Meadowridge Common

AGM 2012

2012-02-06T16:30:00.002+02:00

The AGM of the Friends of the Meadowridge Common will be held on Monday, 27 February, at the Meadowridge Library. After a brief business meeting, Ineke Moseley, an avid mountaineer/hiker and a member of the team of photographers and botanists of the Friends of Silvermine who have photographed and documented the flora of Silvermine will present an illustrated talk: “Flowers of the Southern Peninsula: rarities, endemics and pollination strategies”.
Do join us for the talk and to find out what has been happening on the Common.
Time: 7:30 pm.

Photo: Moraea obscura.

Rehabilitation on Meadowridge Common

2011-12-03T18:25:00.008+02:00

Problems of conservation on the Common include:

1. Its small size accommodates a limited number of plants of some species, some numbers so low that extinction is a real possibility.
A remedy is to augment the number by propagating dicotyledons.
Using our plants we have propagated the following species:
Hermannia multiflora, Pelargonium cucullatum, Lampranthus reptans, Ruschia geminiflora, Lampranthus stenus, Salvia chamelaeagnea, Leucadendron salignum and Struthiola dodecandra.
We are grateful to Trevor Adams of Kirstenbosch and Maya Beukes for their help.
Photo above: The wetland in a wet winter by Fiona Watson.

2. When the Alphen retention ponds were dug to prevent flooding of the Diep River, the soil was dumped on the Common.
Maya Beukes provided a solution. In 2006 and 2008 she organized front end loaders to remove this soil and grass. The adjoining Meadowridge Football Club used this for their new fields and to construct a berm. The soil left behind was again at its original level. Seeds dormant and covered for 30 years germinated, covering the ground with Lobelia erinus, Monopsis debilis and Psoralea pinnata.
Maya also planted the species listed under number 1 in this area in different places and at different levels in order to establish their best niches for hot summers and winter flooding.
Other species previously found on the Common have been re-introduced using material growing locally to ensure that their DNA records are not compromised. Serruria glomerata (above) is doing well in the enclosed area. Athanasia dentata has found its niche in the far side of the lower non-enclosed area. It did not survive nearer the path.
F.J. Watson

Flowering on the Common in September

2011-09-23T17:32:00.003+02:00

Hermannia multiflora

What you may see on a spring walk on Meadowridge Common this September.

Zantedeschia aethiopica Arum Lily – ARACEAE or Arum family.

Asparagus rubicundus Wag ’n bietjie – ASPARAGACEAE or Asparagus family.

Trachyandra ciliata Cape Spinach or Veldkool
Trachyandra revoluta – ASPHODELACEAE or Aloe family.

Colchium eucomoides which used to be Androcymbium eucomoides Men-in-a-boat
Baeometra uniflora Beetle Lily
Wurmbea monopetala – COLCHICACEAE or Colchicum family.

Wachendorfia paniculata Rooikanol – HAEMODORACEAE or Bloodroot family.

Albuca juncifolia (also known as Ornithogalum imbricatum) Cup and Saucer – HYACINTHACEAE or Hyacinth family.

Spiloxene capensis Peacock Flower – HYPOXIDACEAE or Star Lily family.

Geissorhiza aspera Blue Satinflower or Sysie
Geissorhiza imbricata
Moraea flaccida Groottulp (with long, trailing leaf)
Moraea collina Geeltulp
Moraea tripetala Blou-uintjie
Romulea flava White Romulea orWitknikkertjie
Romulea hirsuta Frutang
Romulea obscura
Romulea rosea Rooiknikkertjie or Common Romulea
Sparaxis bulbifera Fluweeltjie – IRIDACEAE or Iris family.

Triglochin bulbosa – JUNCAGINACEAE or

Satyrium odorum ORCHIDACEAE or Orchid family

Restio quinquefarius
Thamnochortus fruticosus RESTIONACEAE or Restio family

Carpobrotus edulus
Lampranthus glaucus
Lampranthus reptans
Lampranthus stenus
Tetragonia fructicosa – AIZOACEAE or Ice-plant family

Arctotheca calendula Cape Weed
Chrysanthemoides monolifera
Senecio littoreus
Cotula turbinata
Tripteris clandestina
Ursinia anthemoides
Dimorphotheca pluvialis ASTERACEAE – Daisy family

Heliophila africana BRASSICACEAE – Mustard family

Psoralea pinnata FABACEAE – Pea family

Geranium incanum
Pelargonium capitatum
Pelargonium myrrhifolium
Pelargonium triste GERANIACEAE – Geranium family

Hermannia multiflora MALVACEAE – Hibiscus family

Oxalis obtusa
Oxalis pes-caprae
Oxalis versicolor OXALIDACEAE – Oxalis family

Nylandtia spinosa – POLYGALACEAE – Polygala family

Diastella proteoides
Leucadendron salignum
Protea repens
Serruria glomerata PROTEACEAE – Protea family

Passerina corymbosa
Struthiola ciliata
Struthiola dodecandra THYMELACEAE – Daphne family

