h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I decided to break up the outings reports a bit. That way I can make them 'last' a bit longer and give me occasion to post here on h2g2 a bit more regularly. Today's outing was to eastern Polokwane where there are some nice rocky hills, grassland and bushveld. I also tested my camera battery, which has been behaving funnily lately. Well, it came through with flying colours! So in today's instalment I'll just give you six photos.

1. A nice and gnarly Euclea or Guarri. These are small and hardy trees, of which several species occur in dry parts of South Africa. They have fairly hard and leathery leaves, which retain moisture well so that the trees are evergreen. This one grows on top of the hill between some nice rocks, with which its trunk blends in great:

http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo45/WillemvdMerwe/Eucleagnarlyb_zpsa32f1963.jpg

2. A Mountain Aloe, Aloe marlothii, growing right next to a Barberton Senecio, Senecio barbertonicus. There are thousands of aloes up there. The senecio is also fairly common. It is a succulent member of the daisy family. Some exceed 2m in height and spread, but most on this particular hill are much smaller. This senecio has finger-like succulent leaves, bright green in this specimen, but sometimes greyish with a purplish 'blush'. Other species of senecio also grow there as you'll see in a future photo.

http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo45/WillemvdMerwe/AloeandSeneciob_zpsd0f9dfd0.jpg

3. A Wild Pear, Dombeya rotundifolia. This is nothing near an actual pear tree, the wild pear doesn't even have pear-like fruits! It is a handsome small tree with round leaves, quite rough in texture. In early spring beautiful, delicate white flowers cover the trees. The flowers then turn brown and are followed by the leaves. They're quite drought hardy, and common in savannah regions.

http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo45/WillemvdMerwe/Dombeyarotundifoliab_zpsc7fad5c4.jpg

4. A small mesemb, of the genus Delosperma. Mesembs are small succulent plants, the most diverse group of succulents in South Africa, with thousands of species and forms. They mostly grow in the southern and western regions of South Africa. Only a few kinds occur here in the north. Delosperma is one of the northern genera, and this is a typical representative. I don't know which species, though, the northern ones are all very similar.

http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo45/WillemvdMerwe/Delospermafloweringb_zps24b8f1da.jpg

5. Wild Cotton Plant, Ipomoea albivenia. Again, not close to actual cotton, but instead a close relative of the sweet potato. Sends up tall climbing stems from big subterranean or partly-exposed tubers. They flower mostly at night, so it was a surprise when today I found a few flowers still open, and even a honeybee crawling out of one of them! The leaves and flowers are both large, and this is one of the most spectacular members of the large genus Ipomoea. It is quite common around here. The seeds are surrounded by cotton-like fluff, forming conspicuous white balls on the plant (or on the ground) in late winter.

http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo45/WillemvdMerwe/Ipomoeaalbiveniaflower3_zps929b2ab9.jpg

6. Jatropha, I don't know which species. This species is a relative of the Euphorbias which I discuss here a lot. Other species of Jatropha are cultivated, such as Jatropha curcas, the 'Physic Nut', the oil of which can be used for making bio-diesel, and Jatropha podagrica, the 'Buddha Belly Plant', a pretty ornamental thick-stemmed succulent. The local ones have buried tubers sending up these interesting lobed leaves, and modest yellow flowers followed by the fruit capsules. I'd like to try my hand at growing some of these. Perhaps if the tubers are raised, they could also be nice fat-stemmed specimens.

http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo45/WillemvdMerwe/Jatrophab_zps38fee22a.jpg

OK I'll post more photos from this trip soon!

Boy, I swear, you have more different plants than anywhere on the planet!

Nice to see the sun is shining *somewhere*.

Well glad you appreciate! The sun was just peeking out for a few brief hours, enough to give me a bit of a sunburn, then the clouds returned and we got a bit of thunder and rain in the afternoon.