Africa Wild

Koffiepit Aptosimum marlothii
Order: Lamiales. Family: Scrophulariaceae

© Lisbeth
Augrabies Falls National Park

Aptosimum spp are woody herbs or subshrubs. Leaves alternate, 1-veined, entire. Flowers axillary, solitary or in short cymes. Calyx 5-lobed; tube campanulate. Corolla 5-lobed; lobes rounded. Stamens 4.
There are 20 species in South Africa, all with similar flowers. They are difficult to distinguish and best told by leaves.

Description of the genus
Perennial undershrubs but sometimes flowering in herbaceous state, low, with or without elongated and often procumbent branches, sometimes cushion-forming or tufted, mostly woody at base. Leaves alternate, usually densely crowded on long or short shoots, linear, lanceolate, elongated or spathulate, entire, 1-nerved, midrib sometimes persistent and spinescent. Flowers solitary in leaf axils or in short axillary cymes, sessile or subsessile, bibracteolate, dark blue to violet. Calyx tubular, 5-lobed to various depths; tube campanulate; lobes linear to deltoid or ovate, +/- valvate in bud. Corolla tubular, slightly irregular, 5-lobed; tube elongated, much longer than calyx, widening suddenly above short, narrow base into a long throat, mouth wide; limb patent, much shorter than tube, oblique; lobes free, rounded, +/- equal, 2 posterior outside in bud. Stamens 4, didynamous, included, arising in lower part of corolla tube; filaments filiform; anthers of shorter, posterior pair smaller than those of longer, anterior pair and sometimes sterile, anthers bithecate, transverse, ciliate-hispid; thecae confluent so dehiscing along a single transverse line. Nectary usually saucer-shaped. Ovary bilocular; ovules many; style filiform, exceeding stamens; stigma small, obscurely bidentate, emarginate or subcapitate. Fruit a thick-walled capsule, obovoid, +/- globose, broadly ovoid or ovoid, upper part compressed at right angles to septum, emarginate, septicidal but opening only at top, often persistent; valves usually bifid. Seeds many, obovoid or flattened-globose; testa adpressedly reticulate.

Description
Aptosimum marlothii is a small woody shrub, 50 cm tall, thin, long and spiny branches with narrow leaves arranged in clusters, the tubular, blue to purple flower is larger than the leaves, fruit is a dark capsule.

Distribution
Namibia, South Africa (Free State, Northern Cape, North West).

Save Crossandra, Sabi Crossandra Crossandra mucronata
Order Laminales. Family Acanthaceae

Kruger National Park, not far from Phalaborwa gate © Lisbeth


Description
Erect, clump-forming, perennial herb, up to 30 cm. Foliage leaves mostly basal. Flowers in erect spikes, pale apricot to deep orange-red, held in densely hairy bracts. The flowers are produced over an extended period from November to March.

Distribution
Mpumalanga and Limpopo, as well as from Mozambique and Zimbabwe through East Africa to Somalia.

Habitat
In Acacia and Mopane woodland, usually growing in full sun.

Links:
https://www.operationwildflower.org.za/ ... ler-1-8940
https://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/species ... _id=153970

Bushveld Crossandra Crossandra greenstockii
Order Laminales. Family Acanthaceae

Nelspruit © Richprins


Description
Perennial herb with unbranched stems up to 50 cm high, growing from a creeping woody rootstock. Leaves mostly in a basal rosette, sessile, elliptic to obovate 6-25 cm long, some opposite smaller leaves also along the stems; margin entire, rarely finely toothed. Inflorescence a spike 2-10 cm long on a pubescent peduncle 2-24 cm long. Bracts ovate to elliptic, 12-25 mm long, with a recurved sharp tip 1.5-6 mm long, more or less densely velvety haired; slightly spiny on the margins, each side of the bract 2-7 spreading teeth, 1-6 mm long. Corolla salmon pink to pale red or scarlet with capitate glands; tube 18-25 mm long, straight.
The flowers are produced over an extended period from October to June.
Similar to C. zuluensis, which has almost hairless bracts with larger spines and larger flowers (± 30mm wide).

Distribution
Southern Mozambique, eSwatini and South Africa (Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga).

Habitat
Open savanna, woodland, grassland. On sandy to loamy soil and on rocky slopes.