Wildflowers you will see during September on the Common

2011-09-20T13:07:00.010+02:00

The small but beautiful flowers of Romulea hirsuta.
The long trailing leaf of the Groottulp (Moraea flaccida).
Another spring bulb to look for is the tiny Blue Satinflower or Blousysie (Geisorhiza aspera).
A Dance Fly on Coastal Ragwort or Geelhongerblom (Senecio littoreus). The common name Hongerblom derives from the purported use of some senecios as a tea to boost the appetite. They are also sometimes known as groundsel.
The large fluffy seedheads of the Bobbejaanklimop daisy (Othonna filicaulis).
The Common Button Daisy or Ganskos (Cotula turbinata).
Cape Weed (Arctotheca calendula).

And there are a few plants that are unwelcome on the Common, but still look pretty. The South African Rain Daisy, Dimorphotheca pluvialis does not occur naturally on the Common, but someone once sprinkled some seed on the Common and it has now made itself at home, sometimes engulfing the local flora.

Viper's Bugloss (Echium vulgare) is also a weed on the Common that hails from Europe and Asia.

Vicia cracca is a species of vetch native to Europe and Asia and is now a widespread weed on the Common.

Spring wildflower walk on the Common

2011-09-13T10:12:00.001+02:00

Please join Olwen Gibson, an experienced eco-guide, and the Friends of Meadowridge Common on a spring wildflower walk on Meadowridge Common on Saturday 24 September. We will meet at noon at the parking area adjacent to the soccer fields. (See map). There is no charge, but a donation to the friends would be appreciated.

Garden plants that grow naturally on sandy flats

2011-08-30T21:56:00.004+02:00

To download a list of indigenous plants that grow naturally on sandy flats, drawn up by Alice Notten - click here.
See the following post for a summary of Alice's informative talk.

Waterwise indigenous gardening on the sandy flats

2011-08-23T10:39:00.027+02:00

Alice Notten, Chief Interpretive Officer at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, gave an entertaining and informative talk on Waterwise indigenous gardening on the sandy flats. The talk was hosted by the Friends of Meadowridge Common, and took place in the Meadowridge Library - one of several interesting talks hosted by the Friends over the years. Alice Notten is a botanist and horticulturist who has worked at Kirstenbosch for many years, and is known by many for her interesting articles on gardening with indigenous plants on the website PlantZafrica as well as those in Veld & Flora. This is a summary of her talk, with links to the PlantZafrica site, where you can obtain more information on gardening with specific plant mentioned.
When Alice bought a house in Plumstead, she was a bit shocked at the windy, sandy conditions she faced as she had only had experience gardening in the rich, loamy soils of Johannesburg, and then the rich loamy soils of Kirstenbosch where she had lived up to this point. Anyone who has gardened in this area knows the type of soil that she was confronted with: sandy, oily soil that repels water. Alice started off by planting a windbreak around the perimeter, finding Searsia (Rhus) pendulina to be the most successful fast-growing, bushy hedge,
as well as the pioneer Keruboom (Virgilia divaricata and V. oroboides). This is an excellent pioneer tree that will act as a "nursery species" by providing protection for slower growing, more sensitive plants that you can plant around it. Being a pioneer species, the Keurboom will die in about ten to fifteen years by which time the slower growing species will be well established.
Another good hedge plant is Tecoma capensis. It is hardy and colourful and fast growing.

