What sets the Rooistompie apart from other Mimetes is that is the only species in the family to resprout after a fire, every other species of Mimetes will germinate from seed after a fire.  And due to the fire we had about two years ago on this section of the mountain, this particular stand of Pagodas is looking stunning.  We are experiencing a darker red colour in the flowers this season, the reasons are unbeknown to me.

And then trawling through the medicinal or commercial uses of the plants reveals that the bark was used for tanning and the flowers mainly for the cutflower industry.

For more info on this fascinating species of the Protea family please visit Plantzafrica for more info

Hope you enjoyed this week’s installment of Fynbos Friday and have a great weekend.

There is a massive troop that’s been entertaining itself in the sun on our winery roof every other day. They might be boisterous and cause a bit of damage to the vines, eat our grapes and cause a stir once in a while but we have to realize that we are in their territory so one cannot be too precious about how we treat our faunal neighbours.   The fires of the season have most effectively wiped out the entire food source for the winter months for these guys and I suppose to a certain extent they have had to rely on blocks of chardonnay and shiraz throughout the entire valley.   You may have seen a few articles flying around during harvest season about the baboon raiders, like this one. The Proteas are getting nailed as well, they are especially fond of the sugarbushes right now, suppose that sweet nectar is too much to resist.

Baboons around the country vary massively in terms of colour variation, depending on age, sex, and geography.  Our Cape Chacma’s tend to be quite dark and somewhat larger in general than other baboons around SA.  Their upper canines are strongly developed, with the length in old adult males reaching up to 60 mm.    These canines are massive, and as sharp as a razor blade.   I would not like to see the business end of an aggravated male that’s for sure.  I don’t even think my newly acquired Muay Thai skills would be much of a help against a strong willed big male.    The average troop size is 40, the largest can be up to 130, and they do travel.  Their home range can be anything up to 30 kilometres sq.

And I especially enjoyed this piece on the diet from Skinner et al. The Mammals of the Southern African Subregion “Food: they are omnivorous, feeding primarily on fruit, leaves and invertebrates throughout the year.  DeVore and Hall (1965), for instance, stated that it is simpler to list the items not eaten by baboons than to describe the items they do eat. “

And if you haven’t seen this yet, look out for  Eric in Its a piece of cake.  Its an awesome book for the kiddies.  James is utterly fascinated with Eric and requests this as his bedtime story more than any book right now.   Love the Carrot cake vibe there.   For some interesting facts and a great read follow African Penguin on Twitter

And please take time to visit Baboon Matters and get involved, take a walk with them, sign the petition.  The Bobbos need our help.

I got a lovely pic of one just having a quick sun bath. They are not exactly known to sit still for long these guys, so I felt quite lucky to get this shot.   I do enjoy the Sun and the Sugarbirds on the farm, they are a very territorial bunch, nothing beats watching a big male Sunbird going after a Fiscal shrike twice its size and with sheer guts, trying to turn the shrike away from the nest.  I have mentioned before about the sunbird chicks in the nest.  And this is where the ferocious father Sunbird will fight tooth and claw to protect his brood.  It’s a pretty amazing spectacle.  Pop round in September, which is usually when they start nesting and laying their eggs.  Back to the Aloe, and the benefits apart from the attraction they have for the birds and the bees.

The medicinal benefits of the Aloe families are enormous;  one product you may have seen is Tim Jan who use Aloe Ferox, and make a stunningly bitter but amazing tonic which I use often.   I liked this bit especially: “the aloe is a bright hope in the battle of many illnesses- and certainly in strengthening the immune system.”

Helping with HIV, IBS, ulcers, arthritis, any burn wound, cures stomach ache,  sick chickens, childbirth, protection from storms, was used after Hiroshima for radiation burns, it contains vitamins C, E, A and B12, along with minerals like magnesium, zinc, copper, chrome, calcium, natrium, calium and iron, twenty amino acids and various carbohydrates.  It also contains enzymes, plant steroids and anti-inflammatory agents.   I think we might be feeding the Shiraz some of this stuff for good measure!

