Volume 10 April 2014 - SANBI
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Volume 10 • April 2014
CREW –National Overview
Domitilla Raimondo & CREW co-ordination team
for plant conservation in our coun-
C REW, the Custodians of
Rare and Endangered
Wildflowers, is a programme
2 013 was an exciting year for
the Custodians of Rare and
Endangered Wildflowers (CREW)
try that aligns with 16 outcome- that involves volunteers from
oriented targets of the Global Strat- the public in the monitoring
Programme, as you will read egy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) and conservation of South
in the pages that follow. The of the Convention on Biological Africa’s threatened plants.
programme has expanded both Diversity (see www.Plants2020. CREW aims to capacitate a
into new parts of the country net). The majority of South Africa’s network of volunteers from
and also focused on develop- active botanists and conservation- a range of socio-economic
ing a host of young plant con- ists gathered at this workshop spe- backgrounds to monitor
servationists—an opportunity cifically to discuss the GSPC and and conserve South Africa’s
that has been made available its implementation nationally. The threatened plant species.
through the Groen Sebenza Pro- workshop included stakeholders The programme links vol-
gramme, a jobs fund initiative of from national and provincial con- unteers with their local
the Department of Environmen- servation authorities, taxonomists, conservation agencies and
tal Affairs. NGOs (e.g. the Botanical Society particularly with local land
of South Africa), independent bota- stewardship initiatives to en-
CREW has been operating for over nists, conservationists working on sure the conservation of key
10 years and our volunteers have business and biodiversity initia- sites for threatened plant
built up significant knowledge of lo- tives, and conservation planners. species.
cal plants that they are now able to The workshop resulted in national
help us transfer to this new cohort level targets being developed for all
of budding plant conservationists. 16 targets. In addition, milestones
were identified for measuring pro-
2013 also saw the CREW co-or- gress with implementation, and
dination team leading the process commitment from various organisa-
to develop a National Strategy for tions and individuals to lead on the
Plant Conservation with support different targets, were made. The
from the Botanical Society of South CREW Programme plays a vital
Africa (BotSoc) and the South Af- part in ensuring that South Africa
rican National Biodiversity Institute achieves the following three tar-
(SANBI). This process involved gets related to the conservation of
developing priority actions required threatened plants:
1
• Target 2, a conservation as- effort with the majority of CREW members has been challenging
sessment of all known plants. groups contributing accounts of but full of rewards, and Vatiswa re-
• Target 5, the conservation of threatened species and we would counts the road travelled so far on
important plant areas. like to thank all of you who put so page 6 . Also in the Eastern Cape,
much time into producing this book. in the plant biodiversity hotspot
• Target 7, in situ conservation of A limited run of 500 copies were of Pondoland, another four para-
threatened plant species. printed by BotSoc and are available ecologists are working and being
South Africa’s national strategy will at SANBI’s Kirstenbosch and Pre- trained to collect herbarium speci-
be published in 2014. toria bookshops. The book is also mens and monitor medicinal plant
available in electronic format as an use by CREW volunteers based in
After a decade of hard work, e-book. Port Edward. Spreading the knowl-
CREW celebrated the success of edge of Pondoland’s unique flora
the work of volunteers monitoring The CREW Programme did some and focusing efforts in the Eastern
and conserving plants, by publish- major expanding during 2013. Up Cape section of this centre of en-
ing the book Plants in Peril—100 north, the Limpopo CREW group demism is a very appropriate way
of South Africa’s highly threatened got going, working hard to survey to continue the botanical legacy of
plant species and the people threatened Euphorbia species Tony Abbott, one of South Africa’s
protecting them. Written by the around Polokwane, and survey- finest botanical amateurs who
network of volunteers involved in ing the Blouberg and Wolkberg passed away in 2013 and will be
CREW, as well as several profes- mountains that are full of endemics. sorely missed by all involved with
sional botanists and horticulturists, Limpopo Province has the poor- the CREW Programme. Our para-
this publication profiles the excel- est biodiversity information of all of ecologist project is funded by the
lent work being done to conserve South Africa’s provinces. It is very Groen Sebenza Programme, and
South Africa’s most threatened under-surveyed and we have few will continue for another two years.
plants. The book has four sec- records of threatened plant spe- We hope that in this time valuable
tions, the first includes case stud- cies. Read more about this new specimens will be gathered from
ies of highly threatened species, and essential work on page 14. this under-collected part of the
the second is a section focusing CREW has now taken the bold step country and that the para-ecolo-
on species threatened by use, and of moving our work into deep rural gists build skills that will allow them
the third section looks at hotspots areas of the Eastern Cape. We to find employment in the biodiver-
of plant diversity where our CREW have set up a base at the Selmar sity conservation sector after the
volunteers are based that are under Schonland Herbarium in Gra- programme.
threat. In the last section the book hamstown and under the capable
features various CREW groups and leadership of Vatiswa Zikishe, six CREW is becoming famous all
also focuses on how the network of para-ecologists (young community over the world; other mega-diverse
people required to conserve these members who monitor plants) have countries, including Brazil and Co-
species is being grown. Produc- been employed. Taking on capacity lumbia, are interested in repeating
ing this book was a collaborative development of young community our model. The IUCN Species Sur-
The cover of Plants in Peril.
vival Commission is also very inter- SANBI and BotSoc. As part of cele- strength to strength. With the now
ested and we are repeatedly asked brating their centenary, BotSoc has long-term involvement of many vol-
to write up case studies of our pro- developed a conservation strategy unteers in certain parts of the coun-
gramme for international audienc- which requires involvement of their try, a deep knowledge of where
es. During 2014, the CREW co-or- members in the CREW Programme special plants occur has been de-
dination team will focus on produc- as the fundamental core of their veloped and maintained, allowing
ing a lessons learnt scientific paper conservation work, see Catherine
so we can share the successes of a very valuable contribution to con-
Browne’s article on page 38.
the CREW model with biodiversity servation to be made. We would
conservationists around the world. In this newsletter you will read that like to thank all our CREW volun-
Fundamental to the success of in its tenth year of operating, the teers for your ongoing dedication to
CREW is the partnership between CREW Programme has gone from the conservation of our flora.
