Melville Koppies: Flora
Flowers on the Melville
Koppies
The Highveld is not well known for its wild flowers. Instead
many South Africans make an annual pilgrimage to Namaqualand for the
spectacular August flowering - which depends on the Cape winter rains.
Gnidia kraussiana or "Harige
gifbossie" - the Afrikaans name loosely translates as "hairy poison
bush" which implies that the underground bulb may be poisonous. This is
one of the "pre-rain" flowers.
Photo: Maria Cabaço
But we have a display of our own which begins in early
spring. These flowers are rather clumsily called the "pre-rain
flowers".
They appear between September and November, a time when the
first spring rains are unpredictable. They are not dependent on rain at
all. Instead the warming of the soil stimulates them to flower.
They are all "geophytes", meaning that their vegetative bulk
is a large underground bulb which uses the summer rain to gather
nutrients. But flowering happens when the soil warms in the grasslands,
particularly when the grass has burned, clearing away the moribund
detritus of the "sourveld" grass which has died off in the winter.
Hypoxis species, "African potato" in
English, or "Sterretjie" in Afrikaans. Another "pre-rain" flower.
Photo: Maria Cabaço
After the spring flowers, which last for only a few weeks,
there is a display of wild flowers throughout the summer.
Gladiolus crassifolius
Photo: Maria Cabaço
Among them are the wild gladiolus and the orchids.
We are accustomed to greenhouse orchids, but the wild
varieties are equally beautiful, if smaller, and need to be looked for
carefully in the grassland.
Protea caffra in flower on the
Melville Koppies.
Photo: Maria Cabaço
The Protea caffra or "Common sugarbush" is
widespread, thriving on the acidic soil of the Koppies and resistant to
our harsh frosts.
Most Proteas occur south of the Limpopo and are particularly
characteristic of the Cape fynbos biome.
As South Africa's national flower it has had a controversial
history.
The well known Prime Minister Hendrick Frensch Verwoerd "had
a dream to change the then-current Flag of South Africa and have in its
center a leaping Springbok Antelope over a wreath of six Proteas. This
proposal, however, aroused too much controversy and was never
implemented" (Wikipedia). Verwoerd is not held in high regard today,
but the Protea is.
There is a full list of the flowers on the Melville Koppies,
together with their flowering times here
Trees on the Melville
Koppies
Trees on the Melville Koppies grow on the northern slopes
where there is protection from the frost. There is also a dense forest
in the moist areas where the spruit runs through the Nature Reserve,
and on the north-western part of MK Central, which is underlain by the
granitoid basement rocks, rich in minerals.
Among the dominant trees are the Acacia robusta, the Acacia
caffra, the Euclea crispa (Blue Guarrie), the Celtis
africana, and the Brachylaena rotundata (Mountain
Silver-oak).
Acacias are a huge family, the majority of the species being
native to Australia, where generally they have no thorns. In due course
the International Botanical Congress is going to take the Acacia name
away from us and most of our Acacias will be called Senegalia. This has
not happened yet, and in the meantime we are stuck with the Acacia
mearnsii - the Australian Black Wattle which is a conservationist's
nightmare. There are none left on Melville Koppies.
Acacia robusta in flower
Photo: Maria Cabaço
One of the first trees to flower in spring on the Koppies is
the (proudly South African) Acacia robusta, with a spectacular
display of creamy-yellow blooms in the form of pom-poms.
The twice compound leaves of the Acacia
caffra (top) and the Acacia robusta. True to its name the Acacia
robusta has a far less delicate leaf than the Acacia caffra.
Photos: Norman Baines
It is different from the Acacia caffra which has
yellow catkins and blooms a little later. The thorns are also very
different - A. robusta has long robust thorns while A.
caffra has small hook thorns which give it its Afrikaans name katdoring.
A Mountain Silver-oak leaf seen from above
(left) and below. This colouring gives the tree its specially beautiful
look.
Photo: Norman Baines
Another early-blooming tree is the Brachylaena rotundata
with a brief flowering of yellow blooms in November.
The special colouring of this tree gives the northern slopes
a beautiful silvery sheen throughout the year.
Despite its rather unfortunate name, the White Stinkwood is a
magnificent tree.
It is found mostly along the banks of the spruit. The name is
derived from the unpleasant smell of the newly cut wood.
It grows fast and can reach 30 metres in height. It has a
relative from Asia, Celtis sinensis, and at some point the City
Council decided to use the Asian variety for pavement trees, a strange
decision considering how readily available the South African variety
is.
Leaves of the White Stinkwood. The serrated
edge is more prominent in the Asian variety.
Photo: Norman Baines
The two hybridise, and it is not always easy to tell whether
you have a hybrid or the real South African one. On Melville Koppies we
maintain that all ours are proudly South African.
In traditional medicine it is believed that mixing the wood
with crocodile fat is a charm against lightning. This is useful
information if you have a lightning problem and ready access to a
crocodile.
In February the Wild Peach reveals its seeds.
Photo: Wendy Carstens
A rather unremarkable tree is the Wild Peach (Kiggelaria
africana). Its only resemblance to the domestic, edible peach is
the shape of the leaves.
But in February its dull grey-brown berries burst open to
reveal beautiful orange seeds, a sight worth seeing.
There is also an interesting interaction with a butterfly (Acraea
horta). The butterfly prefers the Wild Peach and its eggs hatch
into caterpillars which devour the leaves. This seems not to harm the
tree.
