0.5–1 cm (0.20–0.39 in) thick. The leaves in the basal rosette look somewhat like those of a carrot and are at least twice as long as wide, 10–45 cm (3.9–17.7 in) long and 4–15 cm (1.6–5.9 in) wide, on a petiole of up to 12 cm (4.7 in) long. These leaves may be upright or lay down. They are herbaceous, variably covered in short glandular hairs between short, whitish hairs. The rosette leaves are pinnately divided, the segments themselves mostly further pinnately divided or incised in linear leaflets or lobes, up to four times in total. The highest order leaflets are usually about 1 mm wide, but up to 8 mm wide in less divided leaves. The base of the segments is wedge-shaped or narrow into a stalk while the tips are rounded or squared-off, the margins entire and rolled upwards. The stipules are heart-shaped or oval with pointy tips, 5–8 mm (0.20–0.31 in) long and 6–10 mm (0.24–0.39 in) wide, thin and pliable becoming dry, and initially densely pubescent on the underside.

The flowers are 6 to 15 together in an umbel-like cluster on top of a sturdy unbranched peduncle of 5–25 cm (2.0–9.8 in) long and maximally 2.5 mm (0.098 in) in diameter. The part of the stalk of the individual flowers that contains the hollow, spur-like hypanthium is 30–55 mm (1.2–2.2 in) long, much longer than the remainder of the pedicel at its base that is up to 4 mm (0.16 in) long. The pedicel is densely set with straight, perpendicular (or strigose) hairs and with glandular hairs. The five sepals are 5–7 mm (0.20–0.28 in) long and 1–3 mm (0.039–0.118 in) wide, narrowly oval in shape with pointy tips, the outside densely strigose and some glandular hairs, the inside hairless, the margins with a row of hairs (or ciliate), dull green to yellowish green in color and sometimes with russet colored and slightly transparent margins. The five petals are almost equal in size and spade-shape with rounded tips, 10–18 mm (0.39–0.71 in) long, pale yellow in color but often adorned with a vague or intense burgundy to purplish black blotch that may leave only the outer margin yellow. The posterior two petals are 4–8 mm (0.16–0.31 in) wide, strongly curved backwards at their base and somewhat curved forwards at their tip. The anterior three petals are 2.5–6.0 mm (0.098–0.236 in) wide and less markedly reflexed. Four long and three short filaments initially carry anthers (best determined in a bud), three filaments are sterile. The pollen is bright yellow in color. The pale green, pear-shaped ovary is 3.5–4.5 mm (0.14–0.18 in) long and about 2.0 mm (0.079 in) wide, densely covered in hairs pointing to the tip. It is topped by a 2.0–2.5 mm (0.079–0.098 in) long style, that branches into five, reddish, curved stigmas.

Fruit and mericarps, showing plumes that assist distribution by wind and the coiled axil that aids in hygroscopic drilling to plant the seed

Like in all Geraniaceae, the fruit is reminiscent of the head and bill of a stork. It is schizocarp and consists of five units or mericarps. At the base of each mericarp is the enclosed seed that is 7–10 mm (0.28–0.39 in) long in the night-scented pelargonium, and a tail of 35–45 mm (1.4–1.8 in) long. The mericarps of Pelargonium are light and carry feather-like hairs to act like parachutes when dry and enable distribution by the wind. The awns of the mericarps coil when drying and uncoil when getting moist. These motions screw the seeds into the ground and in crevices.

Habitat:

The night-scented pelargonium is common in parts of the Northern and Western Cape Provinces of South Africa, from the Cape Peninsula in the southwest to the Orange River in the north and Mossel Bay in the east. It can be found on coastal sands, but is also present on slopes up to an elevation of 1,800 m (5,900 ft). Across this entire region, most precipitation falls during the winter half year, but the annual rainfall varies over its distribution area from about 100 mm (3.9 in) to over 600 mm (24 in). It is most apparent in open areas, but as the fynbos develop, the plants get shaded by the surrounding shrubs and stop flowering. The large underground tuber, however, enables the plants to survive for many years and reappear after a fire has destroyed the above ground vegetation. The deep hypanthium and night scents are suggestive that the flowers are pollinated by night-active, long-tongued insects such as moths. In Pelargonium, the seed capsule splits open along its length when dry, so releasing the seeds. The seed is dispersed on the wind carried by its feathery plumes. Each seed has a section in its tail that is spiraled when dry and uncoils when moist. Once the seed settles on the soil, it drills into the soil as it coils and uncoils with varying moisture. The continued survival of the night-scented pelargonium is considered to be of least concern.

