South African Plants

[Michaelangelica]

OK South Africa, now is the time to pay the rent!

 

How come my pelagoniums grow like a vine out of the pot and hardly ever flower?

 

What is the secret with Gardenias.?

 

How do you kill Bitu bush that has taken over our coastline ( another bright Australian Idea like Cane Toads)

 

I know we were joined at the hip at one stage, but brother this is getting silly!

 

Most of the 'weeds' at my local lake are S. African plants

[jab2]

 

Most of the 'weeds' at my local lake are S. African plants

That's what you get from using our flowers and turn it into a nice money spinner while we were still sleeping. :(

 

But then we also used you Hakias to plant hedges, and you do not want to see how invasive they are in our mountains. I believe you also have a huge problem with Arum lilies.

 

On the Pelargoniums, which species, because some have rather tatty structures? They normally should stress a bit and not get too much water.

 

Bitu (Bitou) Bush. Nice, if under control. I oversee our indigenous garden at work. Our premises are bordered by natural veld and the bitou (and your Black Wattle) are seeding themselves as if there are no end to the seed pool. The problem with both species are that they totally shade out other seedlings and leave barren soil under them. The best way is hacking them out I guess and get the seedling early. Herbicide will kill all the other species and normally does nothing to the "Target" species.

 

The secret of Gardenias, I guess is time. The South African ones also like a slight acidic soil, it seems and low humidity stun the growth tips and sometimes kill them. I planted a Gardenia Thumbergia some 10 years ago and it is now only about 6 feet height and has only started flowering last season with three flowers. The flowers wilt very fast and it did not set fruit though. It might be that they need cross pollination.

[Michaelangelica]

That's what you get from using our flowers and turn it into a nice money spinner while we were still sleeping. :hihi: :)

Don't worry we now import much of our eucalyptus Oil from China.

I think the flower growers are doing well with proteas though

I believe you also have a huge problem with Arum lilies.

You often see clumps of them not abig problem where I live mainly various suculents that produce millions of babies.

 

On the Pelargoniums, which species, because some have rather tatty structures? They normally should stress a bit and not get too much water.

just something i knocked off from aneighbours garden, Nice flower when it flowers but it jumps out of the pot and grows in avery serpentine way. i do water it daily so i might hold off abit. Too much fertiliser too perhaps?

Bitu (Bitou) Bush. Nice, if under control.

it is an environmental disaster. Originally planted to hold coastal sand dunes. It often grows into vast bushes 7-8 foot high and 10 foot wide. Mostly they spray it here but they are not winning. I think someone is looking for a biological control (we have such great success with those:))

I oversee our indigenous garden at work.

Nice work if you can get it

Our premises are bordered by natural veld and the bitou

(and your Black Wattle) are seeding themselves as if there are no end to the seed pool.

What's veld?

Yes some wattle seed is edible ( if you are starving:)).

Many produce heaps of seed that the ants eat and generally they only germinate after fire (even smoke will make them germinate-sometimes nurseries sell "smoky water" to help break native seed dorminancy- nature is amazing)

The problem with both species are that they totally shade out other seedlings and leave barren soil under them. The best way is hacking them out I guess and get the seedling early. Herbicide will kill all the other species and normally does nothing to the "Target" species.

Impossible to pull out by hand, but yes you are right.

 

 

The secret of Gardenias, I guess is time. The South African ones also like a slight acidic soil, it seems and low humidity stun the growth tips and sometimes kill them. I planted a Gardenia Thumbergia some 10 years ago and it is now only about 6 feet height and has only started flowering last season with three flowers. The flowers wilt very fast and it did not set fruit though. It might be that they need cross pollination.

G. Thunbergia is a very rare plant here. I grew some at my nursery (now retired) but sold them for peanuts as people didn't like the scatty foliage. Those in the know grabbed them. Apparently they can only be propagated by seed -not cuttings (?)