And please have a look through the best resource online for Fynbos : PlantzAfrica and the amazing Tim Jan se wondersap.   I can tell you a little secret, the Tim Jan is the second best thing for a babelas.  Trust me!

Pertinent to us this week is the kapokbos. With all the snow around on the surrounding mountains and the flowers in full bloom this plant really does take after its Afrikaans name, they have an amazing visual effect and literally look like they are covered in snow. Stunning!

We plant this all over the farm as its easy to propagate from cuttings and our bees go mad for the flowers.  In hedges its amazingly aromatic and nothing beats walking in a dense patch of fynbos and you brush through one these plants, its a heady aroma to say the least!

Up in the Cederberg, we used to hear stories about one of the Afrikaans names for it: oumansebaardbos They used to fill pillows with the fruits, which look like little cotton buds and when the pillow cases got threadbare or split the flowers would end up in the beards!  Covering the oumanne with the buds. Lovely story.

Also a favourite for the Karoo lamb in the area, kind of an internal seasoning. They love munching this all day.
When you’re camping and need something to take the smells of camp life away, this is the perfect plant for it.

Makes a quick and easy shampoo, great for fire wood as the smell is heavenly. Think fire, blankets, family & Gentle Giant while you are at it. It’s a great way to spend time together in the cold. Can you feel it? The cold is here…

Just a word of caution against using to cook, it has some pretty intense bitter flavours so it is not ideal for use on meat or veggies. Lastly, it also has mildly diuretic properties…so unless you’re well stocked on loo roll don’t be too liberal with your seasoning, even if it is natures “Special K”. Enjoy the snow and the weekend, go bokke and viva bafana bafana, viva!

More here.

It was some years later at Bushmanskloof that I met Bruce, and in the Cederberg itself where my passion for all things Fynbos really kicked off.  A lot of gin and a few years later, Bruce is still a good friend and we use his handy work with Carl and the team from Just Trees…which brings me back to this weeks Fynbos Friday.  When I received the invite to go and put the Cedar back into the Cederberg, wild horses could not keep me away from the chance to actually go and plant a Clanwilliam Cedar tree.     And then swing into Cederberg wines and clean out the cellar,  managed to pick up a few bottles of Dawid’s 2006 Chardonnay; heaven!  And the 2010 Bukketrabe is something to watch out for, very delicious wine.

Just Trees plant the seedlings, which, once they are size wise able to handle the Cederberg climate; they go to CNC and on weekends such as this one, you get to walk out to the middle of the brilliant Cederberg and plant back one of our critically endangered tree species.

The following from the Red Cedar project here on Red Espresso “Whilst there were forests of these beautiful trees, there are now hardly any to be seen. Conversion of large tracts of land for agriculture, fires and indiscriminate felling for furniture and telephone poles have almost wiped out the Cedars entirely – to the extent that the species is classified as endangered on the global Red Data List and faces high risk of extinction.   In 1987 Cape Nature started an initiative to restore the Cedar Tree by replanting nursery-grown seedlings into the wild and, to date, they have replanted over 500 Cedar Trees back into the Cederberg.

We became aware of the plight of the Cedar on one of our visits to the Cederberg and decided to do something with our sister company Just Trees, a wholesale nursery, we have partnered with Cape Nature, and through our Red Cedar Project, have committed to planting 1 000 Cedars into the Cederberg every year, which is three times the  number of trees planted since 1987.  Every year we will replant our Cedar trees back into the wild, where they will be cared for by Cape Nature in an effort to restore the Clanwilliam Cedar- and the Cederberg- to its original glory.  “

We have planted a lot of Just Trees’s trees here on the farm,  and there are going to be a lot more planted over the years.    Planting trees has to be one of the greatest boosts a local eco system can get.  Trees are at the peak of the pyramid, they provide so much food and shelter and great vibes.   And nothing beats planting a tree then having a stiff shot of the good red stuff.  Good times.  Thanks to Carl and Bruce and everyone involved, and a special thanks to Rika from Cape Nature Conservation, without people like her we would be in a worse state environmentally worldwide.  If you would like to read more about the project please read right here:  Partnership puts the Cedar back into the Cederberg

