Delosperma cf. lavisiae, Naude’s Nek, Photographed February 2, 2005
Delosperma cf. Lavisiae, Naude’s Nek, East Cape, South Africa
03 Tuesday Feb 2015
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in03 Tuesday Feb 2015
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inDelosperma cf. lavisiae, Naude’s Nek, Photographed February 2, 2005
03 Tuesday Feb 2015
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inThis picture was taken on Sunday, February 06, 2005, not far from the Chalet on the summit of Sani Pass, Lesotho. This is the locus classicus of this newly described species–and the only place where it appears to grow abundantly.
I have seen specimens at the Compton Herbarium by Ernst Van Jaarsveld of the same taxon on the Cathedral Peaks, and I found a very few small specimens on the high Ridge directly north of Tiffindell, practically at the Lesotho boundary at over 3000m two weeks ago.
Location: Latitude: 29.58534 South; Longitude: 29.28725 East
Altitude: 2874m. (9429′)
Here is the same taxon growing in my garden–a picture taken on
Oettingen, Germany May 09, 2013,
And above you can see the propagules at the Kakteen Garten nursery in Oettingen nursery a few years ago: before the taxon was even named!
03 Tuesday Feb 2015
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inAlthough I visited the same locality just a few weeks ago, I did not find this species of Delosperma again this time around. This picture was taken on February 11, 2005 less than a kilometer from the white flowers Delosperma sp. Witsieshoek I featured a few pages ago. Essentially the same elevation and location data.
Witsieshoek Mountain Lodge:Latitude: 28.73817 South; Longitude: 28.89226 East
Altitude: 2811m; 9222 ft.
03 Tuesday Feb 2015
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inOne of the many surprises of my most recent trip to South Africa was finding a distinctive and wonderful new Delosperma at Semonkong Lodge, where I had stayed almost twenty years earlier! At that time the Lodge was configured differently, and we did not explore the large cliffs across the way. These are positively studded with this rather rangy species (growing very much like D. cooperi at Oxbow a few hundred miles further north by road, and a thousand feet higher), though this waif is not nearly as showy, it is still attractive and would be worth trying.
Delosperma sp. at Semonkong: Latitude: 29.51656 South; Longitude: 27.83114
Altitude: 2185m ( 7170′)
A wealth of other interesting taxa grew alongside the Delosperma including Aloe aristata and Cotyledon orbiculata. There was a fabulous stand of Phygelius capensis there as well, see below.
03 Tuesday Feb 2015
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inDate photographed: Jan. 13, 2015
There were only a few last flowers here and there, but the hanging masses of verdure were impressive in their own right.
Latitude: 28.77372 South; Longitude: 28.67058 East
Elevation: 2698m; 8839′
Here are a few shots of the Delosperma nubigenum grown from this site in cultivation at Denver Botanic Gardens’ South African Plaza.
A late winter shot taken in March.
This picture (including a pale flowered individual) was taken on June 26, 2010.
Below is the type specimen at Bolus Herbarium, Capetown.
03 Tuesday Feb 2015
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inDate photographed: Jan. 13, 2015
I had first visited the remarkable hill near the Oxbow Lodge in northern Lesotho in February of 2004. It is a great pleasure and privilege to have returned to this magical spot eleven years later…there is so much in this area, perhaps I will be privileged to return another time. The North facing cliffs of the small meseta are draped with numerous mounds and mats of Delosperma cooperi. As the mesa curves towards the south, Delosperma nubigenum appears among the purple cooperi: I had not noticed them mingling so much on my previous visit. Eventually, in the shadier aspect, the nubigenum dominates, forming wonderful festooning mats I will feature next. I featured this site in an article published in the Cactus and Succulent Society of America’s journal called “Ice Plants on skis” (Cactus and Succulent Journal 78(4):190-194. 2006)
Latitude: 28.77372 South; Longitude: 28.67058 East
Elevation: 2698m; 8839′
03 Tuesday Feb 2015
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inOur driver realized we needed a break on the long trek from Witsieshoek to Oxbow. We stopped at a “Protea” rest stop (there were a very few protea in the distance–probably P. roupelliae) possibly at their westernmost outposts. The star of the stop, however, was this stunning little gem in full bloom, growing along the edges of the Cave Sandstone rim rock.
Elevation: 1971 m.; 6467′
03 Tuesday Feb 2015
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inThis may be as good a place to start as any: I took this picture late afternoon on January 11, returning from a long hike en route to Sentinel on the slopes of Mount-aux-Sources. I’ve actually been by these very plants on at least three other occasions (1994,1996, 2008) and hadn’t noticed them. Bill Adams alerted me to their existence on THIS day, and sure enough, there they were. A dozen or more clumps of white flowered delosperma. Not sure what species. I hope to grow it…
Witsieshoek Mountain Lodge:Latitude: 28.73817 South; Longitude: 28.89226 East
Altitude: 2811m; 9222 ft.
Well, this is a start!
01 Saturday Nov 2014
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inFront room windows frame a black sky, Mozart on the radio and I’m wrapped in colorful wool blankets at 5:25 AM. I suppose this blog should be about Delospermas…and as such I suppose I should include a somewhat larger image that’s in the Blog header, taken at least five years ago on Anna’s Overlook at Denver Botanic Gardens–which is now the Science Pyramid.
The Delospermas in this picture are (of course) my namesake D. ‘Kelaidis’ that is sold under the name MESA VERDE (the pale pink if you didn’t know) and the dark pink/purple is a variation on D. ‘John Proffitt’ which is sold as TABLE MOUNTAIN.
There you have it: I’ve begun: where we go from here is as much my guess as your’s…