It takes many years (8+?) for them to flower and many more years to reach their full magnificence. I must go and check on the one I planted 15 years ago, one day. It is now about 4M high.

 

I am growing G radicans, magnifica (Professor Pucci), an old single and florida. My soil pH is all over the place. I may have upset a couple of G. florida with some charcoal. it is impossible to buy good English peat now. (not environmentally the thing any more) So I have to do with "coco peat" which is rubbish. How acid do they like it? Are they heavy feeders?

Do you have peaty soils in SA? Where do they grow naturally?

[jab2]

just something i knocked off from aneighbours garden, Nice flower when it flowers but it jumps out of the pot and grows in avery serpentine way. i do water it daily so i might hold off abit. Too much fertiliser too perhaps?

Sound like it is "living too good". The native species in my area (Southern Cape coast) grow on very poor acidic sandy soil and thus do not get an abundance of nutrients. It is also a winter rainfall area and can be water stressed during the summers with temperature going to the low 40 deg Centigrade. Some of our flowers also used daylight length as a reproductive trigger. Not sure if Pelargonium does though. Is your neighbor's plant flowering?

 

Nice work if you can get it

Too bad it's not my core work, but something that was past on to me due to my interest in our indigenous flora and which I do for free after hours.

 

What's veld?

Veld is an Afrikaans word that is now used in South African English. It is loosely translated meaning field, as in "Walking in the fields to view the flowers". Whereas field however describe the location, veld describe the flora of that location like in "The sheep has got good veld to graze". It can however describe a location like "We live in the Sandveld". Sandveld, being a region on the West Coast of South Africa which have very sandy soil.

 

Many produce heaps of seed that the ants eat and generally they only germinate after fire (even smoke will make them germinate-sometimes nurseries sell "smoky water" to help break native seed dorminancy- nature is amazing)

We also used smoke to trigger germination in a lot of our Cape Fynbos species.

 

G. Thunbergia is a very rare plant here. I grew some at my nursery (now retired) but sold them for peanuts as people didn't like the scatty foliage. Those in the know grabbed them. Apparently they can only be propagated by seed -not cuttings (?)

It takes many years (8+?) for them to flower and many more years to reach their full magnificence. I must go and check on the one I planted 15 years ago, one day. It is now about 4M high.

I bought G. Thumbergia because of the fruit that looks similar to a kiwi fruit and the nice silvery bark and symmetrical placement of side branches. The leaves was just the detail on the "canvas". Unfortunately I have sold the house to a family member and they do not have the same love for gardening, so I am not sure what kind of water and feeding regime it is on. I can see however that the growth tips are suffering immensely due to low humidity and possibly too little water.

 

I am growing G radicans, magnifica (Professor Pucci), an old single and florida. My soil pH is all over the place. I may have upset a couple of G. florida with some charcoal. it is impossible to buy good English peat now. (not environmentally the thing any more) So I have to do with "coco peat" which is rubbish. How acid do they like it? Are they heavy feeders?

Do you have peaty soils in SA? Where do they grow naturally?

Not sure of the pH range, but know it is on the acidic side. I will check tonight if I can find some values. Our fynbos (Ericaceae/Proteaceae etc) grow on poor sandy soil coming from weathered Table Mountain Sandstone of very low pH. At my previous house (where G. Thum. is), I had great success on neutral to slight alkaline soil with them by giving regular doses of Alum and alternate it with very dilute sulphuric acid. The alum is longer lasting, but I am did not want to get into Aluminum poisoning problems.

[Michaelangelica]

Sound like it is "living too good". The native species in my area (Southern Cape coast) grow on very poor acidic sandy soil and thus do not get an abundance of nutrients. It is also a winter rainfall area and can be water stressed during the summers with temperature going to the low 40 deg Centigrade. Some of our flowers also used daylight length as a reproductive trigger. Not sure if Pelargonium does though. Is your neighbor's plant flowering?

