Polydora poskeana

Family Asteraceae

The flower is not endemic to South Africa and has no common name.

It is found in the Freestate, Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape and North West provinces.

Evening Primrose (Oenothera rosea)

Family Onagraceae

A small shrub about 35cm in height.

 A native to Chile and should not be cultivated.

Natal Strelitzia or Wild Banana (Strelitzia Nicolai)

Family Strelitziaceae

The Natal wild banana grows mostly in coastal dune vegetation and in evergreen forests near the coast. It is a common feature of the coastal vegetation from East London northwards. It grows in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and up into Mozambique towards Zimbabwe.

 It grows up to 12m high and 4m wide. It is an evergreen tree with multi-stems that form dense clumps. The stem is woody and smooth in texture. It is light to dark grey in colour and marked with old leaf scars. Attached to the stem by long, thick leaf stalks are the enormous, opposite leaves that are shiny and grey-green in colour, with blades capable of reaching up to 2m in length. These tear in the wind and come to resemble giant feathers. Although not related to the true bananas or the wild banana Ensete ventricosum, the leaves and growth habit of S. nicolai are somewhat similar and probably account for the common name.

The flower of the Natal wild banana is a typical crane-flower inflorescence, up to 500mm long. The flowers of this tree have white sepals with blue petals and consist of 5 purplish blue, boat-shape sheaths. The whole flower resembles the head of the bird, with a white crest and purple beak. The tree flowers throughout the year with a peak in spring-summer. The inflorescence is compound (more than one flower).

 The seeds are black in colour, with a tuft of a bright orange woolly aril on the lobe. They are produced mostly in March to July.


Leaf stalks are dried and used to make a rope for building fish kraals and huts. The immature seeds are edible and tasty. The flowers provides nectar that attracts sunbirds, especially Olive Sunbirds and Grey Sunbirds. Vervet and Samango monkeys feed on the soft part of the flowers as well as on the orange aril of the seeds. Birds and blue duiker also feed on the flowers. Frogs and ducks often shelter in the clumps along rivers for protection.

Info: http://www.plantzafrica.com/

Country Mallow (Sida cordifolia)

Family Malvaceae

The leaves of this plant come in a variety of colours.

Sida cordifolia (bala, country mallow, heart-leaf sida or flannel weed) is a perennial subshrub of the mallow family Malvaceae native to India. It has naturalized throughout the world, and is considered an invasive weed by invasive groups in Africa, Australia, the southern United States, Hawaiian Islands, New Guinea, and French Polynesia. The specific name, cordifolia, refers to the heart-shaped leaf.

S. cordifolia is an erect perennial that reaches 50 to 200 cm (20 to 79 in) tall, with the entire plant covered with soft white felt-like hair that is responsible for one of its common names, "flannel weed". The stems are yellow-green, hairy, long, and slender. The yellow-green leaves are oblong-ovate, covered with hairs, and 3.5 to 7.5 cm (1.4 to 3.0 in) long by 2.5 to 6 cm (0.98 to 2.4 in) wide. The flowers are dark yellow, sometimes with a darker orange center, with a hairy 5-lobed calyx and 5-lobed corolla.

As a weed, it invades cultivated and overgrazed fields, competing with more desired species and contaminating hay.

S. cordifolia is used in Ayurvedic medicine. Known as "malva branca", it is a plant used in Brazilian folk medicine for the treatment of inflammation of the oral mucosa, blenorrhea, asthmatic bronchitis and nasal congestion, stomatitis, of asthma and nasal congestion and in many parts of Africa for various ailments, particularly for respiratory problems. It has been investigated as an anti-inflammatory for preventing cell proliferation, and for encouraging liver re-growth. Due to its ephedrine content, it possesses psychostimulant properties, affecting the central nervous system and also the heart.

 A 50% ethanolic extract of Sida cordifolia tested on rats showed potent antioxidant and antiinflammatory activity comparable with the standard drug deprenyl.

The plant has demonstrated anti-pyretic and anti-ulcerogenic properties.

The aqueous extract of Sida cordifolia stimulates liver regeneration in rats.

Info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sida_cordifolia

Wild Guava (Psidium guajava)

Family Myrtaceae

The inside of the wild fruit is yellow when ripe and not pink like the cultivated quava.

 This is an evergreen shrub or small tree native to Mexico, Central and South America.

 Widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions around the world, guava fruits can range in size from as small as an apricot to as large as a grapefruit. Various cultivars have white, pink, or red flesh, and a few also feature red (instead of green) skin.

When cultivated from seed, guavas are notable for an extremely slow growth rate for several months, before a very rapid acceleration in growth rate takes over. From seed, common guavas may bloom and set fruit in as few as 2 years, or as many as 8. Cuttings and grafting are more commonly used as a propagation method in commercial groves. Highly adaptable, guavas can be easily grown as container plants in temperate regions, though their ability to bloom and set fruit is somewhat less predictable. In some tropical locales, guavas can become invasive.

The plant is used in many different shampoo products for its scent. It is also becoming a popular Bonsai Species and is currently quite popular in India and Eastern Asia.

Info: http://www.plantzafrica.com/

Caterpillar Pod (Ormocarpum trichocarpum)

Family Papilionoideae

A small shrub or tree growing to about 3m in height.

The fruit resembles caterpillars and is easily identified by them.

Mother of millions (Bryophyllum delagoense)

Family Crassulaceae

A small succulent with red flowers.

An invasive plant from Madagascar and should not be cultivated.