It's been rainy and cold in Cape Town as of late so I have been able to spend some time trying to put names on my flower pictures. Somewhat successful, but still have quite a few that need more digging. Doing this and constructing the ID guides for the CREW field trips have helped me learn some of the major components of the different floras I have been wandering through. The diversity of geophytes is amazing. And then there are the succulents in the Great and the Little Karoo yet to be seen. Wow!

So here are a few flower pictures to try to show you some of what we have seen. They don’t do justice to how the landscapes look and the real beauty of the flowers. Hope you enjoy.

This is one of the numerous geophytes that are everywhere this time of year. I think it is in the genus Baeometra.

This is Homeria flaccida. Though it is quite attractive, seeing a field filled with these is not really a good thing. This plant is toxic to livestock and so is abundant when its fellow geophytes have been eaten.

This is a gladiolus. There are many species and the variety is delightful. Some I would never have recognized as a glad initially.

Amother genus we know but not one I recognized as such. This is Rhus dissecta. Neat leaves and fruits.

Another member of the Iridaceae, the iris family. Not many iris as we know them but lots of iris relatives. This is one of the species in the genus Moraea. There are dozens of them.

The two stalks with small white flowers are Lachenalia fistulosa. These are relayed to hyacinths in our gardens. Again there are dozens of species in this genus. This picture gives a small feel for what I have seen in my field trips. Wildflower gardens filled with many different species. Stunning!

And last for tonight but certainly not least is my present favorite of the geophytes. This is Babiana ringens. This is another large genus in the Iridaceae. Linda Johnson knows so folks at CNU can ask her, but for the others take a guess what that vertical brown structure is about. Remember this is a geophyte and so this plant is not very tall, maybe 30 cm. But it is bright red. I will add the explanation to an upcoming entry.


Hope you have enjoyed these pictures. After I catch up with my narrative I will add more. I should be out in the field two days this week. But now I have to work on an ID guide for one of the trips.

Edward