Now we never did find this particular plant but a year after we were both back in the real world Shoes happened to rock up at the farm with this particularly amazing specimen of a bulb.   It’s planted with pride at some undisclosed location now, and has been a constant joy to see growing. This photo is of that very one Shoes brought me and the leaves are always spectacular this time of year.   Another easy choice for this weeks Fynbos Friday is because you may seen Nikey is the Wine Times Hottie of the Week And in his interview it appears if he were a species of Fynbos he would be the Gifbol.  Nice!

Now why is the plant called the Bushmans Poison Bulb?  Well, firstly, it is deadly. Ingested in the wrong doses and you are a goner.  Buphanidrine is known as a powerful analgesic, hallucinogen and neurotoxin.  Lethal doses in Guinea pigs are 8mg/kg.  That’s not much one has to take before you vrek. How it works, is that alkaloiods apparently interfere with several neuroreceptors and ion channels; they are probably cytotoxic and mind altering.

The bulbs are a well documented source of Poison for the Khoi San arrows, another use is the treatment of painful wounds. Like circumsicion.  Yes dears, straight from the International Society for Horticultural Science:

this plant is used among the Xhosa-speaking tribes in South Africa, circumcision is not just a surgery; it is a cultural ceremony by which men are separated from boys. Traditionally, the wound caused by circumcision is bandaged with mashed leaves of Helichrysum pedunculatum Hilliard & Burtt., H. appendiculatum Hilliard & Burtt. or H. longifolium DC (Family Asteraceae). The dry outer covering of the bulb of Boophane disticha Herb. (Family Amaryllidaceae) is used to dress the wound. However, traditional circumcision has a high risk of infection. Hence the antimicrobial properties of the plants used to bandage circumcision wound were examined. Sterilized plant extracts were tested against the common bacteria that infect circumcision wounds, viz. Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus viridans and Escherichia coli, using the agar plate diffusion method. The leaves of Helichrysum pedunculatum exhibited the highest inhibitory effect against all tested bacterial strains.

Now we have covered Helichrysum species before, on Fynbos Fridays, and know about its uses for Blood Pressure, I am a convert after my Way of the Warrior experience…but his plant takes it to a whole new level.  Im not usually cautious about what I try out in the Fynbos, I usually graze on plants as I walk, but this is one bad boy I go nowhere near. Full  stop.  I have heard stories of people having a really difficult time of it after being a little too liberal with their experimenting, and the experiences did not sound like fun at all.   This bulbs importance in our cultural heritage is amazing, from the Khoi San who would have numerous uses for this, to the Xhosa speakers and their use as a pain relief and anti microbial properties, to the Zulu and Shona speakers who would use this to divine and speak to their ancestors.

For a little extra online research try the Erowid, an online vault of stuff about psycoactives and the human uses and experiences.  http://www.erowid.org/

This is one such amazing Iris.  The tritoniopsis lata emerges from a wiry neck of fibres at ground level.  What always intrigues me when I see a geophyte or bulb and it is not in flower, it almost impossible to identify, unless you know precisely what to look for.  This week’s Fynbos Friday is no different, for weeks before this particular beauty decided to grace us with her presence, it was painstaking to have to walk pretty much every day to see what would flower and have to wait very patiently for it to do just that.   I would not have been a good fisherman.

And when it does, as I am sure you will agree it is the most spectacular display of beauty yet..so similar to the Fynbos Friday 22, Tritoniopsis triticea; yet so different.

Heres a smattering from Plantzafrica on the family of tritoniopsis and ill leave it right there and let you appreciate the beauty of this week’s stunning Fynbos Friday.

Derivation of name and historical aspects
Tritoniopsis means resembling the genus Tritonia and triticea means of wheat. Tritoniopsis belongs in the Iridaceae, commonly known as the iris family. There are 29 species in this genus and they are all endemic to the Cape Floral Kingdom.