Night scented Pelargonium, Pelargonium triste, Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Location: Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-10-25
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/5.6
  • Exposure Time: 1/500 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-100
  • Focal Length: 200 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: Wikipedia

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my photo.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment. I read all my comments, and try to answer them all.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕. I have to save up enough money to cover some of the expenses for my Landscape Photography Trip to Namibia and also honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland.

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Night scented Pelargonium – 1

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Description:

The night-scented pelargonium is a geophyte, usually about 25 cm (9.8 in), exceptionally up to 50 cm (20 in) high, that loses all above ground parts when it enters dormancy during the dry, hot summer. It lacks spines. From the subterranean rootstock emerge tuberous roots. The stems are hard and woody at their base and succulent towards their tip, initially green but eventually brown, and rough due to the scars left by discarded stipules and petioles. It is up to 15 cm (5.9 in) long and 0.5–1 cm (0.20–0.39 in) thick. The leaves in the basal rosette look somewhat like those of a carrot and are at least twice as long as wide, 10–45 cm (3.9–17.7 in) long and 4–15 cm (1.6–5.9 in) wide, on a petiole of up to 12 cm (4.7 in) long. These leaves may be upright or lay down. They are herbaceous, variably covered in short glandular hairs between short, whitish hairs. The rosette leaves are pinnately divided, the segments themselves mostly further pinnately divided or incised in linear leaflets or lobes, up to four times in total. The highest order leaflets are usually about 1 mm wide, but up to 8 mm wide in less divided leaves. The base of the segments is wedge-shaped or narrow into a stalk while the tips are rounded or squared-off, the margins entire and rolled upwards. The stipules are heart-shaped or oval with pointy tips, 5–8 mm (0.20–0.31 in) long and 6–10 mm (0.24–0.39 in) wide, thin and pliable becoming dry, and initially densely pubescent on the underside.

The flowers are 6 to 15 together in an umbel-like cluster on top of a sturdy unbranched peduncle of 5–25 cm (2.0–9.8 in) long and maximally 2.5 mm (0.098 in) in diameter. The part of the stalk of the individual flowers that contains the hollow, spur-like hypanthium is 30–55 mm (1.2–2.2 in) long, much longer than the remainder of the pedicel at its base that is up to 4 mm (0.16 in) long. The pedicel is densely set with straight, perpendicular (or strigose) hairs and with glandular hairs. The five sepals are 5–7 mm (0.20–0.28 in) long and 1–3 mm (0.039–0.118 in) wide, narrowly oval in shape with pointy tips, the outside densely strigose and some glandular hairs, the inside hairless, the margins with a row of hairs (or ciliate), dull green to yellowish green in color and sometimes with russet colored and slightly transparent margins. The five petals are almost equal in size and spade-shape with rounded tips, 10–18 mm (0.39–0.71 in) long, pale yellow in color but often adorned with a vague or intense burgundy to purplish black blotch that may leave only the outer margin yellow. The posterior two petals are 4–8 mm (0.16–0.31 in) wide, strongly curved backwards at their base and somewhat curved forwards at their tip. The anterior three petals are 2.5–6.0 mm (0.098–0.236 in) wide and less markedly reflexed. Four long and three short filaments initially carry anthers (best determined in a bud), three filaments are sterile. The pollen is bright yellow in color. The pale green, pear-shaped ovary is 3.5–4.5 mm (0.14–0.18 in) long and about 2.0 mm (0.079 in) wide, densely covered in hairs pointing to the tip. It is topped by a 2.0–2.5 mm (0.079–0.098 in) long style, that branches into five, reddish, curved stigmas.