Searsia (Rhus) crenata also makes a good border hedge. The Krantz Aloe (Aloe arborescens) is an excellent choice for a colourful, waterwise hedge plant that will attract sunbirds.
Then to get a few trees up and shading the garden, your first choice should be this underrated small tree, the Coastal Camphor Bush (Tarchonanthus littoralis). Be sure to get a female plant as the males do not produce this froth of white that lasts for months on the tree.
Turning her attention to the windswept central beds, Alice advises that you plant a few hardy plants like the Common Agapanthus (Agapanthus praecox) that will provide a windbreak and mulch trap so that other plants can be established around it.
The Rose-scented Pelargonium (Pelargonium capitatum) will very quickly take over, but if you deprive it of water, it is not as rampant as it can be and will provide colour and a trap the mulch and topsoil that would otherwise blow away in the strong Southeaster. It has the added advantage of being very easy to grow from cuttings for those of us for cannot afford to visit garden centres too often!
The Smelly Plectranthus (Plectranthus neochilus) likewise is easy to grow from cuttings and will provide colour in places where other plants do not thrive.
Interplanted with Helichrysum petiolare it looks pretty good!
Another hardy plant that can take over, but can be controlled by not watering too often, is the Bush Violet (Barleria obtusa).
For a groundcover, especially in a paved area, try various gazanias and other daisies. One that Alice found particularly hardy, is the little known Senecio crassulaefolius, which has rather interesting little flowers and is indigenous to the Cape Peninsula, growing in rocky crevices.
Another plant that is easy to grow from cuttings is the Plakkie or Pigs Eat (Cotyledon orbiculata) which Alice found rather disappointing in her garden but which seems to thrive in other sandy soil gardens nearby.
The attractive leaves of the Plakkie make it a popular and spectacular potplant.
The March Lilies (Amaryllis belladonna) that come up in the early autumn, even evinced a response from the non-botanically minded neighbours who remarked on this spectacular flower.
Alice then set about trying to grow plants that would have occurred on these sandy flats before houses were built. Having identified the vegetation type as Sand Plain Fynbos, which is known for its acidic soils, Alice obtained a few examples at the Kirstenbosch Plant Sales, and found that this pretty Phylica ericoides did well in her garden. As with many plants, a good time to plant is in early autumn so that they have time to "settle" before the harsh, dry summer sets in.
Another locally indigenous plant, the Orange Hermannia (Hermannia pinnata), also does well in sandy, dry gardens as an edging plant, a groundcover or in a rockery or hanging basket.
Another rewarding, colourful addition to the garden was Felicia fillifolia.
Protea scolymocephala also did extremely well in Alice's garden.
Another member of the protea family that did well in the waterwise garden was the Line-leafed conebush (Leucadendron linifolium).
Podalyria sericea, the Silver Sweet-pea Bush, was also disappointing and failed to thrive in Alice's garden, although it does well in other sandy gardens on the Cape flats. Alice wondered why, and discussed the fact that several acid-loving, Sand Plains Fynbos plants just hated growing in the Plumstead garden which falls fair and square into . Ernst van Jaarsveld pointed out that in his opinion, many older gardens, even if they start out acidic, soon become alkaline after years of adding fertiliser and leaching of the soil. Also, there was a large Eucalyptus (gum) on the pavement outside the house which also makes soils more alkaline. Plant more alkaline-tolerant plants and see, was his advice.
So Alice planted the Bredasdorp Protea (Protea obtusifolia) which occurs on the limestone soils of the Agulhas Plain, and it did extremely well, outstripping the existing Common Sugarbush (Protea repens) in no time.
The thing about acid-loving plants is that they can only tolerate acidic soils and will die if planted in alkaline soils, but alkaline-loving plants will also thrive in acidic soils, so you can't really go wrong by planting alkaline-loving plants, Alice said. She urged members of the audience to get their soil tested and said that testing kits were readily available at plant centres these days.
The aniseed-scented Bergboegoe (Agathosma ciliaris), a locally indigenous buchu of the coastal flats, seemed to like the slighly more alkaline soils of Alice's garden, and provided it is looked after to begin with, is waterwise and hardy.
Another lime-loving member of the protea family is the Albertinia Pincusion (Leucospermum muirii) and it did well in Alice's garden.

There was quite a long discussion on the topic of "to mulch or not to mulch" as Tony Rebelo's letter to Veld & Flora stating that fynbos does not like mulch and the oily soils are perfectly good at keeping in the moisture underneath the plants had been noted by many in the audience. Alice basically agreed with Tony but in an artificial environment where soils have largely been leached and transformed, a little mulch is desirable, but she warned against using well decomposed damp compost. So, once you understand your soil, it is possible to find lots of beautiful, interesting and unusual plants to fill your garden. Visit Kirstenbosch to get an idea of what the plants look like in the garden and start planning ...

Some final thoughts:
 If in doubt, test the pH of your soil. Remember that human interference can change the pH. It is easier to make it alkaline than acidic.
 Draw up a plan of your garden.
 Find out how wet your garden gets in winter, where the dry spots, or wet spots are, where does the wind come from, where is the sun etc.
 Remember that buildings, walls, paving can alter the drainage, increase flow of water after rain, and interrupt airflow, and make things hotter, drier or windier.
 Make lists of plants that used to grow in the area, and of other potentially suitable plants, short list the ones you like the look of.
Compost and mulch.
 Plant a windbreak.
 Plant nursemaid shrubs and perennials to protect the less tough.

Thank you Alice for the most entertaining and enlightening talk!

A summer stroll

2011-02-17T16:19:00.015+02:00

Take a stroll on the Common and although it looks hot and dry, you will be amazed at what you find. One of the storyboards has a display of the flowers you might come across ... Erica subdivaricata is just starting to flower ... and the Sour Fig (Carpobrotus edulis) flowers are opening too.

This beautiful little aristea, Aristea dichotoma, was flowering resolutely in the hot sun. It was identified by Fiona Watson and she observes that it seems to prefer to grow where it gets some shade. The leaves are tough, narrow and point vertically upwards to avoid direct sunlight. In this photo you can see the three-winged fruit.

The Common Sugarbush (Protea repens) was flowering too, and was covered in honeybees. Strictly speaking, this particular bush was planted here, but it might well have occurred here naturally in days gone by. Come along to the AGM on Monday 28 February, to find out more about the flowers of Meadowridge Common and the fascination of bees. These butterfly flowers are definitely not indignous. They are Gaura lindheimeri and hail from Texas and Louisiana.

