BotSoc KZN Inland Newsletter- Sept. 2015

THE BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF SOUTH AFRICA
033-394 NPO
Newsletter No.3/2015
KwaZulu-Natal Inland Branch
Chairman:
Mr Dave Trickett
Newsletter:
Ms Tessa Smythe
[email protected]
[email protected] [email protected]
082 446 6458; 033 329 5059 083 650 0087
Secretary & Outings:
Mrs Alison Young
082 406 5638
September 2015
Treasurer:
Mrs Mary Thrash
[email protected]
072 614 1612; 031 785 1781
KZN National Botanical Garden: Curator: Mr Gcina Allen Nene: [email protected] Tel. 033 344 3585
[email protected]
Facebook: ‘KZN Inland Branch BotSoc’ www.botanicalsociety.org.za
September 2015
Our AGM was held on 6 June 2015 in the Clivia Room at the KZN National Botanical Gardens,
Pietermaritzburg. Prior to the AGM, the committee arranged a bring-and-share picnic to give Linda
Longhurst, the Features Editor at The Witness, the opportunity to interview Elsa Pooley.
News from the AGM is that Vic Schutte resigned from the committee as he felt he was better
suited to practical support rather than to attending meetings. Unfortunately, requests for other
members to volunteer to join the committee did not bring forth any new faces.
After tea, Elsa gave us a very interesting talk. She started by describing her early days as a young
wife at Ndumo Game Reserve where she developed an interest in the indigenous plants in the
reserve. She started painting flowers that she did not know and tried to get them identified. As she
wasn’t able to get much help at Ndumo, she used to take her paintings, and later pressed
specimens, to the Herbarium at the then University of Natal, where she was assisted with
identification. She used to make a point of visiting the Herbarium whenever she was in
Pietermaritzburg on leave.
Elsa’s husband, Tony, encouraged her to save her paintings and, eventually, to compile a book. As
there was very little literature available at the time, this gave rise to her producing a number of
field guides, which are still available today.
Elsa, together with Geoff Nichols and Andrew Hankey, is producing a comprehensive book in a
format similar to the Royal Horticultural Society reference work. The intention is to provide a guide
to growing indigenous plants in the various areas of South Africa, with details of requirements and
tips for success. The target date for publication is September 2016.
Dave Trickett
Saturday 29 August 2015
Outing to the 62-year-old Grassland Burning and Mowing Trial, Ukulinga Research Farm, UKZN
(PMB), where Prof. Kevin Kirkman will address us on this longest trial of its kind.
Meet at the Ukulinga Farm entrance at 9.30 am and bring tea/snacks for a picnic afterwards.
Please note the new date for this outing
Contact: Alison Young 082 406 5638
Comm. Member Position
Portfolio
Dave Trickett
Chairperson
Christina Curry
Alison Young
Mary Thrash
Tessa Smythe
Friederike Voigt
E-mail
Telephone
[email protected] 033 329 5059
082 446 6458
Deputy Chair Publicity/Facebook
[email protected]
033 260 5146
082 062 2939
Secretary
Planning of Outings
[email protected]
033 260 5154
082 406 5638
Treasurer
Fund Raising
[email protected]
072 614 1612
Newsletter/Editing of articles etc. [email protected]
083 650 0087
Education/SANBI Liaison
[email protected] 033 344 1166
082 779 6766
Aloe Festival talk & activities: Gardening with children
Our annual BotSoc talk at the Aloe Festival took place on Saturday 27 June. We decided on a topic
that included the whole family, so concentrated on ideas for gardening with, or for, children.
Despite the cold weather, we had about 20 adults gathering for the informal talk that I gave using
ideas gathered from all our committee members. Then Alison Young showed us how to create a
miniature ‘fairy garden’ using small succulents in a shallow container. She also gave away samples
of these plants – an instant ‘fairy garden’, if you wish – to everyone.
Then the real fun started. The enthusiastic staff of the KZN National Botanical Garden had,
the previous day, set up a long barefoot path through some trees at the venue. During the course
of the morning, we delighted in seeing children running, walking, and even leopard crawling,
barefoot along this path, which consisted of varying textures: cool sand, knobbly gravel, smooth
pebbles, crunchy dried leaves, smooth straw, and the like. We also encouraged the adults to take
their shoes off, so the path was much enjoyed by all.
The previous day Alison and I had relocated an insect hotel from Megan Griffiths’ house to
the venue, and reconstructed it there, with some local materials added. We are thankful to Megan
for this kind donation – she did much to popularise insect hotels in Pietermaritzburg, but sadly has
moved back to the USA. We are pleased that her insect hotel will live on at Pandora Long’s Galago
Farm, where we had rebuilt it. (Everyone should build one of these in their garden – it was such
fun.) It was much admired the next day, when visitors had a good look at it and saw both the
benefits to wildlife and the educational value of such a project.