News from the
CREW Cape Floristic Region node
Ismail Ebrahim
was a very successful event, show- gensis (Vulnerable), which was
A nother amazing year of
CREW work passes by and
it still feels like the first day of
casing the magnificence of the
Cape floral diversity. The expo was
on display at the expo. I was very
excited to see this species for the
starting the CREW Programme. attended by a range of stakehold- first time. Gladiolus overbergensis
We have so much to do and the ers, including cut flower producers, usually only appears after fire. The
excitement and commitment with various displays of indigenous area we found them in was cleared
from the volunteers have just in- plant products, conservation pro- for a new protea orchard and the
creased over time. As we reflect jects and a huge labelled specimen plants were coming up between
on ten years of CREW’s exist- exhibit. The event also gave our the newly planted seedlings. The
ence, we can feel proud of our new Groen Sebenza intern an op- farmer confirmed that a few years
achievements. We have made a portunity to see what the CREW ago there were many plants in the
huge impact on the conserva- Programme is all about and meet natural veld just above the orchard
tion community and won some
some of the volunteers involved in and fortunately he doesn’t have any
great battles for the protection
the project. development plans for that area.
of our rich and diverse flora. We also found a small population
One of the highlights was the cen- After the event we went off to find of Aristea teretifolia (Endangered)
tenary celebration of Kirstenbosch a population of Gladiolus overber- which was a nice surprise.
National Botanical Garden and the
Botanical Society of South Africa in
2013. There were many spectacu-
lar events to celebrate this momen-
tous milestone. The first was the
Kirstenbosch Science Showcase,
which saw SANBI pull out all the
stops to put on a magnificent dis-
play of past and present research
programmes. We organised an
iSpot Bioblitz in the Kirstenbosch
National Botanical Garden as part
of the celebration. Our Bioblitz
events have been a great way of
exposing this wonderful tool and
getting new people to join the iSpot
family.
In August we were invited to re-
peat our display at the Cape Floral
Kingdom Expo in Bredasdorp. This Volunteers at the Bioblitz held at the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden. 3
Our C-team focus for 2013 was gramme. Our interns are Anri
targeting some of the recently burnt Marais, Dewidine van der Colff,
areas in the Cederberg and sup- Karin Herman and Marius Lombard
porting the new CREW groups. Our (see their profiles for more informa-
first mission to the Cederberg was tion). Our focus was on training
to find Sparaxis roxburghii. This and capacitating interns to identify
species is Red Listed as Critically plants, monitor rare and threatened
Endangered and is currently known plants, engage communities and
from one locality. Our search for conduct environmental educa-
this species has not been success- tion activities. This took up a lot
ful so we were very keen to verify of our time but it is very rewarding
the existence of the population. Un- to share this knowledge with our
fortunately, we searched for hours interns and they have been fan-
but could not find the population. tastic in taking up the challenge
Applications for agricultural expan- of becoming involved in conserv-
sion in the area have been submit- ing threatened plants. We had
ted, so we will be keeping a close numerous training courses, not
eye on the area and this year we only for our interns, but also includ-
will return to find this species. The ing Groen Sebenza interns from
highlight of the trip was seeing the other areas. This has made a real
The rare Pakhuis Pass endemic, impact and helped build partner-
most stunning Romulea viridibrac-
Romulea viridibracteata.
teata (Rare), which is only known ships between CREW and other
from Pakhuis Pass. conservation bodies. In addition,
many interns joined us in the field
We had very strange weather last to see new populations of Moraea for more practical training and field
year. Many of the planned field vuvuzela (Endangered) and Spa- work experience. Building capacity
trips were cancelled and when we raxis maculosa (Critically Endan- is hard work, but seeing the growth
did manage to get out in the field, gered) found by Anso Le Roux from of an individual is very rewarding. It
most of the days turned cold, wet Worcester. is incredibly inspiring and I wish all
and miserable. Nevertheless, we our interns the best for the future.
kept our spirits up and enjoyed the We were fortunate to get addi- They must keep up the great work
veld despite the inclement weather. tional capacity in the team through as they continue on their journeys
One of the most exciting trips was the SANBI Groen Sebenza Pro- of discovery and growth.
News from the
CREW KwaZulu-Natal node
Suvarna Parbhoo
find two new sites of Hyobanche footpath of this derelict reserve. A
2 013 has been a busy yet
successful field season with
several exciting finds—over 70
fulleri (Critically Endangered) on
the KwaZulu-Natal south coast
collaborative trip to Utrecht with
the KwaZulu-Natal Herbarium and
field trips took place and 105 dune vegetation. Khumbu’s insights Millenium Seedbank Programme
sites were surveyed, with 77 with communities gave us an ad- colleagues in search of Polygala
threatened plants recorded. vantage when visiting these areas. praticola (Data Deficient) yielded
carpets of our target species. It is
The KwaZulu-Natal Node is for- The CREW All Over group con- unbelievable to think that this en
tunate in that we have a team of ducted eight field trips during the masse flowering plant is Data Defi-
three this field-season. National past season. The first field trip for cient—hopefully the genus has an
Research Foundation (NRF) intern, the year was definitely an excel- interested specialist working on a
Khumbu Zulu and Groen Sebenza lent start to the 2013 season. We revision.
intern, Hlengiwe Mtshali have both visited a tiny reserve at Durban
done exceptionally well in assisting harbour, the busiest port in South Volunteers from Dundee have
with planning, meeting and fieldtrip Africa, in search of the orchid Zuex- joined the CREW network this year.
preparations. Hlengiwe’s sharp ine africana (Critically Endangered) Although the enthusiastic group
4 eyes in the field have allowed us to and found several plants along the of five’s ‘playfield’ is a vast area of
CREW A Team volunteer, Chris Wahl- Polygala praticola (Data Deficient).
berg photographing Zeuxine africana.
transformed lands, they conducted
two field trips in search of orchids.
Both trips yielded null-records of
the target species but these deter-
mined CREWites pushed on and
will continue with their searches
over the next few years. We are
glad to report that the CREW
Umvoti group has been resur-
rected for this season, after group
champion Sue Swan’s ill health
the past few seasons kept her out
of the field. We are fortunate in
that Lynda Drögemöller has taken
over championing this group. The
group planned five fieldtrips—their Marinda Koekemoer presenting her Asteraceae identification course.
successes were varied, from fail-
ing to relocate Asclepias woodii
(Vulnerable), to finding an incred-
ible ancient population of the cycad sify soil types and rock substrates introduce non-scientists to the larg-
Encephalartos natalensis (Near and he has agreed to join us at the est plant families in southern Africa
Threatened). next workshop to share more in- in an attractive, easily understood
formation on this fascinating topic. manner.