You will notice lots of snails in the low shrubs on the Common. These are introduced snails - snailiens - that have become a bit of a pest in the Cape. More about them here.

Snailiens on the Common

2011-02-17T11:59:00.006+02:00

Theba pisana
Common names: White Garden Snail - Sandhill Snail - Vine Snail - Dune Snail - White Italian Snail - Duineslak

Theba pisana was introduced by humans to South Africa sometime before 1881. It comes from the Mediterranean area – hence its name "White Italian Snail" - and has also spread to Australia, California and western Europe, as well as parts so South America and Bermuda, the Azores and Madeira. This snail lives mostly in the winter- and all-year-round-rainfall regions of the western and southern Cape from the Orange River mouth to East London. It seems to prefer to live near the coast, and is found in gardens, on road verges, in pastures, grainlands and vineyards, as well as in pristine coastal fynbos.

Is it a pest?
Yes – it is an agricultural and garden pest in the Cape where its population densities can be extremely high, but not enough is known about it to say exactly how pestiferous it is.

Life cycle
The snails in the photos above are aestivating (sitting out the summer) on Meadowridge Common. They are well adapted to survive the hot dry summer as they can drop their body temperature to well below 44 °C during the hottest time of the day. The reason you see them in bushes is because the temperature on the ground in summer is frequently higher than the snail’s body temperature, so they climb upward and aestivate above the ground where temperatures are lower.
The breeding season starts in late summer and autumn when mating occurs when their aestivation is broken after the onset of the first heavy rains of the season.
Egg-laying extends until late winter and spring. The bulk of the snails die after laying eggs, although not always – some have been known to live for 4 years.
The eggs hatch in later winter and spring.

What does that mean?
Aestivate Spend the summer in a state of torpor, a “summer sleep” rather like hibernating during the heat of summer.

Most of the information here comes from the book by Dai Herbert, The introduced terrestrial Mollusca of South Africa. It is available from SANBI and the Kirstenbosch Bookshop.

Spring walks on the Common

2010-08-16T20:57:00.010+02:00

Stuart Hall holding up the metre-long leaf of Moraea fugax. Roger Graham (right) - the Chairman of the Friends of Meadowridge Common.

Fiona Watson handing over a CD of her description of the species that occur on Meadowridge Common to Stuart Hall at the end of the walk.

Fiona Watson - Botanical Officer, The Friends of Meadowridge Common.

"Don't stand on the Lampranthus reptans!"

The Friends of the Meadowridge Common hosted two spring walks on the Common recently. Stuart Hall, a botanist studying at UCT, led the first walk on Saturday 11 September and Olwen Gibson the second one on 18 September.
Meadowridge Common, a remnant of critically endangered lowlands fynbos, has been included in the booklet City of Cape Town Nature Reserves, a network of amazing urban biodiversity, and indeed, over 140 species of indigenous flowering plants have been identified by Fiona Watson on this small 7 ha open space - four of them in danger of extinction.

Flowers that were seen included Oxalis species and Lampranthus reptans flowers as well as species of Romulea in red, mauve and orange. Dainty white trachyandras that were just opening as were the sky-blue Heliophila africana. White botterblom (Sparaxis bulbifera) and yellow Senecio littoreus were also flowering, as was Pelargonium triste. The walks were well attended, with over 50 arriving for the first walk, and just less than half that for the second walk.

Birds and beetles

2010-05-23T15:08:00.005+02:00

Today on the Common there were lots of Hairy Darkling Beetles Lagria vulnerata.
According to the Field guide to Insects of South Africa by Mike Picker, Alan Weaving and Charles Griffiths, they are related to the toktokkes, the Tenebrionidae family.
I also saw this beautiful Black-headed Heron in a tall pine tree, trying to look like one of the branches.

Lunate ladybirds and blister beetles

2010-04-15T08:50:00.003+02:00

This morning on the Common I spotted this Lunate Ladybird (Cheilomenes lunata) sweeping a daisy bush for aphids. (Other beetles you might find on the Common.)

There were also several Spotted Blister Beetles (Ceroctis capensis) on the Fonteinbos or Bloukeur bushes (Psoralea pinnata). These beetles belong to the family Meloidae many of which secrete a poison, cantharadin, which may blister human skin, and if eaten, prove fatal!

Cape Autumn Widow

2010-04-15T08:26:00.002+02:00

Flying around the Common now are lots of pretty brown butterflies. These are Cape Autumn Widows (Dira clytus) that are related to the Table Mountain Beauty. They are known as browns and belong to the family Nymphalidae and subfamily Satyrinae. The underside of the wing in most browns is cryptically coloured and eyespots are common. Foodplants are grasses and sedges.
Cape Autumn Widow butterflies fly slowly just above grass, often settling on bare patches of ground. The females scatter eggs in flight. The larvae are well camouflaged and feed on various grasses. Their preferred habitat is grassy areas on mountain slopes and lower ground.
Information from Field guide to insects of South Africa by Mike Picker, Charles Griffiths and Alan Weaving, Struik.