No it's not, when it does occasionally flower it is lovely

Are you saying MINUS 40? C?

 

 

 

Veld is an Afrikaans word that is now used in South African English. It is loosely translated meaning field, as in "Walking in the fields to view the flowers". Whereas field however describe the location, veld describe the flora of that location like in "The sheep has got good veld to graze". It can however describe a location like "We live in the Sandveld". Sandveld, being a region on the West Coast of South Africa which have very sandy soil.

Arhgh !! you mean "The Bush" in Australian.

 

We also used smoke to trigger germination in a lot of our Cape Fynbos species.

Interesting .

Here it is thought that 40,000 + years of Aboriginal fire "farming" has adapted natives to fire.

Is there the suggestion of the same process in SA?

 

Unfortunately I have sold the house to a family member and they do not have the same love for gardening, so I am not sure what kind of water and feeding regime it is on. I can see however that the growth tips are suffering immensely due to low humidity and possibly too little water.

Bloody sad, me too, you should never go back to your "old" garden .

It is too tragic and upsetting.

Not sure of the pH range, but know it is on the acidic side. I will check tonight if I can find some values

.

I would appreciate it.

Thank you .

Our fynbos (Ericaceae/Proteaceae etc)

My wife hates them ."Too prickly" she says, O dear, not the scientific botanist.

[jab2]

No it's not, when it does occasionally flower it is lovely

Are you saying MINUS 40? C?

No, +42/3ish. We hardly see below freezing temps, at least not where I live, but some Northern parts of SA get heavy frost in winter.

 

 

Interesting .

Here it is thought that 40,000 + years of Aboriginal fire "farming" has adapted natives to fire.

Is there the suggestion of the same process in SA?

I have not really looked at an purely South African context to paleontology, so cannot say. What I know is that the flora of the Cape Fynbos Biome is totally reliant on fire for regeneration. This has a natural frequency of 12 - 30 years, so I guess early man would have had to learn to cope with fire, and possibly used it in a controlled fashion. The Cradle of Humankind in Gauteng province is in a grassland area, which had and still have yearly fire, although not the complete area every year, so I guess the same would be true there also. But then that is the area BOERSEUN live so maybe he can provide some info.

[Michaelangelica]

NT urged to follow WA's gamba grass ban

Posted 8 hours 6 minutes ago

Two men walk through gamba grass

 

Conservationists and the West Australian Government believe the jury is in on gamba grass, but the Territory Government is waiting for more information before making a decision on banning the introduced plant. (Weeds CRC Sally Vidler)

 

A conservation organisation is calling on the Northern Territory Government to join Western Australia in banning gamba grass.

 

The West Australian Government yesterday banned the introduced African plant, saying it poses a fire risk and affects biodiversity. The Government also plans to eradicate all gamba grass in the state.

 

The WWF's northern landscapes manager Dr Stuart Blanch says gamba grass is a major problem and the NT Government is crazy to allow it to be planted across the Territory.

NT urged to follow WA's gamba grass ban - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

[Michaelangelica]

On Oz TV next week

 

AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 GARDENS: SOUTH AFRICA - EP 8 OF 10

 

This spectacular series continues with Monty Don heading off to one of the most plant-rich zones in the world: South Africa. He's on the eighth leg of his incredible global journey. Visiting 80 of the world's most celebrated and stunning gardens, from ancient to modern, large to small, and grand to humble.

 

Tuesday 2 June 2009 8.30pm

ABC1 Rating: (G)

Duration: 60 mins

 

More: EnhanceTV :: Educational TV...

[jab2]

Hope you will be rooted. You will see a lot of family members of your local plants.

 

The description in the info piece of the provided link is a bit low rate though. Our National flower, non plant, is not called the King Proteus, but King Protea, Protea Cynariodes. The Genus Protea and the Family Proteaceae is name after the Greek god, Proteus who could change his form to escape capture. This is due to the very divers flower forms found in the family. In actual fact the flowers is rather small as the structure that is normally called the flower is a floral head containing many flowers.