Our annual summer-rainfall work- Seloba Chuene and Alvin Mapatha,
shop, held at Eshowe, was once two students from the University of The CREW KwaZulu-Natal Univer-
again well attended with a good mix Limpopo, have written about their sities project involving a Red List
of CREW volunteers and students experience at the workshop (see lecture and field trip to a site with
from the University of KwaZulu-Na- their contributions on page 40). threatened species continued its
tal’s Westville campus, University success into its fourth year. Theo
of Zululand and University of Lim- We held two identification courses Mostert, lecturer at the University
popo. The BotSoc KwaZulu-Natal this year: the genus Kniphofia pre- of Zululand, recounts their practical
inland branch had organised an en- sented by Syd Ramdhani, and iden- field experience on page 37. Uni-
tertaining quiz on Saturday evening tifying plant families with a particu- versity of KwaZulu-Natal’s Pie-
and we hope to establish this as a lar focus on Asteraceae presented termaritzburg campus students
tradition for workshops in years to by Marinda Koekemoer. We were conducted their survey at Doreen
come. For the first time, we had a introduced to the newly published Clark Nature Reserve. Data col-
geologist, Prof Mike Watkeys, giv- Guide to plant families of southern lected for both field trips is useful
ing us some insight on how to clas- Africa. The book is designed to to the KwaZulu-Natal provincial 5
conservation agency, Ezemvelo versity of Technology alumni are ence of managing a project, and in
KZN Wildlife. We were delighted now working at SANBI— including particular one of this nature. Fur-
when the Mangosuthu University our intern, Khumbu Zulu. thermore, Groen Sebenza itself is a
of Technology’s Nature Conserva- pilot project. The initial phase of the
We would like to congratulate the project was quite rough. I hadn’t re-
tion department, located at Umlazi, CREW KwaZulu-Natal network for ceived some of the para-ecologists’
Durban, invited CREW to sit on the outstanding number of threat-
their advisory board. This gives us contracts, they were panicking and
ened plant records submitted over about to give up on the project, and
the opportunity to ensure plant con- the past year. We would also like to I had to motivate them while per-
servation is given priority. Further- thank the various plant specialists suading Groen Sebenza officials
more, this partnership is important for their ongoing guidance and sup- to send the contracts. Eventually
as a number of Mangosuthu Uni- port to the CREW Programme. the contracts arrived, and were
subsequently signed and sealed,
but I had no guidelines as to how to
proceed. The only resources I had
News from the Groen-
were my laptop, 3G card and my
brain.
After giving it some thought, I
CREW Eastern Cape devised a questionnaire for each
village in order to find out what en-
vironmental issues they were deal-
node ing with, whether they were aware
of the causes and consequences
of the issues, and what they value
Vathiswa Zikishe as a community. Responses to the
first task led to a series of activities
being planned for each village. The
sa people live. They recognised responses revealed the unique-
E stablishing the CREW Pro-
gramme in the Eastern Cape,
particularly the Albany region,
that overexploitation of natural
resources threatens not only biodi-
ness of each village regarding
how they interact with the natural
has been in the pipeline since versity but also indigenous knowl- environment, their understanding
2012 but was hampered by a edge and ultimately South Africa’s of environmental issues and their
lack of funds. Towards the end natural heritage. Their knowledge values. For example, Pirie Mission
of 2012, the Development Bank and expertise make them valued is faced with poverty issues, which
of Southern Africa presented partners for us at CREW. lead to crime and degraded natural
a green jobs fund opportunity, resources as a result of hunting
widely known as Groen Seben- To achieve the aims of the pro- and over-harvesting of medicinal
za, to SANBI and this allowed ject, we chose the villages of Pirie plants to generate income for their
the realisation of our dream of Mission and Ngqinisa within the households. Ngqinisa on the other
piloting the CREW Programme Cacadu District Municipality and hand is very dependent on natural
in the Eastern Cape. I call it employed six matriculants, four of resources to meet the needs of
Groen-CREW, and it is indeed a whom are based in the villages and their livestock as well as their liveli-
green CREW at this stage. two in Grahamstown. Pirie Mission hood. They experience problems
is situated inland, a few kilometers such as bush encroachment, which
The Groen-CREW Eastern Cape from King William’s Town and has is caused by overgrazing, and over-
Node aims to collect biological a vast indigenous forest, which is exploitation of medicinal plants by
data on all organisms (but focus- unfortunately being extensively people from other villages. The
ing mostly on plants), to gather harvested for medicinal and other responses from these two villages
indigenous knowledge, and to raise cultural uses. Ngqinisa lies be- may seem different but the bottom
awareness about biodiversity con- tween Hamburg or Port Alfred and line is that both communities are
servation through environmental East London and is a very special faced with environmental issues.
education and community outreach area with a variety of ecosystems, One of the aims of the project is to
programmes. To attain this, we ranging from forest to marine. It is raise awareness of these issues
have collaborated with Rhodes Uni- also very rich in natural resources. and workshop some of them with
versity’s Inkcubeko Nendalo (mean- Both villages have potential for bio- the communities to find solutions or
ing ‘Culture and Nature’ in isiXho- cultural research. to improve the situation.
sa), led by Tony Dold and his wife
Michelle Cocks. Tony and Michelle June 2013 marked the beginning of The core aim of CREW in the East-
have been conducting research for the project. There was no existing ern Cape is to collect and docu-
more than 10 years, focusing on CREW Programme in this part of ment plant diversity. In July we had
6 the former Ciskei areas where Xho- the world and it was my first experi- our first workshop on how to collect
Tony explaining one of the plant identifi-
cation processes; comparing a herbari-
um specimen with fresh material.
descriptions. Subsequently, Tony
presented training in basic termi-
nology and the use of keys to iden-
tify specimens. We were amazed
to find that within the period of two
days, they were able to identify
some of the specimens with con-
siderable accuracy.
The following comments were
The CREW Groen Sebenza Eastern Cape team. Front row from left: Khululwa
made by the para-ecologists after
Gxekwa (Grahamstown-based Conservation Officer), Landiso Mila (para-ecologist
based at Pirie Mission) and Siphosethu Moshanin (para-ecologist based at Ng-
introducing them to the project and
qinisa). Standing from left: Mzukisi Beja (para-ecologist at Ngqinisa), Someleze training them in collecting speci-
Mgcuwa (para-ecologist based at Pirie Mission), Tony Dold (Selmar Schonland mens:
Herbarium Curator and co-mentor of the Groen Sebenza project), Michelle Cocks
(Senior Researcher based at Rhodes University’s Anthropology Department) and “There’s so much more to a flower
Vathiswa Zikishe (CREW and Groen Sebenza Co-ordinator). than just its beauty; I now look at
plants differently! I used to hunt
animals, and harvest sea food and
specimens. The para-ecologists areas where network coverage is medicinal plants with the idea that
learned about the history of the very poor. From assessing their they belong to us, so we can har-
herbarium, why it exists and what specimens, we realised that the vest as much of them as we like,
it can be used for, and they were lack of basic botany terminology but that mindset has now changed.