Jumping-ball Moths and the Glossy Wild-currant

2010-03-18T20:25:00.004+02:00

Glossy Wild-currant, Shiny-leaved Rhus, Blinktaaibos
Searsia lucida (formerly Rhus lucuda) ANACARDACEAE (the mango family)

At the moment the fruits on the Glossy Wild-currant can be seen on the Common.
A fascinating insect-plant relationship plays itself out with the Glossy Wild-currant Rhus lucida and the Jumping Gall Moth Scyrotis athleta. In the sand and leaf-litter beneath Searsia lucida one can sometimes see small (about 6 mm) oval balls that jump. In the ball is the larva of a moth, Scyrotis athleta (family Cecidosidae). The movement and jumping is a response to heat and facilitates repositioning of the ball into ideal pupating conditions in the soil and leaf-litter. It is quite a mystery how such a small larva in such a confined space is able to exert the force required to jump (up to 10 cm). Janse (1920) concluded that it is done by careful positioning inside the ball and rapid contracting and relaxing of muscles.

The balls start off as bumps (galls) that form on the leaves of Searsia lucida. A female moth lays her egg probably by inserting her ovipositor into the leaf. The gall is formed around the hatched larva possibly as a result of the feeding action inside the leaf. This is still being investigated. The larva feeds inside the gall and when mature the external layer of the gall bursts open and the ball falls to the ground. Jumping can continue for up to 6 weeks and the moth emerges a few months later. (Information and more photos on the website biodiversityexplorer.)

Erica subdivaricata

2010-03-18T19:47:00.001+02:00

Erica subdivaricata ERICACEAE (erica family)

This beautiful erica grows up to 1 m and has small, bell-shaped, white (sometimes just tinged with pale pink) flowers that come out from January on the Common. It occurs on lower slopes and flats in the south-western Cape, the Agulhas Plain and from Malmesbury to Bredasdorp, seeming to prefer slightly damp, partially shady spots.

It is flowering profusely now (mid March) on the Common.

Sadly, there are no plants of this sandy-soil-loving erica for sale at the Kirstenbosch Plant Fair this year.

Rough Blue Sage

2010-03-18T18:59:00.001+02:00

Rough Blue Sage, Bloublomsalie, Salvia chamelaeagnea LAMIACEAE (the mint and sage family)

This pretty plant is flowering on the Common now. It differs from the other blue Wild Sage or Bloublomsalie, Salvia africana-caerulea, in that its calyx does not enlarge in the fruiting stage. It flowers from November to April.

Tips for growing the Rough Blue Sage

Liesl van der Walt of Kirstenbosch says, "The blue Salvia chamelaeagnea looks beautiful when flowering with blue agapanthus. The white form looks lovely mixed with other green foliage plants, giving the garden a fresh and cool look during the midsummer heat. Plants can be maintained in the garden for several years, but need to be cut back after flowering to keep them tidy and vigorous." (See Plantzafrica.)

Talk on Restoring Sand Plain Fynbos on our Common

2009-09-23T16:23:00.004+02:00

Carly Cowell of Kirstenbosch is also the SANBI Project Co-ordinator for the Millennium Seed Bank Project, run by Kew Gardens. Carly has travelled to well-known gardens in Europe, China and Australia and will be giving a public lecture, hosted by the Friends of Meadowridge Common, on “International trends in Restoration and the Meadowridge Common Project".
The talk will take place on Monday 5 October at 7.30 pm at the Meadowridge Library, Howard Street. There is no entrance fee. Any enquires can be directed to Fiona Watson at 021 712 0696 or Caroline Voget on 072 933 4510.

Spring flower walk

2009-09-03T12:19:00.012+02:00

A guided spring flower walk led by Fiona Watson will be conducted on Saturday 19 September at 14h00 on Meadowridge Common. It will start at the gravel road near the Soccer Club.
Meadowridge Common, our conservation area, will for the first time be included in the 2009 edition of the booklet, City of Cape Town Nature Reserves, a network of amazing urban biodiversity. We have identified 137 species of indigenous flowering plants on this small 7 ha open space and four of these are in danger of extinction in South Africa. We are working hard to conserve this heritage gem but for a small area where many species are present in very small numbers the challenges are great. Extremes in climate, trampling and dogs’ digging can easily wipe out a species, as has already happened to seven on the Common.
Come and see what we are doing to meet this challenge – by propagating plants from the Common to augment their numbers; by rehabilitating and creating a seasonal wetland; by erecting bollards around sensitive areas.
The range of plants in flower varies over the spring months as does the time of day when they are open. More are late risers, opening in the afternoon, hence our walk being scheduled for 14h00. August is the time to view Oxalis species in their bright colour: rose-pink Oxalis purpurea, yellow Oxalis pes caprae, white with red on the reverse Oxalis versicolor (photo below) and a profusion of Oxalis obtusa. Mauve babianas are a delight with their splashes of red and white. The Lampranthus reptans flowers (photo above) glow like golden dollars on their spreading stems. They continue to flower in September.
September sees members of the Romulea genus revealing their deeply-coloured red, mauve and orange species. Dainty white trachyandras drag themselves out of bed to open in the afternoons as do the sky-blue Heliophila africana. White botterblom, Sparaxis bulbifera, yellow daisies, Senecio littoreus, and Ursinia anthemoides provide sheets of colour. In October yellow Moraea fugax comes into its own. These are but a few of the many flowers on display.
We would love to have you join us on our guided walk on Saturday, 19 September to be inspired by Nature’s beauty and to learn more about this area we are so privileged to have open to us. The walk is free of charge but if you wish to support us by becoming a member of Friends of Meadowridge Common, receive our newsletters and our full colour broadsheets and attend talks arranged at Meadowridge Library, it only costs R20 for a year's membership. For any queries feel free to phone Mrs Fiona Watson at 021 712 0696. In the case of inclement weather on the 19th, do contact her for an alternative arrangement.