Then the Diderick Cuckoo reveals a particular fondness for
these caterpillars. Cuckoos have specialized in stripping the inedible
skin of caterpillars, and the Diderick focuses on the Acraea horta
caterpillars. Diderick Cuckoos with their piercing "dee-dee-deederik"
call are summer migrants on Melville Koppies. They are elusive birds
but when seen are exquisite in their green and white and irridescent
plumage. Diderick Cuckoos - as do all Cuckoos - lay their eggs in other
birds' nests, and are particularly partial to the nests of the Masked
Weaver, also very common on the Koppies. So the Wild Peach is a
fascinating example of a complex interaction between insect, plant and
bird... and another bird.
A complete list of trees on the Melville Koppies is available
here
Grasses on the Melville
Koppies
The Melville Koppies lies in the grassland biome. We are in
the "sourveld" area which means that our grasses are mostly perennial,
and die back in winter, saving their nutrients in the roots, waiting
for the summer to come. "Sourveld" means that the dead stems are mostly
composed of silica and cellulose, not palatable or nourishing to
grazers - therefore "sour" in farmers' eyes.
Caterpillar Grass
Photo: Norman Baines
There are 56 recorded species of grass on the Melville
Koppies. Many are shy and retiring, but here are a few which you can
easily recognise.
On Melville Koppies West there is a valley where the earliest
summer grass "Caterpillar Grass" (Harpochloa falx) prospers. It
fades quickly, and by mid-summer - January - it has seeded and gone. It
is not common on the Central and East sections, and we don't know why.
Blackseed grass before the black seeds
develop.
Photo: Norman Baines
Another early Spring grass is "Black seed Grass" (Allotopsis
semiolata). Its stamens are bright yellow, almost resembling a
garden flower, but by December it fades and it develops the black seeds
which give it its name.
Much of the soil on Melville Koppies is shallow and acidic,
which means that the grasses are sparse and unpalatable. But in the
places where the soil is deeper we have two of the best grazing grasses
in Africa.
Rooigras - one of the best grazing grasses in
Africa
Photo: Norman Baines
One is Themeda triandra, "Rooigrass" in
Afrikaans or "Red Grass" in English. If you drive through the Free
State you see hundreds of kilometres of this grass. It is found in Asia
and Australasia as well, meaning that it originated here before the
break-up of Gondwanaland about 160 million years ago.
In shaded and moist areas of the Melville Koppies there is
another prime grazing grass, Panicum maximum, with the odd
common name of "Guinea Grass".
It is easy to recognise because of the purple colour of the
inflorescense, and the hairless spikelets, which give it a "dotted"
look.
Panicum maximum, another one of the
best grazing grasses in Africa
Photo: Norman Baines
This beautiful grass is regarded as a weed by sugarcane
farmers, among others. A weed is most easily defined as a plant growing
where you don't want it to, and much of the vegetation on Melville
Koppies is regarded as a weed by farmers and gardeners. We treasure it.
Panicum maximum is today found throughout the
tropics, but again it is one of Africa's legacies to the world,
originating here before the Gondwanaland break-up.
The abundant seed production attracts birds, particularly the
Bronze Mannikin. It is easy to grow from seed if you are cultivating an
indigenous garden, and the seed is available at nurseries.
Setaria megaphylla, a good grazing
grass originating in Africa, but also found in South America and India.
Photo: Norman Baines
Another grass which has a high grazing value is Setaria
megaphylla with the clumsy common name of "Broad-leaved Bristle
Grass".
It grows abundantly in the forested areas of Melville Koppies
Central, where the shade, deep soil, and moisture suit it. Unusually it
is very easily identifiable by its leaf, which is broad and pleated.
Many of the grasses on Melville Koppies are not palatable. We
have no idea how the area was used when it was a farm, and although our
grassland must show the characteristics of "undergrazing", the mix of
grasses may reflect how it was used by the Geldenhuys family. Grassland
takes a very long time to recover from misuse or abuse. The shallow
acidic soils on the ridges also determine what grasses dominate -
mostly unpalatable pioneer species.
Turpentine Grass, an unpalatable
grass used by stock as a last resort.
Photo: Norman Baines
In the deeper soils there is an extremeley unpalatable grass
called Cymbopogon excavatus, Turpentine grass. The chemical
taste and smell are caused by an essential oil with 18 ingredients. It
requires some imagination to detect a turpentine taste.
Thatching grass on the old shooting range on
MK West: Hyparrhenia tamba in the foreground, and H. hirta
in the distance.
Photo: Norman Baines
Late in summer the thatching grasses reach their peak.
Thatching grasses form "climax" grassland - an area where a
single species dominates. We have dense stands of thatching grass on
the old shooting range on Melville Koppies West, in the "old road
reserve" - a strip of land along the southern extreme of the West, and
on the north-eastern slopes of Melville Koppies Central.
Fire is an important factor in the development of grasslands.
Fire clears out the "moribund", the detritus which gathers at the base,
and encourages new growth.
On the Central Section we have too few fires, and on the West
too many.
Monocymbium ceresiiforme - Boat
Grass.
Photo: Gena Orfali
As summer ends a beautiful bronze coloured grass comes into
flower.
This is Monocymbium ceresiiforme, Boat Grass. It is
distinguished by having spathes which cover and protect the flowers.
They have the distinctive bronze colour, which slowly fades to a dull
gold.
When the Boat Grass fades you know that summer is over, and
then we wait for the winter fires.
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