trained to do the same things as detracted from the quality of their I’m now aware about the impor-
the early botanists and explorers
that visited this area. These are
crucial skills for accurately docu-
menting and monitoring our flora,
as specimens are useful for con-
servation science and they have
various other purposes in other
related fields of study. Plant collec-
tion is not as simple as it seems,
particularly when you did not do
natural science or biology at school
and lack basic knowledge of the
terminology used in botany. After
the training, the para-ecologists
went back to their villages and
started collecting. Tony and I set off
for the villages two weeks later and
we were both amazed by the re-
sults. Some of the para-ecologists
had even gone to the lengths of
researching the plant names on the
internet, despite living in deep rural Mzukisi Beja and Landiso Mila busy with their drawing task. 7
tance of our natural resources, and about and that helps with my teach-
that we need to protect them for the ing at schools”, said Mluleki Nkosi.
future generations”, said Mzukisi
Beja. The choice of working with ma-
triculants was a good one but there
“I’m fascinated by plant morphol- were challenges presented by
ogy, especially the internal struc-
literacy levels and understanding
tures”, said Khululwa Gxekwa.
the language of science, botany in
“This opportunity has inspired me particular. However, the para-ecol-
to dream again”, said Landiso Mila. ogists’ enthusiasm, courage and
eagerness motivates and inspires
“This is an interesting field of study
me in so many ways. It is true that
and I’m falling in love with it”, said
you can have all the resources at
Siphosethu Moshani.
your disposal but if you don’t have
“This project has changed my the right people to carry the vision
mindset; I used to have a problem forward, the project is doomed. So
with DAFF rangers arresting our far, we have managed to change
people in the forest when collecting their mindsets and won their hearts
medicinal plants. I now understand to conservation as caretakers of
the reason why: it is to stop our in- the environment. The huge task
digenous plants from going extinct”,
ahead of us is to keep them moti-
said Someleze Mgcuwa.
vated, something you’ll hopefully
“I now have a better understanding read about in the next issue of the
of what Nature conservation is all CREW newsletter! Landiso Mila pressing his specimens.
The Botanical Society Biodiversity Stewardship Project
in KwaZulu-Natal
Isabel Johnson
Since the main purpose of steward- diversity of a number of steward-
T his has been another busy
year for the Biodiversity
Stewardship Programme in Kwa-
ship is to conserve biodiversity, we
have initiated a long-term monitor-
ship sites and to examine the rela-
tion between veld condition and
ing programme to ascertain the plant diversity. Many hours have
Zulu-Natal, with approximately effects of grazing on the plant been spent on hands and knees in
22 000 hectares of private and
communally owned land secured
for conservation. Rewarding
progress for the BotSoc-CEPF
(Critical Ecosystems Partnership
Fund) funded project was the
eventual signing of the procla-
mation papers for Red Desert
Nature Reserve in Pondoland by
the MEC.
This has been an extremely long
and frustrating process but we
are all delighted that it has finally
happened. We have also secured
Bosch Berg Nature Reserve near
Boston, an extension to the existing
Boston View Biodiversity Steward-
ship Agreement area, and most
other sites are progressing well, if
8 slowly. Surveying Boston View plots.
Regional suspects
of the
Invasive Species
Programme:
Help us
Brachystelma sandersonii.
find them!
Asclepias praemorsa. survey is. The Pondoland CREW Reshnee Lalla, with contributions
group helped me out with assess- from Bongani Mashele, Dan’sile
ing the damage caused by illegal Cindi, Ernita van Wyk, Haylee
various grasslands collecting ‘eco- bulldozing at the Fairview site on Kaplan, Kanyisa Jama & Peter
scraps’ from 100 m2 plots as a prel- the south coast followed by a quick Shisani
ude to yet more hours of mystery walk in the grassland where we
solving in the herbarium. We have again found Brachystelma sander-
also done several veld condition sonii (Vulnerable). The Mkham-
assessments with the Department
of Agriculture and we are becoming
bathini CREW group and BotSoc
members visited Virginia (part
T he Invasive Species Pro-
gramme: Early Detection and
Rapid Response (ISP: EDRR)
quite proficient at identifying grass of the Ingwehumbe Nature Re- based within SANBI and work-
species when not in flower, as well serve) in late November with Geoff ing across all nine provinces,
as doing soil classification. I have Nicholls to track down his previous targets invasive species with
also been lucky to get to some sighting of the Critically Endan- limited known distributions and
fascinating places while assisting gered Brachystelma natalensis, a aims to prevent further spread.
with site assessments for the stew- KwaZulu-Natal sandstone sourveld The co-ordination of a national
ardship programme at Babanango, endemic. Sadly the area hadn’t programme of this nature is a
Phinda, Upper Pongola, Swartberg, been burnt for a while and we didn’t complex task and has to con-
Ozabeni and Ncandu. find any but we now know exactly sider a multiplicity of issues,
where to look when it is burnt. We including the different dynamics
In addition, there have been some did find many Asclepias praemorsa
rewarding CREW-Stewardship out- in the provinces, environment,
(another sandstone sourveld en-
ings, including our annual new year climate, strategies, priorities,
demic) in flower. A visit to Lake
visit to Happy Valley at Impendle stakeholders and leadership.
Lyndhurst with the Midlands CREW
(now a recognised surveyed flower group on a breathtakingly beautiful In order to work effectively at a lo-
reserve as part of the Upper Um- day in spring revealed thousands of cal level, regional units of the ISP
geni Stewardship area) where we Moraea graminicola subsp. grami- have been set up to allow for local-
added several new records to the nicola (Near Threatened) in flower. ised operations, species prioritisa-
growing list of over 200 species. It tion, and closer interaction and col-
is amazing how every visit at the The good news is that we have laboration with local stakeholders,
same time in January still yields secured CEPF funding for another while delivering on national goals
surprises and it makes one realise year so I am looking forward to and targets.
just how inadequate a once-off more exciting stewardship work!
Over the years the CREW Pro-
gramme has become one of our
key partners. The ISP wishes to
acknowledge the support and con-
tributions of CREW staff and vol-
unteers, especially their support in
surveillance of ISP target species.
The contribution of CREW ‘eyes
and ears’ is invaluable to our detec-
tion work.
This article highlights one target
species from each of the ISP re-
gional units. We hope this will serve
to harness and expand the exist-
The weather can be challenging! ing partnership between ISP and 9
CREW and engender increased
communication between stakehold-
ers across the country.
If you see any of the plant species
described here, please contact
the ISP. Contact details of regional
units are provided at the end.
KwaZulu-Natal:
Rubus ellipticus (yellow
Himalayan raspberry)
Native to Asia, this robust shrub
was recently detected for the first Red hairy bristles on the stems and branches of young plants of Rubus ellipticus.
time in Hillcrest, KwaZulu-Natal.