Photos:

TOP: Lampranthus reptans, the Cape Flats Vygie. Photo: Fiona Watson.
BELOW: Sugarstick Sorrel, Oxalis versicolor. Photo: Caroline Voget.

A spiny bear's foot on the Common?

2009-08-24T14:41:00.008+02:00

You often see these flat, prickly leaves in the middle of the paths on Meadowridge Common. Have you ever stopped to wonder what they are? It is a platdoring, or Arctopus echinatus.
In Greek, arktos is "bear", and pous is "foot" (yes it is!) and echinatus is Latin for "spiny" or "prickly". So a spiny bear's foot! It has an underground stem, and is common in sandy, flat places. It belongs to the carrot family, and male and female plants are separate. The plant above was found Meadowridge Common, and the two below, male (left) and female (right) are from the slopes of the Hottentots Hollands.

How much wood would a woodchip chip?

2009-07-05T12:21:00.006+02:00

The question in the minds of four of the Friends who arrived to spread a pile of woodchip over one of the main paths of the Common was how far the chip would go. "It does not look such a big pile to me," said Gordon, "probably cover half the path." His being a retired civil engineer who knows a thing or two about roads, we deferred to his judgement and so began the haul.

What none of us bargained for, however, was a magical pile. Not only was it magically fresh and clean but it was also possessed of the property of not diminishing as we reduced. As we returned with the large tarpaulin we were using to load and drag the chips upon, the pile stood as tall as ever, following the law of undiminishing returns. This was proven by the fact that the half way point to which we had dragged the first load and then worked down from now had to be exceeded and we set our sights further up - eventually covering all but 20m of a 100m path. But as we looked back down the track, our last load down, what did we see? A beautiful river of green, fresh chip now lay where a sandy one had once been.

This could not have happened without Nic of Afford-a-Fell. Having contacted him after Louise Kinrade of the Friends of Kirstenhof Greenbelt had given me his name, he simply said: "Sure, I've got woodchip - how much do you want and when?" The next thing it was delivered, no charge, and with another question attached: "When can I deliver the next one?" With friends like this we could go far. Thanks, Nic and those who helped bring the path into shape.

Winter flowers on Meadowridge Common

2009-06-27T17:00:00.009+02:00

Probably the Common's most important species, this rare and endangered member of the Protea family is the Flat's Silkypuff, Diastella proteoides.
It was once abundant on the Cape Flats, but most of its southern populations have been destroyed and small remnant populations remain - one on our Common! (Click here for the some history of its discovery.) The plant carries a status of 'Vulnerable' in the Red Data book and is likely to be upgraded to Endangered as its northern habitats (it occurs on sandy flats as far north as Mamre) are developed.
The Flats Silkypuff flowers erratically throughout the year, but mainly from July to February and our bush is starting to flower now. Find it near the storyboards on the Common.
The plants do not produce nectar - pollination is by beetles and flies that visit the flowers to feed on pollen. The round white seed is produced two months after flowering. Each flowerhead may produce a single seed, which is bigger than the entire flowerhead. These seeds are collected by ants, which bury them in their nests. Here they are safe from fire and rodents. Germination only occurs after fire. (Info from the Protea Atlas Webpage)

Tortoise Berry, Nylandtia spinosa, belongs to the milkwort family (Polygalaceae) and starts flowering in June. By the end of the month it will be covered in purple flowers. A good plant to grow in your sandy garden! It is named after Pierre Nylandt, a Seventeenth Century Dutch botanist. The species name is derived from the Latin, spinosa, meaning spiny.

Thank you

2009-06-23T09:14:00.004+02:00

Thank you to everyone who supported the cake sale on Saturday to raise funds for the maintenance and on-going rehabilitation of Meadowridge Common.

Cake Sale for the Common

2009-06-05T17:23:00.013+02:00

You will have received a broadsheet compiled by Fiona Watson, our Botanical Officer, on the Moraeas of Meadowridge Common. We hope that you will find it interesting and follow it up with a visit to the Common.
Moraea flaccida on Meadowridge Common. Photo: Fiona Watson.

