I do a 45 minute commute to work one way, I leave in the dark and return in the light. I have been enjoying the roadside displays of the ordinary, the everyday daisies and other recognisable flowers that have dotted the back drop of my life since childhood.
I live in Durbanville which is surrounded by farmlands and urban residences on top of Cape Peninsula shale renosterveld and see the rich, well-watered roadside areas, green from the recent rains we have had. The arum lilies and canola that has strayed out of the fenced-in fields are delightful but they have now been joined by other delicate little flowers. Short, daisy faces of yellows and white, sour-tasting surings and other happy little bits that indicate spring has sprung. The local parks are also full of endemic flowers, the City of Cape Town has a "no mow" application process in place where local parks can be nominated not to be mowed during April to November. There is even a ResearchGate article on how the City of Cape Town has implemented this mowing strategy based originally on a UK initiative.
“The aim is to protect ecological processes that promote the growth of distinctive fynbos vegetation. A number of public open spaces are conservation corridors, connecting to other open spaces, conservation areas, nature reserves and national parks, ensuring a healthy network of interconnected environments. When flowering, the areas will display fields of colour with a variety of spring flowers, which residents can enjoy,” the City said in a statement.
I drove past a park without a no mow status in place, it made me sad to see the person with a mower moving around, I know he is doing his job but really, what a waste.
These annual visitors must have long scientific names, not just daisy or suring, I thought I would spend some time looking them up to quench my thirst for getting to know them better.
Remember to visit your local park or green area to add biodiversity records to the iNaturalist Great Southern Bioblitz 20-23 September 2024.
Reference:
Manning, John. 2007. Field Guide to Fynbos. Cape Town: Struik Nature.
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Common names: bachelor buttons, funnel weed; Afrikaans ganskos |  |
No photo as I drove past the flower | |
Common name: Reverse sorrel |  |
Common names: African wood-sorrel, Bermuda buttercup, Bermuda sorrel, buttercup oxalis, Cape sorrel, English weed, goat's-foot, sourgrass, soursob or soursop; Afrikaans: suring; Arabic: hommayda (حميضة) |  |
Common name: purple sorrel, grand duchess sorrel |  |
Common name: Capestar |  |
Common name: Arum lily: Afrikaans: varklelie | No photo as I drove past the flower |
Moraea miniata Common name: two-leaf Cape-tulip |  |
Dimorphotheca pluvialis Common names white African daisy, Cape marigold, weather prophet, Cape rain-daisy, ox-eye daisy, Cape daisy or rain daisy |  |
What flowers are springing forth in your local park?
Kim, I love this post! Thank you for sharing your photos with the many common and scientific names. I really appreciate having the link to the No Mow policy and the research study. Looking forward to your next posts.