letting nature back in

Following the local Wandelpad, I took these photos on a recent walk. From old milkwood trees to tiny flowers, it was good to take a break from home maintenance demands.

A grove of old white milkwood (Sideroxylon inerme) trees confers a high degree of gravitas on a corner of the Wandelpad. Milkwoods can live at least as long as 500 years and may grow to a height of 15 metres or so. The common name ‘milkwood’ comes from the white latex in the leaves.

A view of the Klein River from an elevated section of the Wandelpad, which for the most part follows the river that flows past the edge of Stanford village.

Looking from the Wandelpad over fynbos, riverine trees, farmland and across to the Klein River Mountains.

Among the plants growing along the Wandelpad is the winter flowering wild rosemary (Eriocephalus africanus). Although like the Mediterranean rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus) it is an aromatic herb that can be used in cooking and to make tea, the plants are not related. Wild rosemary occurs naturally in the Western and Eastern Cape and in Namaqualand. Its surprisingly extensive lateral roots and a tap root that can penetrate to a depth of 6 metres (over 19 feet) contribute to the plant being drought resistant.

The masses of small white flowers of the wild rosemary attract insect pollinators. Leaf characteristics add to the plant’s drought resistance: the silvery-grey colour reflects sunlight and so keeps the leaves cooler, the silvery hairs on the leaves trap moisture, and the small needle-shaped leaves limit water loss. The aromatic oils also contribute to retaining moisture. Interestingly, wild rosemary plants growing in the salty air near the coast have more succulent leaves than those growing inland (http://pza.sanbi.org/eriocephalus-africanus).

Massed together, profusely flowering wild rosemary certainly brightens up the winter landscape. After flowering, the flowers are replaced by fluffy white seedheads resembling cotton wool or snow, hence the alternative name Cape snow bush or kapokbos in Afrikaans.

I also found some low-growing crassulas growing in small patches near the Wandelpad. This is a clump of Crassula capitella, currently in flower. Although they are known to flower in mid-to-late summer, here they are still flowering. In conditions that include sunshine and dryness, mature leaves can turn red. There are five subspecies growing wild in southern Africa (http://pza.sanbi.org/crassula-capitella).

The small white flowers grow in clusters on long succulent stems.

The flowers attract pollinators such as bees and butterflies.

At first I assumed this shrub growing next to the path to be a confetti bush, one of the coleonemas, but I have since learnt that this is a tortoise berry (Muraltia spinosa), a species that flowers during the winter months. In the summer it sports fleshy red berries that are edible to birds and to humans – and to tortoises too, hence the common name.

A fynbos plant in flower that I have yet to identify though I guess it might be one of the aromatic buchu species in the Agathosma genus. There are 150 species of Agathosma in the Western Cape. There is a lot to learn!

Our most delightful discovery so far was finding tiny wild freesias growing on a ridge above the river. I think these are Freesia caryophyllacea, known as fragrant kammetjie. Not only are they very small, but their flowering season is April to June, whereas the fairly similar dune kammetjie (Freesia leichtlinii) is taller, the flowers are radially symmetrical, and the flowering season is later, being July to October.

These freesias are very tiny with plants being about 10 cm (4 inches) tall. They are perennial plants and they grow in clay soils and limestone. The flowers are fragrant (though I had to kneel down to catch the scent).

The lower petals are variably marked with yellow.

In some plants only the middle lower petal of each flower is marked with yellow and in others the three lower petals are yellow to a greater or lesser extent.

These little freesias have great charm.  When not in flower the small leaves are easily overlooked and so it seems quite magical when suddenly they are in bloom.

In the Red List of South African plants, the status of these freesias is Near Threatened. Despite being formerly widespread and common, only between 25 and 35 locations of this species remain “now largely confined to small fragments due to over 77% habitat loss to crop cultivation. Decline continues”. (http://redlist.sanbi.org/species.php?species=1543-5)

It is fortunate that the elevated section of the Wandelpad where the edges of the pathway are relatively undisturbed provide a small haven for one of these remnant populations of freesias.

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Postscript

I have sad news about the baby doves that were in their nest outside our study window. A day or two after my previous post, I opened the curtains to check up on them and the nest was gone. We found the nest upside down on the ground near the base of the tree – there was no sign whatsoever of the babies. We could only wonder what predator had dislodged the nest that had been just over 4 metres (about 13 feet) from the ground. Perhaps an African harrier-hawk? One of the distressed parents hung around in the tree for the rest of the day. I had hoped that the proximity to our house might protect the nest, but that was not to be the case.

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Posted by Carol