 

The EnchanceTV info piece also calls the King Protea strange, yet I would say the average person would find it's family members of the Genus Banksia even more strange.

[jab2]

So, Michaelangelica? How was the program?

[Michaelangelica]

So, Michaelangelica? How was the program?

I REALLY enjoyed it. S Africa is so beautiful. Very similar light as in Australia but a lot more plant variation in such a small area. You can travel 2,000 miles here and still see the same tree. Tabletop mountain is amazing, beautiful scenery.

 

The show is not to everyone's taste as he tends to talk about the relationship between people and their gardens and what they mean to their owners. So they are not pretty, pretty, 'Sisinghursts' but slum gardens; artist's gardens; old, run down, but inspired gardens. He is also a plantsman and is fascinated by plants and their history which I also enjoy. He is VERY English. God knows what he will make of Australia if he gets here. There are S. African weeds everywhere! and once we were joined at the hip so there are some similarities but mostly very different vegetation. Possiblely due to Aboriginal fire farming for 50,-70,000 years.

 

The last garden in the programme was the best-- a school garden in a slum area. Fantastic --the way to go.

The Federal Government here has just started a National Kitchen Garden Scheme where kids grow and learn to cook their produce.

The idea was first kicked of by Stephanie Alexander (A famous Australian chef) in Victoria a few years ago. (Nothing much else to do in Victoria but garden):hihi:

[jab2]

There are S. African weeds everywhere! and once we were joined at the hip so there are some similarities but mostly very different vegetation. Possiblely due to Aboriginal fire farming for 50,-70,000 years.

Interesting thought.

 

The plants of the Cape Floristic Kingdom, the small narrow area on the coast beginning about 200km NW of Cape Town and end round about 300km to the east are, what you call "joint at the hip" with some Australian plants. The rest of the country are succulent or grassland/savanha and does not have relatives in Australia. Your mention of fire is thus interresting as the CFK are shaped through fire. Most plants have a 12-18 year live span and the vegetation need to burn on a cycle of 20-25 years to reduce choking and to created space for the smaller members to re-establish themselves. This is specially true for the bulbous plants which are the first to flower after a fire. The area are however of mediteranian climate and electric storm are not the norm. This keep the burn cycle to the above timeframe, or rather it allowed the vegitation to establish the 20-25 year cycle.

 

With the taming of fire by humans and the huge increase in fires of human origin, this cycle are now under thread and the vegitation see much more frequent burns. In some areas there is a clear change in the population spread and number breakdown as species which tend to take a while to reach sexual maturity are destroyed before seed is set.

 

It should thus be interesting to view your statement about aboriginal fire management against this history of the developement of the CFK plants.

[Michaelangelica]

Interesting thought.

 

This keep the burn cycle to the above timeframe, or rather it allowed the vegitation to establish the 20-25 year cycle.

i will do a little reseach but i suspect that Australian plants are used to being burnt more frequently. many will not germinate unless there is smoke about. You can even buy "smoky water" to soak native seeds in to help germination in many nurseries.

There is a Royal Commission Inquiry into the recent disastrous Victorian Brushfires when so many were killed and thousands made homeless. There were many mistakes logistically; and the fire was exceptional. However I suspect one of their findings will be that we are now not burning off bush litter often enough. I read somewhere that 6" (?) of litter can give you fire as tall as gum trees.

We do have three areas of Mediterranean Climate

Around Perth in W.A., Around Adelaide in S.A. and most of Tasmania.

SEE

South African Plants Factsheet - Gardening Australia - ABC

(I had to leave an old just flowering Tree Gardenia (Gardenia thunbergia) in my last garden. You don't have access to any seeds do you? It won't grow from cuttings.)

bitou bush, oxalis, kikuyu and couch. are everywhere. My last garden had a kikuyu lawn(not by choice it wandered in from next door). it is almost impossible to keep out of the garden. up until recent times it was the most popular lawn.