In contrast to its notorious cousin,
the American bramble (Rubus
cuneifolius), R. ellipticus can pro- Eastern Cape:
duce arching branches and attain Carduus nutans
heights of up to 7 m. Reproduction
can occur via seed and root suck- (nodding thistle)
ers. Leaves are dark green and
trifoliolate, with roundish leaflets. Carduus nutans is a member of
Stems and branches of young the Asteraceae, native to Eurasia.
plants are covered in dense red It is a herb with sharp spines that
hairy bristles, which could turn densely cover the stems and leaf
brown with age. Flowers are white, margin, which gives the plant its
and the raspberry-like fruit turns spiny texture. Growing at the top of
yellow when mature. the stem are large pink or purple
flower heads, which usually bend
over and ‘nod’ at a 90-degree an-
gle. In South Africa, the species is
Nodding heads of Carduus nutans
widespread in Grahamstown, Cra-
(photograph: Lesley Henderson).
dock, Kenton-on-Sea, Port Alfred,
Paterson and Addo. It is a prolific
seed producer—each flower can species and has the ability to re-
produce up to 1 200 straw-coloured duce productivity of pasture and
seeds (Smith & Kok 1984). Car- rangeland by chemically inhibiting
duus nutans is an aggressive in- growth of other plant species (al-
vader that out-competes native lelopathy).
10 Trifoliolate leaves of Rubus ellipticus. A stand of Carduus nutans (photograph: Lesley Henderson).Western Cape: and released after fire. The species
is therefore well suited to becoming
Melaleuca hypericifolia established and spreading in coast-
al zones where the area is naturally
(hillock bush) fire-prone, and where the habitat is
This attractive shrub is native to moist enough (Brophy et al. 2013).
New South Wales, Australia. In Plants can grow up to 6 m high
South Africa, it has invaded moist and the branches have a weeping
areas of Table Mountain and can habit. The leaf arrangement is very
be found cultivated in residential distinctive (opposite, 10–40 mm
gardens in coastal towns of the long and 4–10 mm wide) and they
Western Cape. It is adapted to smell like camphor when crushed.
coastal conditions. Seeds are held The flowers are attractive red bot-
in the canopy in woody capsules tlebrushes.
Red flowers of Melaleuca hypericifolia.
Weeping branches of Melaleuca hypericifolia.
Northern Cape: on its stems. Plants usually grow in
clumps up to 0.5 m tall. The stem
Tephrocactus articulatus segments fall off easily and will
usually root wherever they land.
(pine cone cactus) This species also produces small
winged seeds that spread easily in Small clusters of bristles on stems of
This popular ornamental plant has
the wind. Tephrocactus articulatus.
a high invasive potential. Similar to
other cactus weeds, this species
invades by forming large, dense
clumps that spread vegetatively
and are often difficult to remove.
Look out for a small greyish green
cactus with segmented cylindrical
stems that resemble pine cones
(hence the common name). The
plants are often spineless but can
sometimes have long, white pa-
pery spines (Walters et al. 2011).
Pine cone cactus plants can easily
be confused with native Hoodia
species but the former has small
clusters of dark bristles (glochids) A clump of Tephrocactus articulatus. 11Mpumalanga:
Cryptostegia grandiflora
(rubber vine)
Cryptostegia grandiflora is native
to Madagascar and is known to
occur in natural environments in
Mpumalanga and Limpopo. This
species invades savanna areas,
riverbanks and dongas, smother-
ing indigenous species, including
large trees, and severely threatens
riverine environments by displacing
plants and animals. It is poisonous
and the sap is an irritant to skin
and eyes. It is a scrambling shrub
2–3 m tall or a climber 10 m or
more. Branches are smooth with
numerous small lenticels. Leaves
are dark green, shiny, smooth, egg-
or wedge-shaped to tapering at the
base, 60–90 × 30–50 mm. Flowers
are pale pink to purplish pink. Fruits
are in the form of sacs, often more
than 100 mm long, splitting in half Cryptostegia grandiflora in the field.
to release seeds with tufts of hairs
30–40 mm long (Marohasy & For-
ster 1991).
Limpopo and stems to climb up trees to heights
of 6–9 m (Oakley & Kiesling 2013).
North-West Flowers are tubular, pale yellow to
white, producing bright red scaly
Province: fruits.
Harrisia balansae
(climbing harrisia)
A small infestation of this cactus
was discovered on a farm called
Skruinsdrift about 10 km north of
Groot Marico. The invader, which is
of Argentinian origin, spread from
an abandoned farmhouse and has
covered an area of less than 20 ha
on both sides of the Straatsdrif
Road. It has the potential to devel-
op into a serious invader, hence the
decision to attempt eradication. An-
other population has been detected
near Modimolle, Limpopo Province
where it is invading Mkleuw Farm
Lodge and 26 Sussenvale Farm
along the R101 Road. It is a succu-
lent cactus with long 3- or 4-angled
spiny or cylindrical unbranched
stems. Spines are arranged in
clusters, usually with one long
spine (30 mm long) and several
shorter spines (10–20 mm long). Its
Pale pink to purplish pink flowers of
clambering growth habit allows the
12 Cryptostegia grandiflora. Spiny stems of Harrisia balansae.Tubular flowers of Harrisia balansae.
Gauteng and Free green, erect, flattened with a raised
midrib, to 1 m long, with about 10
State: per ramet (individual member of
clone). Rhizomes are pink in colour.
Iris pseudacorus Large showy flowers (with a typi-
(yellow flag iris) cal iris structure) are yellow with
brownish mottled markings on up-
Native to North Africa, Europe and per surfaces and are produced in Green to blue-green, sword-shaped
Asia, this species has become nat- spring or early summer. The fruit is leaves of Iris pseudacorus.
uralised in Australia, South Ameri- a dry capsule 40–70 mm long, with
ca, North America and South Africa numerous pale brown seeds. This
and is invasive in many temperate plant may be confused with the in-
parts of the world. In South Africa
digenous albeit uncommon Moraea
it is invading wetlands and is a pro-
huttonii that grows in similar habi-
posed category 1a species in NEM-
tats. Collaboration with stakehold-
BA. According to the South African
Plant Invaders Atlas database, Iris ers such as the Moreletaspruit
pseudacorus was previously re- Invader Task team, Tshwane Mu-
corded from four localities in South nicipality, University of Pretoria and
Africa. In Gauteng the first record local residents has resulted in new
was in 2004 at the Vaal River populations being reported. Clear-
between Vereeniging and Vander- ing attempts to assess feasibility
bijlpark. In Limpopo Province it was of management were conducted
recorded at Klein Kariba Pleasure on isolated populations in Serene
Resort near Bela-Bela in a wetland Valley during November 2013, re-
adjacent to the camping site and it sulting in the removal of seven I.
has recently (2010 to 2013) been peudacorus plants.