The KZN NBG staff hosted a craft area,
suggested by Friederike Voigt, where
children and adults were encouraged to
create circular mandalas using found
objects, petals, leaves, and the like.
Children also had the opportunity to sift
through boxes containing compost to
hunt for nunus.
All in all, this was a great morning and a
wonderful showcase of how much can be
done with relatively little effort in one’s
garden. Thanks to everyone that helped,
and to the Aloe Festival and Pandora
Long for giving us this opportunity every
year.
Christina Curry
Growing the next generation of conservationists
The Custodians of Rare and Endangered Wildflowers (CREW) KZN Node recently surveyed
the near-threatened Aloe prinslooi in Colenso. To create awareness about this special
species, the node hosted a ‘threatened plant’ activity with learners from a school close to
the site. The event was run by Mbali Mkhize, CREW Assistant, who spoke to the learners
about the importance of conserving our natural environment and the various threats to
biodiversity, before conducting a short field trip. There the learners got the opportunity to
engage in plant monitoring when they learnt how to conduct surveying and sampling of
plants. The day was an overall success with learners becoming more environmentally
conscious of the various threats to biodiversity and the threatened plants in their local
community.
In July, the CREW KZN Node, together with the UKZN: Pietermaritzburg campus, invited the
public to participate in an iSpot workshop with the intention of increasing citizen scientists
within KZN. iSpot is an innovative tool, developed in the UK, to get the public involved in
scientific research and to network with other nature lovers. The event, facilitated by the
iSpot southern African custodian, Tony Rebelo, demonstrated the applications of iSpot. The
workshop received a positive response from those who attended the event, with people
eagerly wanting to upload their finds on to the website. CREW hopes to spread the word
about this modernistic approach to citizen science and to get more nature enthusiasts
involved. For more information on iSpot visit www.ispotnature.org
Kaveesha Naicker
DST/NRF Intern: CREW KZN Node
Activities planned in the KZN Midlands: October 2015
Kilgobbin Forest Walk – Dargle
1 October 9 – 11 am Contact Barend Booysen to book 082 787 0797
Donation: R20 to Dargle Conservancy
Milestone Forest Walk
2 October 9 – 11 am Contact Marilyn Revesz on 082 427 3365
Donation: R20 to Balgowan Conservancy
Dargle Local Market
4 October 9 – 11 am at Lions River Club
Contact: Mike 083 325 1082
Boston Forest Walk – Boston
4 October 9 – 11 am Contact Carol to book: 082 450 6792
Donation: R20 to local conservation
Gartmore Farm Walk – Karkloof
7 October 9 am – 12 noon Contact Robyn McGillivray to book: 082 802 8949
Donation: R20 to Karkloof Conservancy
Rosetta Country Market
10 October 8 am – 12 noon Rosetta Dam, Kamberg Road (about 500m from R103 on left hand
side). Contact Dave Whitfield: 082 550 4656
Mpophomeni Hills Walk
13 October 9 – 11 am Contact Penz Malinga to book 071 450 9320
Donation: R20 to Mpophomeni Conservation Group
Fort Nottingham Walk
15 October 9 – 11 am Contact Roy Tabernor to book: 082 487 0922
Donation: R20 to Lion's Bush Conservancy
Mbona Private Reserve Walk – Karkloof
16 October 9 – 11 am Contact Keith Cooper to book: 082 574 1958
Donation: R20 to Karkloof Conservancy
Curry’s Post Conservancy Walk
18 October 8.30 for 9 am start Contact Sarah Allan to book: 076 578 2941
Donation: R20 to Curry’s Post Conservancy
Midlands Country Market
18 October 9 am – 12.30 pm Peter’s Gate Herb Farm, R103, Lidgetton
Contact Karen 076 412 1320 or Paola 076 872 7734
Rosetta Country Market
24 October 8 am – 12 noon Rosetta Dam, Kamberg Road (about 500m from R103 on left hand
side). Contact Dave Whitfield: 082 550 4656
Beacon Hill Walk – Howick
25 October 9 – 11 am Contact Eve Hughes to book: 082 872 4333
Donation: R20 to Friends of Beacon Hill
Symmonds Stream Weed Walk – Howick
27 October 9 – 11 am Contact Pam Haynes for details 083 456 9202
Events Calendar: September–December 2015
KZN Inland Branch (Pietermaritzburg)
Please feel free to invite friends and family along to our outings. All Botanical Society events are
attended at your own risk. Confirm details of outing in case of changes.
Members that need a lift to outings should ask the contact person if anyone has space to share.
24–27 September: A Symphony of Spring
Spring is in the air and with it comes the annual Garden Show. After last year’s success, the
BotSoc Inland Branch has decided to participate again in this year’s Happy Earth Hall. This
hall is a collaborative space for NGOs and government organizations, focusing on
conservation, environmental education and sustainability.