Fruit and mericarps, showing plumes that assist distribution by wind and the coiled axil that aids in hygroscopic drilling to plant the seed

Like in all Geraniaceae, the fruit is reminiscent of the head and bill of a stork. It is schizocarp and consists of five units or mericarps. At the base of each mericarp is the enclosed seed that is 7–10 mm (0.28–0.39 in) long in the night-scented pelargonium, and a tail of 35–45 mm (1.4–1.8 in) long. The mericarps of Pelargonium are light and carry feather-like hairs to act like parachutes when dry and enable distribution by the wind. The awns of the mericarps coil when drying and uncoil when getting moist. These motions screw the seeds into the ground and in crevices.

Habitat:

The night-scented pelargonium is common in parts of the Northern and Western Cape Provinces of South Africa, from the Cape Peninsula in the southwest to the Orange River in the north and Mossel Bay in the east. It can be found on coastal sands, but is also present on slopes up to an elevation of 1,800 m (5,900 ft). Across this entire region, most precipitation falls during the winter half year, but the annual rainfall varies over its distribution area from about 100 mm (3.9 in) to over 600 mm (24 in). It is most apparent in open areas, but as the fynbos develop, the plants get shaded by the surrounding shrubs and stop flowering. The large underground tuber, however, enables the plants to survive for many years and reappear after a fire has destroyed the above ground vegetation. The deep hypantium and night scents are suggestive that the flowers are pollinated by night-active, long-tongued insects such as moths. In Pelargonium, the seed capsule splits open along its length when dry, so releasing the seeds. The seed is dispersed on the wind carried by its feathery plumes. Each seed has a section in its tail that is spiraled when dry and uncoils when moist. Once the seed settles on the soil, it drills into the soil as it coils and uncoils with varying moisture. The continued survival of the night-scented pelargonium is considered to be of least concern.

Night scented Pelargonium, Pelargonium triste, Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Location: Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-10-25
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/5.6
  • Exposure Time: 1/500 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-100
  • Focal Length: 200 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: Wikipedia

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my photo.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment. I read all my comments, and try to answer them all.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕. I have to save up enough money to cover some of the expenses for my Landscape Photography Trip to Namibia and also honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland.

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Matrix Uintjie – 5

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Description:

Moraea bellendenii is a Willowy-stemmed perennial, 50-100 cm, with a single, trailing bear; pale yellow flowers speckled in the center. The outer tepals are plus minus erect and cupped and the inner tepals are small and 3-lobed with a short, obliquely twisted central cusp; the flowers last several days.

Moraea bellendenii flowers during October and November in South Africa.

Habitat:

Moraea bellendenii grows in granitic, sandy or clay slopes in the Southwestern and Southern Cape.

Matrix Uintjie, Moraea bellendenii, Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Location: Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-10-25
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/5.6
  • Exposure Time: 1/400 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-100
  • Focal Length: 200 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: Field Guide to Fynbos by John Manning

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my photo.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment. I read all my comments, and try to answer them all.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕. I have to save up enough money to cover some of the expenses for my Landscape Photography Trip to Namibia and also honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland.

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Matrix Uintjie – 4

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Description:

Moraea bellendenii is a Willowy-stemmed perennial, 50-100 cm, with a single, trailing bear; pale yellow flowers speckled in the center. The outer tepals are plus minus erect and cupped and the inner tepals are small and 3-lobed with a short, obliquely twisted central cusp; the flowers last several days.

Moraea bellendenii flowers during October and November in South Africa.

Habitat:

Moraea bellendenii grows in granitic, sandy or clay slopes in the Southwestern and Southern Cape.

Matrix Uintjie, Moraea bellendenii, Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Location: Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-10-25
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/5.6
  • Exposure Time: 1/640 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-100
  • Focal Length: 200 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: Field Guide to Fynbos by John Manning

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my photo.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment. I read all my comments, and try to answer them all.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕. I have to save up enough money to cover some of the expenses for my Landscape Photography Trip to Namibia and also honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland.