recorded in Equestria, Pretoria and
Howick, KwaZulu-Natal. It is a her- The ISP is based within the South
baceous perennial plant, 1.0–1.5 m African National Biodiversity Insti-
(or a rare 2.0 m) tall. Leaves are tute and is funded by the Depart-
sword-shaped, green to blue- ment of Environmental Affairs. Flower of Iris pseudacorus. 13Contact Details for ISP Regional Units
Regional unit Contact Person Email Tel
KwaZulu-Natal Reshnee Lalla R.Lalla@sanbi.org.za 031 207 6480/2
Eastern Cape Kanyisa Jama K.Jama@sanbi.org.za 043 726 7450
Western Cape Ernita van Wyk Er.vanWyk@sanbi.org.za 021 799 8678
Northern Cape Travor Xivuri T.Xivuri@sanbi.org.za 021 799 8406
Mpumalanga Bongani Mashele B.Mashele@sanbi.org.za 013 752 6504
Limpopo and North-West Province Peter Shisani P.Shisani@sanbi.org.za 012 843 5013
Gauteng and Free State Dan’sile Cindi D.Cindi@sanbi.org.za 012 843 5152
References
Brophy J.J., Craven, L.A. & Doran, J.C. 2013. Melaleucas: their botany, essential oils and uses. ACIAR Mono-
graph No. 156. Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Canberra.
Marohasy, J. & Forster, P.I. 1991. A taxonomic revision of Cryptostegia R.Br.(Asclepiadaceae: Periplocoideae).
Australian Systematic Botany 4: 571–577.
Oakley, L. & Kiesling, R. 2013. Harrisia balansae. In: IUCN 2013. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version
2013.2
Walters, M., Figueiredo, E., Crouch, N.R., Winter, P.J.D., Smith, G.F., Zimmermann, H.G. & Mashope, B.K. 2011.
Naturalised and invasive succulents of southern Africa. Abc Taxa 11: i–x.
Smith L.M. & Kok, L.T. 1984. Dispersal of musk thistle (Carduus nutans) seeds. Weed Science 32: 120–125.
News from the Limpopo CREW group
Bronwyn Egan & Sylvie Köhne
clivicola and the much more com- In March 2013 we were joined by
T he CREW group in Limpopo
is a new initiative and mem- mon E. schinzii so we await expert Domitilla Raimondo and Lize von
Staden. This provided the incentive
bers often feel overwhelmed by taxonomic input. A follow-up visit
not knowing where to start. This confirmed the presence of this con- to access the Serala Peak in the
decision was taken out of our fusing species on hills opposite the Wolkberg in order to gain experi-
hands by the construction along quarry and an extensive search in ence working with the datasheets
the R71 between Polokwane and the uninhabited area beyond these and to look out for specials in this
Tzaneen. hills is envisaged. beautiful area. An important aspect
of this outing was that students
We were aware of the possible
Chlorophytum radula is a Criti- from the University of Limpopo
presence of Euphorbia clivicola, a
cally Endangered species found in were able to join us and gain ex-
nondescript but Critically Endan-
grassland remnants such as fire- perience in CREW techniques,
gered endemic succulent, along
breaks on some of Komatiland For- as well as an appreciation for the
the road verge in certain places
ests’ land. Our two visits to these beauty and conservation value of
but we had not surveyed in this the Wolkberg.
area. In February 2013 we were areas revealed that the populations
asked to identify some Euphor- are in good condition and that they Aster nubimontis (Endangered) and
bia species, possibly E. clivicola, are not in immediate danger, as Inezia speciosa (Endangered) were
near the widened road. This was long as pine seedlings are cleared the targets of our trip to the Stylkop
a good place to start but it opened regularly, bush-encroachment is area of the Wolkberg in early No-
a can of worms in that the plants kept under control, and the areas vember. This trip was a good learn-
14 seem to be somewhere between E. are monitored. ing opportunity for Alvin MapathaNews
from the
Mpumalanga
Plant
Specialist
Group
Barbara Turpin
A ‘club’ that exists in Mpuma-
langa for anyone who has
an interest in learning about the
local flora, the Plant Specialist
Group (PSG), runs two ‘lecture’
weekends a year along with a
number of plant-spotting out-
ings. The purpose of the expedi-
tions is either to draw up spe-
cies lists for particular farms,
or to look for populations of
Data Deficient and threatened
plants as identified by Domitilla
Raimondo and Lize von Staden.
The Limpopo CREW group enjoying the field.
This year, the outings had a very
definite Barberton theme!
and Seloba Chuene who had fun in the area. By the end of the meet- In February 2013 PSG visited a
twisting their tongues around the ing and site visit, the tribal authority ridge above Vertroosting Nature
scientific names of all the flowers had assured us that they would
we came across. Both species work to prevent development in the
were found with I. speciosa in par- area and would show us popula-
ticularly pleasing numbers. tions of the plants that had not yet
been mapped. We hope that during
Then in mid-November, the 2014 we can collaborate with this
Mothiba tribe, together with the community on further monitoring
Department of Economic Affairs, and protecting these populations.
Environment and Tourism (LEDET),
the Polokwane Municipality and CREW Limpopo had an exciting
a local botanist, invited CREW to end to our activities with a three-
view the remaining populations of day walk on the Blouberg Mountain
Euphorbia groenewaldii (Critically near Senwabarwana. Although
Endangered) growing in a small the rest of the province had had
area between Polokwane and Hae- some rain, Blouberg was still ex-
nertsburg. Some objectives were tremely dry. We collected Rapanea
to introduce the community to the melanophloeos (Declining) and
importance of the plant, to view the Warburgia salutaris (Endangered),
existing populations, and to discuss both specials on our list. Rare,
possible unknown populations with endemic plants found included Ty-
experts in the local community. It lophora coddii (Rare), Mystacidium
was of overriding importance to braybonae (Near Threatened) and
gain the support of the local leader- Berkheya radyeri (Rare). We plan Habenaria cf. mossii at Vertroosting
ship (tribal authority) in protecting to repeat the trip in February 2014 Nature Reserve (photograph: J.E. Bur-
the plants from illegal development after the rains have fallen. rows). 15ing a colony growing among rocks,
even though they had finished flow-
ering. This species was previously
only known from the Magnesite
Mine area near Malelane. Some of
the other exciting finds included the
beautiful little Ledebouria cremno-
phylla (hitherto known only from the
Honeybird Creek area near Barber-
ton), Ozoroa barbertonensis and
Gymnosporia sp. nov. (a serpentine
endemic with scabrid leaves).
Our last outing of the year, at the
beginning of December 2013, was
to Heemstede, near Barberton.