We are giving away some Syrah this week, having split a 12 case into two 6 bottle packs. Each is valued at R585.00 and more information on the wine can be found here. To buy the wine (if you don’t win any), go across to Ewine and order it directly.

It is short and sweet. It will be going to the first person who can correctly identify what is growing in these plug trays in our nursery:

The image to the left relates directly to another Fynbos Friday post on the site. For a full list of the Fynbos Friday posts, click the link here where they are all listed easily for you to reference.

Entries can be done only via e-mail to me; and it is not that hard guys. You have seen it before somewhere in our Fynbos Friday’s.

Please send your entries to:

web@hautespoir.com

Use the heading: Fynbos Friday Competition

The competition is closed as soon as we have the first two correct entries.

Thank you for listening.

We buy our trees from the best tree nursery around, Just Trees, who grow a wide range of some of the strongest and best looking trees around.   Pop in and have a look see, their range is incredible and truly some of the most magnificent nursery management I have ever seen.  Carl Pretorius and Bruce Stewart and their team run a fantastic operation, and we are proud to have been able to plant with huge success a wide range of their trees on the farm.   One cannot emphasize enough the importance of trees in the Fynbos Biome, for that matter any ecosystem.   Carl and his Red Espresso team have also been keeping me healthy in warrior camp with delicious rooibos, and with Mr Chongs dinners nothing beats his wife Jaq’s chilli. Look out for the red one, it’s the business.

Back to the main event here, the Soetdoring, when I was working up at Bushmanskloof, there was a fantastic stand of these trees just below Main Dam, there were many discussions around a braai with the obligatory Clanwilliam slaghuis Skilpaadjie, paired with one of many of Flatties dangerous Blue Gins about how animals often will start browsing the one tree, and then before the others are ‘attacked’ they take on subtle defense mechanisms, almost as if the trees are talking to each other.  Amazing stuff.  Once they have been nibbled the trees build a defense mechanism against it. Some things like Rhino and Giraffe are able to just chew through those massive thorns. But for the tree predators we saw in the Cederberg like Springbok, Red Hartebees, Eland and the Cape Mountain Zebra, the trees needed to have a little extra in their arsenal to avoid being munched into extinction.   Tannin levels rise as well, when the massive Bushmanskloof herd of 40 eland or so pull in for the meal, the trees push up their tannins immediately to make them not so sweet and palatable.

The Acacia Karroo is also critical for the success of our bee hives, Soetdoring Honey always has an incredible flavor and the trees flowers are a brilliant source of pollen for the bees, as they are literally dripping in pollen. So now that I have recovered my somewhat Zen fynbos state, it is time to return to training and see you all at the Way of the Warrior Grand final, Grand West Casinos on Thursday next week, 19:30. 

http://www.plantzafrica.com/frames/plantsfram.htm

This is one of South Africa’s most beautiful and useful trees. It is integrally part of our country’s history having been used for everything from raft-making to sewing needles and fencing for the houses of the royal Zulu women. The thorns were even used by early naturalists to pin the insects they collected! It is very widespread throughout southern Africa and there are different forms in some places, which can be confusing. Acacia karroo may be found from the Western Cape through to Zambia and Angola. In tropical Africa it is replaced by Acacia seyal. The name Acacia is derived from Greek “akis” a point or barb. Karroo is one of the old spellings of karoo which cannot be corrected because of the laws governing botanical nomenclature (giving of names).

It is found in a variety of habitats from low lying areas to highveld, although not usually found in mist belt and montane areas. It is an indicator of sweet veld which is prized for the good grazing and fertile soils. If an area is overgrazed the sweet thorn becomes invasive.