Links:
http://www.sntc.org.sz/backup/flora/spe ... ?spid=2851
https://www.mozambiqueflora.com/species ... _id=204280

White Bushveld Barleria Barleria elegans
Order Laminales. Family Acanthaceae

Kruger National Park © mposthumus


Description
Sprawling perennial shrublet with shortly hairy branches to 1 m. Stems finely hairy.Leaves opposite, petiolate, oblong-elliptic, up to c. 8 × 3 cm, dark green above, paler below. Crowded, axillary spikes of narrowly funnel-shaped, white flowers, corolla 20–30 mm in diameter, clustered among oval, spine-toothed bracts, with 2 grey- or pale blue-anthered stamens and a slender stigma; fruit ellipsoid, 15 mm long.
Flowering time: Feb - July.

Distribution
Barleria elegans is found from KwaZulu-Natal northwards across the Lowveld parts of Mpumalanga and Limpopo to tropical east Africa.

Habitat
Dry riverine thickets, often in shade, woodland.

Links:
http://pza.sanbi.org/barleria-elegans
https://www.operationwildflower.org.za/ ... 89#joomimg
https://www.mozambiqueflora.com/species ... _id=153550

Spiny Yellow Barleria Barleria rotundifolia
Order Laminales. Family Acanthaceae

Kruger National Park © mposthumus


Description
Short, untidy, multi-stemmed, densely branchedshrub to 2 m.
Branches slender, covered in short white hairs; armed with whorls of 2-6 sharp, slender spines in axils of leaves.
Leaves round to obovate (12-40 x 7-20 mm), apex rounded or shortly pointed, base gently tapering, margin entire, fresh green on both surfaces; thinly textured; petiole 10 mm long.
Flowers shortly trumpet-shaped, narrow tube, 30 mm long, flaring into wide mouth (40 mm wide), pale yellow to orange; borne in clusters at ends of branches, often in profusion. Flowering time: Dec - July.
Fruit oblong, pointed capsule, exploding to release seeds.

Distribution
Endemic to South Africa, from southeastern Mpumalanga to the Soutpansberg mountains in Limpopo.

Habitat
Hillsides and koppies, both in shade of woodland trees and full sunlight.


Links:
http://pza.sanbi.org/barleria-rotundifolia
https://www.operationwildflower.org.za/ ... -il-1-1404

Gossip Spurflower Plectranthus verticillatus
Order: Lamiales. Family: Lamiaceae

Kruger National Park © mposthumus


Plectranthus is the largest South African genus in the mint family (Lamiaceae), with 44 species natural to the region, most of which occur on the eastern side of the country.

Description
A rapid-spreading semi-succulent perennial groundcover with glossy, bright green leaves and white to mauve flowers grow on tall spikes above the leaves from March to July. Plants root where stems touch the ground. 100-305 mm tall with a spread of about 600 mm.
Leaf colour is influenced by light intensities, soil moisture and regional variations, ranging from bright greens to darker green with maroon underside. As with many succulents, the red/purple hue on the underside of the leaves becomes more pronounced when the plant is water stressed. Typical leaf shape is oval to round with prominent veins underneath and broadly-toothed margins.
White, pale mauve, or pale pink flowers appear sporadically throughout the year in gardens but more abundantly in spring and late autumn. Inflorescence terminal, racemose, verticillate (whorled), 50-260 mm long, often with paired side branches (verticillasters) at the base. Calyx 3 mm long enlarging to 5 mm. Corolla 10-25 mm long, white, often speckled; tube 4-16 mm long, straight, laterally compressed, 2-3 mm broad, almost linear; base slightly saccate. Nutlets 1 mm long, brownish.

Distribution
From about Knysna through the semi-coastal parts of the eastern Cape Province, to eSwatini, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga; also in southern Mozambique.

Habitat
Natural habitat is wooded, frost-free regions in river valleys and on rocky ridges, where the rainfall is between 700 and 1750 mm a year.
Usually in fairly moist, stony places in forest margins, scrub forest and dry woodland.

Links:
https://plants.jstor.org/stable/10.5555 ... 0167100095
http://pza.sanbi.org/plectranthus-verticillatus

Grey Barleria Barleria albostellata
Order Laminales. Family Acanthaceae

Kruger National Park, Pretoriuskop (planted as it naturally occurs only in the Northern KNP) © mposthumus


Description
Small erect or scrambling, multi-stemmed shrub, up to 2 m. Leaves opposite, broadly ovate, grey green, densely covered in stellate hairs on both surfaces; margin entire. Flowers in few-flowered inflorescences at the ends of branches, white, shortly trumped-shaped, held between purplish, leaf-like bracts.