Among the interesting finds here
was one of Sandie Burrows’ new
Asparagus species that she is
describing, namely A. barbertoni-
cus—a Barberton endemic. The
target species was the rare orchid
Surveying Senegalia lotteri with its namesake at Mundts concession, Barberton
(photograph: Lize von Staden). Nervilia kotschyi var. purpurata. A
few populations were discovered
near a stream in wet soil, but, un-
fortunately, they were not flower-
Reserve near Sabie and enumer- We made use of the wonderfully
ated 153 species. One of the spe- shaded bush camp next to a bur- ing. While hunting for the orchid,
cials that we found was a colony of bling stream at the bottom of the we came across the Vulnerable
the slow-growing Aloe alooides, a valley. Among the notable finds Brachystelma longifolium and Oxa-
dolomite endemic. Its habitat is not were Senecio triodontiphyllus (Vul- lis davyana. There were quite a few
threatened since the plant favours nerable) and a new geoxylic suf- different Hypoxis species growing
outcrops and cliff faces, which are frutex species of Ochna that will be in the grassland and with Dr Yashi-
unsuitable for pine plantations. We described at Kew. ca Singh’s help, we hope to identify
also found a Habenaria that may be them soon.
an undescribed species. October 2013 saw us exploring
the serpentines around Barberton We are looking forward to this
In April 2013, Barberton Moun- looking for, in particular, Macledium year’s PSG/CREW outings search-
tainlands invited PSG to help with zeyheri subsp. thyrsiflorum (Threat- ing for rare and endangered plants
the floral aspect of their ‘bioblitz’. ened). We cheered heartily on find- in Mpumalanga.
Zululand CREW reports on the field trip
to Ozabeni
Francois du Randt
special attention, that is, the Ma-
T he Ozabeni Wilderness Area
in Zululand is a host to rare
vegetation in its woody grass-
the area. The group constituted
Dr Theo Mostert (University of
Zululand), Francois and Ron-
putaland wooded grassland or
palmveld, and the sand forest in
land, swamp forest and sand elle du Randt (Dendrological its totality. The Ozabeni wooded
forest. On 20 October 2013, Society), and Suvarna Parbhoo, grassland falls in the Maputaland
members of CREW and the Zulu- Joycelyn Sutherland and Jill Palmveld ecological habitat. It is
land branch of the Dendrological Sheldon (KwaZulu-Natal CREW not really a wooded grassland, but
Node).
Society visited the area with the it is in fact an underground for-
aim of exploring, identifying and There are two main ecological est, because so many plants have
16 monitoring trees and plants in habitats in Maputaland that need underground rootstocks and areclassified as geoxylic suffrutices.
Examples include Parinari capen-
sis var. incohata, Salacia kraussii
and Elephantorrhiza elephantina.
Having an underground rootstock
provides protection from veld fires.
These geoxylic suffrutex plants
are of considerable conservation
importance. From a distance, the
real wooded grassland can be
distinguished easily from ordinary
grassland as it is darker green. The
lighter green coloured grasses are
found in wetter, probably season-
ally waterlogged regions. We drove
up to the Mbazwane Drainage Line
and saw numerous flowers but
unfortunately, we did not have any
time to access the swamp forest.
The original intention was to cover
both the Maputaland Palmveld and
grassland, as well the Mbazwane
Drainage Line swamp forest but
this was not possible because of
time constraints and poor weather Theo Mostert at Ozabeni.
conditions. Some roads and man-
agement tracks were explored be-
tween Sodwana Bay access gate tance of the wooded grassland do more exploration on both sides
and the northern part of the Mba- because of its rare and interesting of the Mbazwane Drainage Line.
zwane Drainage Line. The group geoxylic suffrutex plants. The Den-
drological Society and CREW will We suggest educating the general
stayed east of the drainage line and
could not find easy access towards compile a complete database of public about this fascinating, wood-
the western side. The group quickly recorded species. It is very impor- ed grassland and the importance of
realised the conservation impor- tant to follow up on this trip, and to conserving it for future generations.
News from the Midlands CREW group
Nikki Brighton
visiting the Edgeware grassland in most of us. Amongst the dolerite
M idlands CREW has many en-
thusiastic amateurs with a
sprinkling of experts, but every-
Boston to search for a specimen of
an interesting Morea photographed
rocks in Impendle Nature Reserve
we found Boweia volubilis (Vulner-
one keeps learning all the time. last season but so far unidentified. able) and (we think) Senecio drege-
Excursions range from explor- We were unable to locate it and anus (Vulnerable), both of which
ing old favourites (plants and also missed out on the Schizoglos- caused some excitement.
places), to compiling impressive sum bidens subsp. hirtum (Data
plant lists with a regular visit to Deficient—Insufficient Information) We are fortunate that there are
Happy Valley in January for the that we were looking for, but we many regular walks in natural
past 10 years that has produced
saw Cycnium racemosum for the places in the Midlands. We are able
a list of 222 plants with 32 new
first time on this site, as well as to join these for informal botanis-
plants recorded this year, to
many Asclepiads and dainty Pelar- ing without much effort in different
finding new treasures in unex- seasons. We frustrate the hikers
gonium alchemilloides.
pected places, and assisting on though as we huddle around a tiny,
sites for the Biodiversity Stew- On an excursion to the Highland pale splotch in the grass while they
ardship Programme. Sourveld grassland of Lake Lynd- want to head up the hill! On one
Eight field trips were planned for hurst, we discovered Vernonia of these walks, a small colony of
the 2013/2014 season, including re- thodei near the wetland, a first for Asclepias woodii (Vulnerable) was 17News
spotted on Beacon Hill—a special the plants in our grasslands so
patch of mistbelt grassland right in share our experiences widely and
suburban Howick. Often our birding encourage young people to get
friends join us too, which means involved. Enjoy all the pictures and
everyone learns a lot about our
plant and animal biodiversity.
read about Midlands CREW activi- from the
ties and Midlands wildflowers here:
We believe that it is important to
inspire others to get excited about
www.midlandsconservanciesforum.
wordpress.com Underberg
CREW
group
Sharron Berutti
M any of the Red Listed plants
occurring in the area cov-
ered by the small Underberg
CREW team are found in the Wil-
derness Area of Maloti Drakens-
berg Transfrontier Park. Unlike
many other areas, it is likely that
many of these species are sim-
ply under-recorded rather than
threatened by habitat changes.
However, as access is by foot for
Looking up the plant at Impendle Nature Reserve. the vast majority of the park, it is
challenging to locate such spe-
cies, particularly those occur-
ring at higher altitudes. The year
has been very successful and
records are fully documented
with specimens collected.
As we build expertise and knowl-
edge of species, we hope we can
find sufficient new populations to
bring about the down-listing of sev-
eral Red Listed species.
New sites were found for the follow-
ing five orchids in the Maloti Dra-
kensberg Park:
• Satyrium microrrhyncum
(Rare—found at three localities
varying in altitude by 600 m).