Bitou bush was planted to stop erosion on coastal sand dunes. Locally it is everwhere and out of control (I live a mile or two from the beach). I think "they" are trying out S. African bugs for biological control.

It is nice to see we have given you a few weeds back :ud:

SABONET - Invasive alien plants in southern Africa - Myrtaceae

 

Some google 'research'

Chapter 4 Fire and Flora

 

The origins of Australia's plants

Even the earliest commentators on Australia's flora remarked on its strangeness and novelty, compared to what they knew in Europe. In the eighteenth century, botanists working on Australian flowers noted similarities with South African plants. Further similarities were found with South American plants and later with the fossil flora of Antarctica.

Image Link

The reasons for these similarities can be found in the earliest origins of Australia's plants, some 140 million years ago in the Cretaceous period.

At this time Australia, Antarctica, India, South America and Africa were joined in one massive landmass called Gondwana. At the same time flowering plants evolved in the regions of this supercontinents which are now Africa and South America, and slowly spread across the rest of the landmass.

The shared origins of these plants can be seen in families that are common to the southern continents, such as the Proteaceae which has members in both Australia and Africa.

Then, around 90 million years ago, via a process known as plate tectonics, Gondwana began to split into the continents we know today; Africa, India and South America drifted northwards, while Australia and Antarctica remained locked together in the south. Finally, they too split apart and Australia began its long journey into isolation. It carried with it animals and plants that were to be separated from most of the rest of the world for the next 50 million years.

The truly Australian elements of the continent's wildlife evolved during these millions of years of isolation.

SETIS Digital Resources: Table of Contents Script

[jab2]

You can even buy "smoky water" to soak native seeds in to help germination in many nurseries.

We have a collective name for the plants of the CFK, namely fynbos, litteraly translated to fine brush, due to many of the plants having very small leave. The climate are wet in winter, but can be very harsh in summer, needing all kinds of "tricks" to reduce water loss. A lot of fynbos species also germinate only when primed by ash soaked water, which is the first rain after a fire. This is the prompt that the vegetation is clear after a burn and ample sunlight is to be had. We get "fire water" soaked and dried filter paper (Instant - just add water) which does the job quite well and store equally well. I used it a few times to germinate Proteas, Leucospernums and Leucadendrons. The smoke work less well on the bulbous plants due to their live cycle being around the bulb which is protected by the heat underground so their seed germination is not as important.

 

SEE

South African Plants Factsheet - Gardening Australia - ABC

As this link mentions, the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens are a showpiece of CFK plants. If ever you visit these shores, do make an effort to spend one FULL day at the gardens. Since you seemed to have an appreciacion for botany, I might even take some leave and travel 400km to give you a personal guided tour. Not that I consider myself an expert on the Gardens, but I do have some knowledge of the large leaved species of the fynbos due to my partisipation it the Protea Atlas Project as a volenteer field worker. (And I love my fynbos plants) Do read the PANs (Protea Atlas Newsletters)

 

 

(I had to leave an old just flowering Tree Gardenia (Gardenia thunbergia) in my last garden. You don't have access to any seeds do you? It won't grow from cuttings.)

Same boat as you. I had to leave mine at a previous house and the current owners (family, but not loving :ud:) do not care for nice plants. It has apparently flowered since I sold, but that was for me to find old, dry flowers to know. The family did not even notice even though the flowers have a very intense smell.

 

 

bitou bush, oxalis, kikuyu and couch. are everywhere. My last garden had a kikuyu lawn(not by choice it wandered in from next door). it is almost impossible to keep out of the garden. up until recent times it was the most popular lawn.