Acacia karroo has a rounded crown, branching fairly low down on the trunk. It is variable in shape and size, reaching a maximum of about 12m where there is good water. The bark is red on young branches, darkening and becoming rough with age. Sometimes an attractive reddish colour can be seen in the deep bark fissures The leaves are finely textured and dark green. The flowers appear in early summer in a mass of yellow pompons. Many insects visit and pollinate these flowers. The seed pods are flat and crescent shaped, sometimes with constrictions between the seeds. They are green when young becoming brown and dry. The pods split open allowing the seeds to fall to the ground. The thorns are paired, greyish to white and are long and straight. On mature trees, the thorns may be quite short. They may be held at 90° to the stem or raked forward slightly. Technically the thorns are called “spines” and are developed from modified stipules (small, leaf-like scales, seen at the base of the leaf-stalk). In some other thorny acacia species, the thorns are not stipular in origin and are called “prickles”. These originate in the epidermis (”skin”) and are always short and curved, a bit like rose thorns. Thorns on African acacias are important for identification, they are divided into 5 main groups according the size, shape and position of the thorns.

The sweet thorn gets its common name from the gum which is exuded from wounds in the bark. This pleasant tasting gum is eaten by people and animals, including the Lesser Bushbaby which feeds exclusively on insects and gum from trees, particularly acacia trees. It also had commercial value in the past when the gum was exported as “Cape Gum” for making confectionary. This is apparently similar to gum arabic which is used as a water soluble glue.

It is a particularly good fodder tree, stock and game feed on the leaves, flowers and pods. Seed dispersal takes place this way. There is no danger of hydrocyanic poisoning which is a self-protection mechanism used by many trees. The bark contains tannin which is used to tan leather to a reddish colour. (This unfortunately gives the leather an unpleasant odour). The heartwood is heavy and hard but susceptible to attack from borer. This apparently may be prevented by seasoning the wood in water for six months before use. The “Dune Forest” form found along the coast of Kwazulu-Natal northwards of the Tugela river has soft wood so would not be suitable for woodworking. A strong rope can be made from the inner bark which is pliable enough for rope-making when it is wet. The flowers produce lots of nectar and pollen for bee-farming and the honey has a pleasant flavour. In arid areas the sweet thorn is an indicator of water, both underground and surface. It was a very welcome sight to early travelers and nomads.

Acacia karroo has a life span of 30-40 years and is an adaptable pioneer, able to establishing itself without shade, shelter or protection from grass fires. Once over a year old, seedlings can resprout after fire. Several fungi are associated with this tree and the crown of mature trees may be parasitized by various mistletoes, leading to the tree’s decline. This tree has a long taproot which enables it to use water and nutrients from deep underground, this and its ability to fix nitrogen, lead to grasses and other plants thriving in its shade.

The sweet thorn has many medicinal uses ranging from wound poultices to eye treatments and cold remedies. The bark, leaves and gum are usually used. It is also used to treat cattle which have tulp poisoning (Homeria spp – bulbous plants which are poisonous to stock).

Often you`ll see Arum Lilys being sold next to the side of the road and today we are going to give you a few more uses than just leaving them in a bowl in your kitchen to look beautiful.

Common name: arum lily, varkblom

A tuberous perennial plant up to one meter tall with its familiar, spathe-like flowerheads and central, flower-bearing, yellow column. This species is common in damp places. It is frequently seen growing along roadsides and is cultivated worldwide.

The large leaves of the plant are heated and applied as plasters to wounds, sores and boils and also to parts affected by rheumatism and gout (do not crush the leaves, as the juice is an irritant). Boiled rhizomes were sometimes minced with honey or syrup and taken to treat bronchitis, asthma, heartburn and rheumatism or gargled for a sore throat.

The plants should not be eaten fresh as this results in swelling of the tongue and throat due to needle-shaped calcium oxylate crystals. As with other Araceae, cooking destroys the toxins and many indigenous people are reported to eat the stems, leaves and even the flowers as a vegetable.

The Khoi made a dish called Hottentot bread from the root by boiling the starchy rhizomes (roots) in several waters to remove the acrid principle, then drying them in the sun and roasting in embers, according to Kolbe, a traveller in the Cape in the early 18th century.

Have a great weekend and we look forward to more news next week. The site is going to be growing and we are adding some fantastic images, stories and features which we hope you will love.