Erica caffra var. caffra

Erica caffra var. caffra

River Heath

Flowering profusely at the lower Tadpole pools in October 2013.

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Erica mammosa

Erica mammosa
Ninepin Heath
Erect shrub to 1.5 m with large fat tubular flowers with a closed mouth and characteristic four dimples at the base of the floral tube. The flowers droop and are short-stalked, emerging from the axils of leaves.
Leaves are narrow and overlapping.
Riversong Farm has a bright red colour form - that was flowering in February near the lower Tadpole Pools. The species can vary in colour from cream, pale green, pink, orange or red. It occurs on sandy flats and seepage areas on lower mountain slopes in the southwestern Cape.
Flowering time: November to May

Erica totta

Erica totta
Tot Heath

A spreading, small shrub up to 30 cm. White flowers are clustered together at the ends of short branches to produce a congested spike-like inflorescence. (It used to be named Eremia totta.)

This one was found on the slopes of the Geelberg above the lower tadpole pools - about half way up to the jacuzzi.

Occur frequently on dry sandy or rocky mountain slopes from Cederberg southwards to Stellenbosch.

Flowers from September to November.
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Erica plukenetii

Erica plukenetii

hangertjie

An erect shrub to 2 m.

Flowering on the top of Geelberg and at the Jacuzzi in September.

Plants are widesread throughout the fynbos. Flower all year.

Leonard Plukenet (1642-1706) was the first author to mention a Cape species of erica in his book Almagesti Mantissa Botanici, published in London in1700. He was a physician and a botanist, and the superindentent of the Hampton Court garden.

Erica verecunda

Erica verecunda grows abundantly on Riversong.
Common on dry stony upper slopes of the Koue Bokkeveld, Matsikamma, Gifberg and Cederberg mountains as well as in the Kamiesberg. It gets to about 1-1.8 m high and has many off white to pale pink, small, globose, urn-shaped flowers that droop on fairly long flower stalks.
Flowering time is from December to May.

Erica plukenetii subsp. breviflora

Erica plukenetii subsp. breviflora

Swartbekkieheide

Smells of honey.

Flowers from Sept-Jan.

Erica plukenetii was named by Linnaeus in honour of Leonard Plukenet (1641-1706), who was a physician by profession but also a botanist of high repute, gardener to Queen Mary and superintendent of the Hampton Court garden.

Three formerly separate species have been included in this complex, namely Erica plukenetii, E. lineata and E. breviflora. These subspecies accommodate the variation that is typical of the genus Erica and probably results from relatively rapid speciation in the Cape Flora.

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Erica inflata

Erica inflata

An erect shrub up to 1 m tall. The flowers are urn shaped with the lobes star-shaped and spreading at first, turning brown and closing with age.

Flowers from Sept-May.

Sandy flats and slopes.

Only found from Clanwilliam to Ceres.