BTW, kikuyu is not an SA plant, but comes from Kenya. It is however use for, I would guess, 80% of our lawns thus could have been imported from here. It does suffer from frost in the northern areas where they have winter frost and present a light brown lawn, no green colour, for about 5 months of the year. It does however recover after the winter. Very invasive if not managed. Bitou, we do not call it Bitou Bush like you, does seed very easily. We however does not have a problem as the other plants keep it in check in the natural vegetation. It is only in caltivated areas near virgin vegetation that it seeds readily. Oxalis not a problem as most species grow low on the ground. The ones with the yellow flower on a 15-20cm stem does get out of hand on caltivated land, but is easily controlled with Roundup.

 

What's couch?

 

Bitou bush was planted to stop erosion on coastal sand dunes. Locally it is everwhere and out of control (I live a mile or two from the beach). I think "they" are trying out S. African bugs for biological control.

It is nice to see we have given you a few weeds back :ud:

SABONET - Invasive alien plants in southern Africa - Myrtaceae

Yes, in the fynbos the Hakeas are specially invasive in destroying our indiginous Proteaceae. Respond with vigour after fires and tend to outgrow all other plants.

 

SETIS Digital Resources: Table of Contents Script

Thanks.

[Michaelangelica]

Couch is atype of grass once popular as alawn

 

Habitat---Couch-grass is widely diffused, being not only abundant in fields and ... Among these the Couch-grass (Agropyrum repens) is pre-eminent, though anything ...

botanical.com - A Modern Herbal | Grasses

Thanks for the offer. I do like the guy who does the garden programme (Around the World in 80 Gardens) He has just done France and an Amazing Botanical garden in NORWAY! inside the Arctic circle. so I will pop in to Africa after i have done France (i wish).

if you ever get to Sydney or the Tectonic plates go into reverse :shrug: look me up!

The ash paper sounds interesting. it may have uses with some plants here. i am not' big on' natives especially bulbs. I think most don't survive farming and urbanisation.

Keep looking for G. thunbergia seed. I may just have enough time left on the planet to grow another and see it flower.

[Michaelangelica]

Hi any S Africans' know anything about these please?

Is any specific variety, species used for pain?

Do they/it have a common name?

Effect of Cadmium Accumulation on Anti-Inflammatory Activity in Two Eucomis Species.

Bull Environ Contam Toxicol. 2009 Sep 19;

 

Authors: Street RA, Elgorashi EE, Kulkarni MG, Stirk WA, Southway C, Van Staden J

 

Eucomis species (Hyacinthaceae) are widely used in South Africa as traditional medicine. The bulbs are used to alleviate a variety of symptoms including pain and inflammation. High levels of cyclooxygenase-1 and -2 (COX-1 and COX-2) inhibitory activity have been associated with certain Eucomis species.

 

The aim of this study was to quantify cadmium (Cd) accumulation and examine its effect on COX-1 and COX-2 anti-inflammatory activity in Eucomis autumnalis and Eucomis humilis. Cadmium application at 2 mg L(-1) over a 6 week period revealed a substantial difference in total Cd accumulation in E. autumnalis and E. humilis (40.2 and 15.3 mg Cd kg(-1), respectively).

 

When supplied with Cd at 2 mg L(-1), E. humilis bulbous extracts showed lower inhibitory activity than the control for both COX-1 and COX-2. E. autumnalis bulbous extracts had greater COX-1 activity compared to the control. While COX-2 activity was suppressed. Researchers should be aware of the effect of environmental contaminants when reporting on biological activity of crude plant extracts.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19768359?dopt=Abstract

[jab2]

Nope. Never heard of it. I have a few in pots but have never come across it being used as a medicinal plant. I guess my understanding of "widely used in SA" as medicinal medicine are a bit different from the authors'. I'm not saying it is not used but definitely not in my area.

 

Research Centre for Plant Growth and Development, School of Biological and Conservation Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal Pietermaritzburg, Private Bag X01, Scottsville, 3209, South Africa.

That area is however well known for traditional medicine usage.