Restoring the wetland on the Common
If you are not aware of the fact, there have been some initiatives on the Common recently. Firstly a berm has been created between the soccer field and the southern side of the Common. This has now been planted with sour fig on the Common side and buffalo grass on the field side. Unfortunately the grass has not taken too well, but the berm is an improvement on the heaps of rubble that lay there before. Secondly, the wetland area has been extended and more plants put down. This is the reason for this newsletter.
Have a heart. Bring a cake and support the Common on Saturday 20 June
We are having a cake sale on 20 June to raise money so that more can be planted on the Common, specifically in the degraded areas. A successful propagation programme at Kenilworth Racecourse has led to a great number of plants being both available and suitable for our Common. We need to purchase each at R2, which is a minimal amount but as we want to put down about 500 plants, it will cost us a considerable amount. For this reason – the cake sale.
We are appealing to you to support us. What we need most are cakes, jams and biscuits that we can sell. We need to fill two trestle tables with good things to eat and so we are relying on you to help us. If you know of anyone who would be sympathetic to your cause, perhaps you could ask them to bake or make.
If you can assist, please would you either bring the cakes to 5 Faraday Way, Meadowridge on the evening of Friday 19 June, or to the Meadowridge Park ’n Shop before 08h30 on the morning of the 20th.
Roger Graham, Chairman of the Friends of Meadowridge Common

e-Kapa website on Cape Town's Lowlands

2009-04-21T07:02:00.006+02:00

Cape Town’s lowland ecosystems are extremely threatened. Nineteen percent of the critically endangered Cape Flats Sand Fynbos remains, of which only 0.1% is protected. Education is desperately needed to help people understand and appreciate the value of the small surviving patches of these lowland ecosystems, which have incredible value not only to the citizens of Cape Town but to the world, as these areas contain many extremely threatened plants and animals that are found nowhere else. For example, most of the 65 plant species that are found only in the city limits and threatened with extinction, are found in these patches.
The Botanical Society and the City of Cape Town have produced an education resource called ‘e-Kapa: Cape Town’s Lowlands - A Global Treasure’. Alice Ashwell, an environmental educator, wrote the material and Martin Cocks and his team from the International Ocean Institute Southern Africa at UWC converted the text into a richly illustrated resource. Using the resource’s comprehensive teacher’s guide with its clear curriculum links, teachers may teach many types of lessons, not only in biology but in other subjects such as geography, languages or history. The web-based resource acts as a library of information for the lessons and contains comprehension activities related to the content of each of the ten modules. Although the focus of the resource is the Cape Flats it nevertheless contains a great amount of information relevant to all parts of South Africa.
Although the resource, available in English and Afrikaans at this stage, is aimed at learners in grade 7 - 9, it is certainly very useful to anybody who wants to know more about the natural environment around them. It is being distributed to schools in the Western Cape through the Khanya Project and is also available on CD-ROM from the City of Cape Town’s Environmental Resource Management Department and on the web at http://www.ekapa.ioisa.org.za/.

Common stick insects

2009-03-23T13:28:00.006+02:00

An article calling for people to look out for an uncommon stick insect started me re-looking at my population of stick insects in the garden. It turns out that they are all the common or garden alien Indian stick insects, but the Common might harbour the more uncommon varieties. See my article Stick insects in the news. (Click on the highlighted text. To get back again, click on the arrow on the top left of the window.)

These goggas are most interesting, and apparently in some species who live in fynbos, their hard, seed-like eggs are attractive to ants who treat them like edible seeds or ant larvae, or dead ants, that need to be carried into their underground nest, where they are safe from fires and parasitic wasps.

Caroline Voget

African monarch butterflies on the Common

2009-03-16T14:08:00.015+02:00

This morning, as well as seeing Maya on the Common (see photo below), I saw lots and lots of African monarch butterflies - mainly on exotic viper’s bugloss Echium vulgare flowers. Appropriately, the African monarch, Danaus chrysippus, is a common butterfly. It is poisonous as its leisurely flight indicates, and lays its eggs on various asclepiads (Apocynaceae) from which it must get its poison. The plant it seems to favour most is Gomphocarpus fruticosus (formerly Asclepias fruticosa), commonly known as milkweed, wild cotton, tontelbos, wildekapok, tennis ball bush and swan plant. It is toxic as it contains a heart glycoside and occurs in permanent and seasonal streams, flood plains and disturbed areas from the Cape Peninsula northwards throughout southern Africa and further north.