• Schizochilus bulbinella (Rare—
two populations, one numbering
about 6 000 plants)
• Disa sankeyi (Rare—one site)
• Disa sanguinae (Rare—one
site)
A record of Disa oreophila subsp.
erecta (Rare) awaits confirmation.
At the top of Edgeware—Peter Warren, Christina Potgieter sporting her BotSoc- Asclepias oreophila (Rare) was
18 CREW collecting bag, and Barbara Clulow observing a plant behind her. found at two sites. The one knownMaking ourselves at home in Gxalingenwa Cave. Aster confertifolius (Rare).
site for Disa tysonii (Rare) was their description. Senecio kalingen- CREW outing to the Garden Castle
monitored and a new site recorded. wae was reported from just one Section of the Maloti Drakensberg
The population of Macowania site. We found both species—A. Park.
hamata (Rare) on or near the road- confertifolius at six sites (number-
side in Sani Pass has survived ing thousands) and S. kalingenwae Without the support of Ezemvelo
road-widening operations. Popu- in three small pockets of highly KZN Wildlife, most of this work
lations of one Sample Red List specialised micro-habitat in close would not be possible. In particu-
Index species listed for monitoring, proximity and numbering just over lar, we thank Sonja Krueger for
Anemone fannini (Near Threat- 100 individuals in total. Aspidonep- her support of the programme and
ened), were mapped and counted. sis cognata (Rare—40 plants) was Charl Brummer for organising logis-
A new population of Protea subves- also located on this trip and this tical support for the Gxalingenwa
tita (Vulnerable) was located. species was located on another expedition.
On farmlands outside of the Maloti
Drakensberg Park, two populations
of Disa scullyi (Endangered) were
found and a large new population
of Nerine pancratioides (Vulner-
able) numbering perhaps 3 000
plants was located.
News from the
A highlight of the year was a
four-day three-night expedition
Mkhambathini CREW
to Gxalingenwa Valley (Cobham
Ezemvelo Wildlife Reserve) just
south of Sani Pass, overnighting at
group
Gxalingenwa Cave. The team hiked
12.5 km to the cave and Ezemvelo Alison Young
KZN Wildlife kindly provided pack-
horses and staff to transport our
gear. This was one of the locations uring the previous field sea- to a field with a different aspect,
visited by Olive Hilliard and Brian D son, we went on 14 outings we came across a population of
Cyrtanthus obliquus (Declining)
(Bill) Burtt, legendary botanists who to nine localities, many of these
collected in the southern Dra- being follow-up visits for flower- probably saved from the resident
kensberg and named many spe- ing material to confirm identifi- cattle herd by the fence to stop
cies. Their detailed collecting work cations. them getting into the sugarcane. It
at 30 sites remains the definitive is quite special to see this plant in
botanical analysis of this region to In September 2012 we went to the
KwaZulu-Natal.
this day. In the 1980s, they named Masonite Estate in Eston where we
two species, Aster confertifolius confirmed a sighting of Hermannia In October there was a visit to a
(Rare) and Senecio kalingenwae sandersonii (Vulnerable), which farm in Baynesfield next to the
(Critically Rare), known only from is quite a way south of its previ- Estate that we visited two years
this valley and unrecorded after ously collected range. Moving on before. Plants that should be in the 19arifolia (Near Threatened) in the
rocky sandstone outcrops on the
edge of the Gwahumbe Valley. We
also found another site record for
Desmodium gangeticum (Least
Concern) far south of its normal
range.
In August 2013 we went for a drive
between the N3 and the Umgeni
River to the area around Nagle
Dam. It had been the site of nu-
merous very old collections but
the area is now quite populous
and overgrazed by goats and cat-
tle. The uninhabited areas contain
dense Acacia and Lantana thickets.
In November 2013 we teamed
up with the inland branch of the
Botanical Society to look for
Brachystelma natalense (Critically
Endangered), which had been seen
Beautiful yellow-flowered Hermannia sandersonii. about 20 years previously. It was
an unsuccessful outing from that
point of view but we found a new
area are Gerbera aurantiaca and are very vague about exact locali-
locality for Argyrolobium longifo-
Anemone fanninii (Near Threat- ties. In November, we went to a site
lium (Vulnerable) which made the
ened), neither of which we saw but 5 km east of Pietermaritzburg in
trip worthwhile. The grasslands are
the grasslands were in excellent the Upper Mpushini Conservancy
well cared for in these parts and
condition. in Ashburton. Unfortunately, histori-
those patches that were not burned
cally, this area has been under cat-
The Pietermaritzburg Indus- this time will be burned next year,
tle ranching until at least 50 years
trial Area is being built on the only so we will return.
ago and there is not too much bio-
known locality for Brachystelma
franksiae subsp. franksiae (Vulner-
diversity left in the remnants of the There were several trips in De-
grasslands we saw. cember after quite a bit of late rain.
able). The land around these popu-
lations is also coming under heavy One was to a site in Cato Ridge
The highest point between Pie-
pressure for housing developments where we found a single plant of
termaritzburg and Durban is a hill
and peri-urban activities. Euphor- the Vulnerable Dierama pallidum.
called Ingomankulu, which has
bia franksiae (Vulnerable) also oc- We squeezed in a visit to a lo-
been surrounded by farmers who
curs here in large numbers. Both cal conservancy at World’s View
farm sugarcane and vegetables
species had been reported in the where there was Merwilla plumbea
rather than cattle. The plant life
Camperdown area but old records (Near Threatened), Drimia robusta
shows unique similarity to the
(Data Deficient—Taxonomically
Natal Group Sandstone remnants
Problematic) and Boophone disti-
that are more common closer to
Durban. In December, we stum- cha (Declining). Boophone disticha
bled upon new records of Senecio is one of the species we have to
exuberans (Endangered), Schizo- monitor and we generally find it at
glossum peglerae (Endangered) most sites but in very low numbers.
and Zaluzianskya pilosa (Data Defi- However, the population at World’s
cient—Taxonomically Problematic). View north of Pietermaritzburg has
The population of Eriosema popu- the oldest and biggest plant bulbs
lifolium subsp. populifolium (En- by far compared to the others we
dangered) found here was different have seen, possibly because of the
from the clone at Priscillavale found site’s inaccessibility to collectors.
the year before—the leaves were On a return visit to a population of
grey and all were unifoliolate and Kniphofia in the Umkomaas Val-
the open flowers were a paler or- ley, which was flowering at a com-
ange than Eriosema distinctum. pletely different time of the year, we
confirmed that it was not Kniphofia
January 2013 saw us trekking out albescens as we originally thought,
20 Woodia verrucosa. to find yellow flowering Aloe line- but a new locality for KniphofiaYou can also read
