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www.thevillagenews.co.za
1 April 2020
MY ENVIRONMENT
Fernkloof flowers to brighten your day By Dr Anina Lee
A
friend alerted me to the fact that there is a specimen of the Hermanus Cliff Lily (Gladiolus carminius) flowering next to the Elephant Path in Fernkloof Nature Reserve. Isn’t this unusual? Well yes, it is. The Cliff Lily is so called because its normal hang-out is on the cliff path, close to the sea, in Hermanus. This beautiful bright pink ‘glad’ is endemic to the Hermanus cliffs – meaning that it grows nowhere else. Apparently not so. But how did it get to the Elephant Path? For those who are not familiar with Hermanus, the Elephant Path leads from Hermanus town (between the sports complex and the cemetery) over the mountain to the Hemel-enAarde Valley beyond. Incidentally, there is no recorded proof that elephants did or didn’t use the path in days gone by, but it’s a nice story. Reportedly, Hermanus Pieters used this path when he came over the mountain with his flock of sheep and found the fresh-water spring that led to the establishment of the town. But to get back to the Cliff Lily. I asked a long-time Botanical Society mem-
ber what the lily was doing growing in such an unusual place. Not so, she said. Specimens had been spotted there in the past, and it was nice to know that there is still one holding on, so to speak. But how on earth did it get there from the coastal cliffs? That’s less clear. Cliff lilies were once spotted on Hoy’s Koppie, so the bulbs may have spread over time (maybe through baboons?) from the cliff top to Hoy’s Koppie and from there to the mountain. Or maybe the explanation is much more mundane. Someone could have planted the bulbs there, as is probably the case with the beautiful specimen outside the visitors’ centre in Fernkoof. Although there is a scientific explanation for most things, I sometimes like to believe that nature is a bit magical, and magic can happen any time anywhere. One endemic flower led me to think of what other endemic flowers we have in Fernkloof – just to brighten your locked-down day with colourful pictures. There are several very special Ericas found in Fernkloof, including Erica aristata, also known as Pride of Hermanus, which is remarkable for its flowers' showiness and brilliance of colour. These ericas can be found on the upper rocky slopes in the Kleinrivier Mountains. The flower tubes are long with a little frilly ‘bullseye’ at the end to guide the pollinator, in this case a long-proboscid fly! (In other words, ‘a fly with an elongated sucking mouthpart that is typically
tubular and flexible’). Indeed, the proboscis of this fly is very long – much longer than the fly. The proboscis is extended forward from a rolled-up position, like a lance carried by jousting knights of old. It deftly pinpoints the ‘bullseye’ on the flower and inserts the mouthpart deep down to where the nectar is kept. It even sticks its whole head into the flower. In the process the fly gets a dusting of pollen on its head which it carries to the next flower it visits. So the pollinator gets its reward for carrying pollen from flower to flower – a sweet relationship. But there is always a fly in the ointment, so to speak. If you look carefully at the base of the flowers in the photo (number 2) you can spot a hole that has been nearly cut in the flower. This is the work of ‘robber’ insects that steal the nectar without payback to the flower. Nature is tough. Erica hermani is named after the town that is its home. Its habitat is on sandy flats and the lower slopes of the Hermanus Mountains – exactly where Hermanus Heights is now built, which has led to a serious decline in its numbers. Hoy’s Koppie in Hermanus is part of Fernkloof Nature Reserve and the Cliff Path extends up and around the koppie. There is one plant so rare and special that the path had to be aligned away from it for its protection. It is Brachysiphon rupestris, a gnarled plant with lovely pink flowers growing in the crack of a rock where
ABOVE: Two of the special Ericas found in Fernkloof are Erica Aristata and Erica Hermani. 1. The Hermanus Cliff Lily (Gladiolus carminius). 2. Brachysiphon rupestris is so rare that the path up to Hoy’s Koppie had to be aligned away from it for its protection. 3. Indigofera superba is also known as the ‘Superb Pea’.
one would not expect anything to find a foothold to survive. On one occasion I tried to explain the significance of this rare flower to a young man. “Who is this person Brackie Siphon-Rupestris who is so important to have a path rerouted?” he wanted to know. Lesson: always put a story into proper context. I should have added that Brachysiphon means ‘short tube’ and rupestris means ‘that lives on cliffs or rocks’. Hence a plant with short flower tubes that lives on rocks. As the name suggests, Indigofera superba really is a superb specimen. In late summer, especially after fire, this rare endemic can be seen flowering in profusion on the damp slopes of Fernkloof below the waterfall kloof and along the path up the Lemoenkop neck. The name Indigofera refers to the blue indigo dye that came from India. It belongs to the pea family, so it’s also known as the ‘Superb Pea’. While you have time on your hands, do go to www.fernkloof.org.za for more interesting local flowers. Or visit www.whalecoastconservation.org. za where you will find articles that appeared in The Village NEWS since 2017 under CHAT (click on BLOG). Happy reading!
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