The Garden Show is under the new management of Tanya Visser and will have an exciting new
look and feel to it. It will be a four-day show from 24–27 September at the Royal Agricultural
Showgrounds, Pietermaritzburg, and will be a colourful and flower-rich event. The Happy
Earth Hall has decided to focus on colour in, and harmony with, nature. The branch plans to put
together a stand with the focus on birds-, bees- and butterflies-friendly gardening to give
inspiration to our members and the public alike; craft projects for children or grandchildren will
also be offered.
So do come and visit us in Hall 2.
If you would like to be involved with the setting up of, or manning, the stand during the show,
please contact Christina Potgieter Curry on [email protected] or 033-2605146.
Saturday 10 October Talk by retired Professor Siegfried Drewes 2 for 2.30 pm
‘The long walk to uBangala – the race for African Viagra’
Clivia Room, KZN NBG
Contact: Alison Young 082 406 5638
Saturday 14 November
Mbona Estates grassland, Karkloof
Keith Cooper will be leading the walk
Contact: Alison Young 082 406 5638
9.30 am
Saturday 5 December
Year-end function
10.30 am
at Blackwoods Nursery, Richmond
There will be a talk (speaker to be confirmed) followed by a light lunch at member’s
own expense
Contact: Alison Young 082 406 5638
Membership message from BotSoc Head Office
BotSoc members gain free entry to all SANBI National Botanical Gardens in SA, but are required to present a
valid membership card at the entrance. In addition, members may be required to provide proof of identity.
BotSoc membership cards are not transferable. Remember to renew your membership before it expires. If
you don’t receive your new card within a month, please contact the Head Office at 021-7972090. New
membership and renewals can be paid by cheque, credit card or online at www.botanicalsociety.org.za .
Three accounts are sent via post and/or email, through the month, in an effort to inform our members of their
renewal date and methods of payment. Please renew membership on receipt of the first account in order to
enjoy continued free entry to NBGs. Please note that a non-refundable entry fee will be payable (to
SANBI) by members not in possession of a valid BotSoc membership card.
The Budding Botanists
The past couple of months have not been great for ‘flowering’ – dry and frosty and lots
of burning of firebreaks, not conducive to swathes of lovely wild flowers! Even my most
favourite flowering destination, Cumberland Nature Reserve, has yielded but a very
short list of plants brave enough to flower under these difficult conditions.
But the yellow-billed kites have returned, heralding spring and the hope of exciting
buds bursting out all over the veld. It always amazes me how brave those early
flowering plants are, peeping out of the dry and often black soil. I do hope we get some
early rain to encourage them.
September sees the celebration of Arbor Day and this year the trees chosen as ‘Trees of
the Year’ are Combretum kraussii, the forest bushwillow, and Heteromorpha arborescens
(used to be called Heteromorpha trifoliata), the parsley tree. Let’s start with the forest
bushwillow. In the wild it occurs over much of the eastern part of the country in
evergreen forest and thick bushy habitats with fairly good rainfall. It can grow to about
9 metres. With a similar spread in the garden, it makes a great screen, or a specimen to
provide shade. In spring the new foliage is often almost white, with the green
chlorophyll only being brought in a few weeks later. The flowers appear at the same
time, creamy-white in dense spikes, but the white leaves are probably more noticeable!
As the leaves mature they become darker and darker green. There are always a few
bright red leaves decorating the tree and as autumn approaches, more and more red
leaves appear – a most attractive feature. Although strictly a deciduous tree, the actual
leafless period is only about a month, a wonderful attribute for a screening plant. The
four-winged fruits, which appear in late summer, give the whole tree a glorious reddish
pink colour; the fruits are often parasitized and the southern black tits find this an
irresistible treat. Combretum kraussii is happiest in a warmish area with good rainfall,
but copes admirably with the average winter drought and survives moderate frost. The
mature fruits make a great addition to a dried flower arrangement!
The second ‘Tree of the Year’ is the parsley tree, Heteromorpha arborescens. The
generic name means ‘having many different shapes’ which is sometimes attributed to
the fact that the seed comprises two unequal parts; but the leaves are sometimes 3foliolate, sometimes 5-foliolate, and in the southern Cape can even have a simple leaf,
so maybe that’s where the name comes from? This is a great tree for folk that love
interesting bark. It is shiny and a sort of dark coppery colour, peeling rather like the
Commiphora species does, but regularly marked with horizontal bands. Both the leaves
and the flowers are aromatic; the greenish yellow flowers resembling the flowers of
parsley and carrots. The parsley tree shrugs off any frost with disdain, and is always tall
and thin, although sometimes multi-stemmed, always showing off its fascinating bark.
With Love from Sally