Although I didn't notice any on the Common, this is what Gomphocarpus fruticosus looks like. (See also the Plantzafrica site at http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantefg/gomphocarpfrut.htm )
Caroline Voget

Talking of the wild side…and the Meadowridge Common

2009-03-01T14:18:00.003+02:00

Baboons on the Meadowridge Common! What’s so surprising about that? For those who have ventured on to the Common for the purpose of ridding it of litter, far wilder and woollier things have crossed our paths.
Every three months the Friends of the Common organise a clean-up. Arranging this proves a point: if you do not want the locals to go down to the woods today, just pop them an invitation to join the clean-up. After reading this, they may not even want to look in their postbox.
Baboons are small fry compared to what one can find in the odd bush or two. Not even an Alpha male would venture there for he knows that the khakibos that he knows from his experiences of the bosveld, has been replaced here by the kakkibos. Strangely enough, these bushes are known to exercise a strong attraction over some very pedigreed dogs whose owners may suddenly break off a conversation and head for a bush shouting, “Bowser, out of there!”
But other things lurk: in fact a whole world awaits you. Let’s start in the hardware department… . What can we interest you in? A vacuum cleaner, a set of sprinklers, a window squeegee? There’s also no end of bricks and half-bricks which some considerate neighbours kindly donate to the verges of the Common. Venture further in, though, and you may find something to your liking with a technological touch. What about a laptop, a computer monitor, a television set with the back removed so that you can be the star of the show? (If you prefer the old methods, there was once even an abacus). The automobile trade has its representatives there, too: where else could you find a motor car seat, complete with its metal runners, riding in a bush?
What about the softer side of life, the bedroom with all its accoutrements? Apart from some of the most risqué lingerie yet seen in the Southern Suburbs, a range of cosmetic samples has been found under various Brazilian Pepper Trees of the Common. But if you are into the real thing when it comes to the bedroom, the hedge between the Bowling and Tennis Clubs did produce two books when last cleaned up: Sex Manners for Men and Black Beauty.
Moving to the bush kitchen we have a variety of goods on display, with condiments taking first place: fortunately many a herb bottle ends up here, for they tend to impart a more pleasant odour to the rather dubious goods which tend to still be in the pot, a veritable moving feast. A coffee maker has been found, though, showing that there is life after the meal. Other exotic beverages are also drunk, plenty of them, but this is not limited to the kitchen and are found in bottles and Chateaux Cardboards far and wide.
The sports department also comes to the party: a golf-cart, golf balls and a fishing rod have been spotted, and if you are looking for something in the recreation line, then there has been the occasional deckchair. Which tsunami the surfboard which we found in a bush came from we have not been able to find out, but it was there alright.
There are also places where one can get personal: ID books, driver’s licences and bank cards have been found in some bushes, discarded by some thief. More bizarre was coming across a most beautiful photograph album which held snapshots of holidays at the most prestigious of destinations in Europe of the early 1900s.
Though the Common is largely a place where discarded things sometimes find their way (even a dead cat thrown under a bush after being hit on Edison Drive) not everything that is found there is stale and past its sell-by date. A little over a year ago a sharp mewing from the top of a tall tree revealed that two beautiful Persian kittens had been dumped on the Common the night before. They were rescued and taken in by a neighbour who found them a home in a penthouse at the Waterfront Marina where they are much loved.
When our large hairy interlopers paid us a visit the other day, little did they know that their footprints would be just one of the many that make the Meadowridge Common unique. So if you really want a walk on the wild side, come clean the Common.

P.S. In case you are thinking that the Meadowridge Common is not in good shape, let me assure you that the Common is one of the cleanest areas you will find to walk and exercise your dogs. The items mentioned above are a selection found over a period of six years of regular clean-ups. Because of these we maintain the Common well and are pleased to say that some of those who walk there pick up litter and deposit it in the bins we have provided.
Roger Graham

The Cutting Edge

2009-02-24T15:58:00.001+02:00

The AGM of the Friends of Meadowridge Common took place in the Meadowridge Library last night. After an overview of the year's events by Chairman, Roger Graham, and a fascinating report on the flora (mostly) and fauna of the Common by Botanical Officer, Fiona Watson, Trevor Adams, Collection Nursery Supervisor and Kirstenbosch Plant Propagator took over.

Trevor is an enthusiastic and skilled horticulturist who obviously knows all the tricks of the trade when it comes to propagating our indigenous flora. Wielding his Felco secateurs (the best he reckons) he demonstrated various techniques of taking cuttings, as well "layering" from a living tree. (The photo shows Roger Graham helping Trevor with the layering technique.)

Trevor handed out some notes and an extremely valuable Vegetative Propagation Year Plan for Indigenous Species which synthesizes years of trial and error by the Kirstenbosch horts. This is like gold for any gardener doing their own propagating!

And for the lady who wanted to know how to propagate her bougainvillea, click HERE for a good website.

If you missed Trevor's demonstration, he will be giving another talk at Kirstenbosch on 8 April 2009 on the PROPAGATION OF INDIGENOUS PLANTS for the Wednesday Talks at Kirstenbosch presented by Room to Grow at the SANLAM HALL at 10.30 am. Enquiries: info@roomtogrow.co.za or tel: 021 4656440/072 2012535/021 797 8975.

Fiona Watson's article in Veld & Flora.

2009-02-20T17:58:00.003+02:00

Meadowridge Common Veld and Flora Sept 07

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