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Matrix Uintjie – 3

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Description:

Moraea bellendenii is a Willowy-stemmed perennial, 50-100 cm, with a single, trailing bear; pale yellow flowers speckled in the center. The outer tepals are plus minus erect and cupped and the inner tepals are small and 3-lobed with a short, obliquely twisted central cusp; the flowers last several days.

Moraea bellendenii flowers during October and November in South Africa.

Habitat:

Moraea bellendenii grows in granitic, sandy or clay slopes in the Southwestern and Southern Cape.

Matrix Uintjie, Moraea bellendenii, Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Location: Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-10-25
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/5.6
  • Exposure Time: 1/640 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-100
  • Focal Length: 200 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: Field Guide to Fynbos by John Manning

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my photo.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment. I read all my comments, and try to answer them all.

Have a Blessed day.

Coreen

PS. Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕. I have to save up enough money to cover some of the expenses for my Landscape Photography Trip to Namibia and also honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland.

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Matrix Uintjie – 2

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Description:

Moraea bellendenii is a Willowy-stemmed perennial, 50-100 cm, with a single, trailing bear; pale yellow flowers speckled in the center. The outer tepals are plus minus erect and cupped and the inner tepals are small and 3-lobed with a short, obliquely twisted central cusp; the flowers last several days.

Moraea bellendenii flowers during October and November in South Africa.

Habitat:

Moraea bellendenii grows in granitic, sandy or clay slopes in the Southwestern and Southern Cape.

Matrix Uintjie, Moraea bellendenii, Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Location: Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-10-25
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/5.6
  • Exposure Time: 1/400 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-100
  • Focal Length: 200 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: Field Guide to Fynbos by John Manning

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my photo.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment. I read all my comments, and try to answer them all.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕. I have to save up enough money to cover some of the expenses for my Landscape Photography Trip to Namibia and also honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland.

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Matrix Uintjie – 1

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Description:

Moraea bellendenii is a Willowy-stemmed perennial, 50-100 cm, with a single, trailing bear; pale yellow flowers speckled in the center. The outer tepals are plus minus erect and cupped and the inner tepals are small and 3-lobed with a short, obliquely twisted central cusp; the flowers last several days.

Moraea bellendenii flowers during October and November in South Africa.

Habitat:

Moraea bellendenii grows in granitic, sandy or clay slopes in the Southwestern and Southern Cape.

Matrix Uintjie, Moraea bellendenii, Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Location: Durbanville Nature Reserve, Durbanville, South Africa
  • Date Taken: 2020-10-25
  • Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-200 mm 3-5.6 IS
  • Exposure Program: Manual
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • F-Stop: f/5.6
  • Exposure Time: 1/400 sec
  • ISO Speed: ISO-100
  • Focal Length: 200 mm
  • Metering Mode: Spot Metering
  • Handheld
  • Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
  • Photographer: Coreen Kuhn
  • Information: Field Guide to Fynbos by John Manning

Thank you with all my heart for stopping by and having a look at my photo.

If you like what you see please press the like button, share and leave a comment. I read all my comments, and try to answer them all.

Have a Blessed day

Coreen

PS. Please support me on☕ Ko-Fi ☕. I have to save up enough money to cover some of the expenses for my Landscape Photography Trip to Namibia and also honoring my promise to Dad to go back to Scotland.

Durbanville Nature Reserve – Hedge Parsley – 5

Exploring South Africa, Flower Photography, Nature Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel Photography

Description:

Torilis arvensis is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae known by the common names Hedge parsley tall sock-destroyer and common hedge parsley. It is an annual herb producing a slender, branching, rough-haired stem up to a meter in maximum height. The alternately arranged leaves are each divided into several pairs of lance-shaped leaflets up to 6 centimeters long each. The leaflet is divided or deeply cut into segments or teeth. The inflorescence is a wide-open compound umbel of flower clusters on long, slender rays. Each flower has five petals which are unequal in size and are white with a pinkish or reddish tinge. Each greenish or pinkish fruit is 3 to 5 millimeters long and is coated in straight or curving prickles.

Habitat:

Torilis arvensis grows in disturbed places such as road reserves; often slopes in South Africa. It is native to parts of Europe and it is known elsewhere, such as North America, as an introduced species and a common weed. I