Distribution
South Africa (Limpopo) and Zimbabwe.

Habitat
In rocky places in woodland and riverine thicket.

Links:
https://treesa.org/barleria-albostellata/
http://pza.sanbi.org/barleria-albostellata
http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org/t ... es:45842-1

Veld Violet Ruellia cordata
Order Laminales. Family Acanthaceae





Nelspruit © Richprins


Description
Small shrublet, up to 30cm, that sprouts annually from a rootstock. Twiggy stems from woody rootstock. Thickly grey shaggy-hairy throughout. Leaf-stalk very short; blade broadly oval or round, often slightly heart-shaped at base, usually blunt, up to 1,5 cm diam. Corolla mauve, tube widening to funnel-shape from just above base, up to 2 cm long, lobes half-spreading, c 2 cm across, hairy.

Distribution
Zimbabwe, Botswana, Mozambique, eSwatini and South Africa (Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West).

Habitat
Grassland and woodland.

Links:
https://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/species ... _id=153400

Wild Dagga, Lion’s Ear Leonotis leonurus
Order Lamiales. Family Lamiaceae

Garden Route National Park, Ebb & Flow camp © All-Nature


Description
Slender woody shrub, 1.5-3 m. Multi-stemmed, stems arising from woody base; stems unbranched, pale brown, square in section.
Leaves opposite; linear to narrowly elliptic (50-100 x 10-20 mm); margin serrated in upper half, fresh green on both surfaces, roughly hairy above; petiole short, to 10 mm.
Flowers 40-50 mm long, tubular, densely covered in soft orange hairs, 5-8 whorls per stem; calyx bluntly toothed (Feb - Sept).
Fruit a small, 6 x 2 mm, brown nutlet.

Distribution
South Africa (Western Cape, Eastern Cape, KZN, Gauteng, Mpumalanga). Its distribution is more concentrated along the wetter eastern and southern seaboard.

Habitat
It is found is found in sandy, clayey, loam or stony areas, forest margins or rough grasslands at altitudes ranging from 5-1980 m.


Links:
http://pza.sanbi.org/leonotis-leonurus

Mpumalanga Sagebush Syncolostemon transvaalensis
Order Lamiales. Family Lamiaceae. Subfamily Nepetoideae. Tribe Ocimeae


Nelspruit (Dec 2020) © Richprins


Description
Multi-stemmed, rounded herbaceous shrublet, 0.7 - 1 m tall with an equivalent spread. The rootstock is a lignotuber (perennial woody rootstock), which gives the plant the ability to survive and re-sprout after fires, and to re-sprout strongly after being pruned. The stems are angular, almost square, sparsely hairy, and stained purple on the younger growth.
The leaves, arranged in opposite pairs, are sessile or with a short stalk, oval-elliptical to broadly oval, up to 40 mm long by 20 mm wide, rounded at the base and tapering to a sharp point. Both leaf surfaces are sparsely hairy and the margins are toothed like a saw. The leaves and stems are pleasantly aromatic and leave a slightly sticky residue on the fingers when touched.
The inflorescence is a lax elongated terminal panicle to 200 mm long, branched once or twice at the base. The flowers are produced in whorls, each flower, salvia-like, with a tubular two-lipped corolla, ±22 mm long, with stamens exserted to ±10 mm, pale pink, lilac pink or almost white flushed with pink, protruding out of a persistent dark purplish-pink calyx. There are also persistent deep-pink floral bracts, up to 24 x 10 mm, produced with the last few whorls of flowers and at the tip of the inflorescence, and the stems of the inflorescence are coloured dark purple. The showy, multi-shaded purple and pink inflorescences are borne in profusion during spring and early summer (September to December).
The seed is an ovoid, dwarf nutlet, and can be found in fours at the base of the calyx after the corolla has dropped off.

Distribution
Syncolostemon transvaalensis has a wide distribution in Mpumalanga from Pilgrims Rest in the north to Barberton in the south.

Habitat
Grassland on the Mpumalanga Drakensberg from about 100 m above sea level to an altitude of 1700 m.

Links:
https://www.researchgate.net/publicatio ... 0/download
http://pza.sanbi.org/syncolostemon-transvaalensis