No proudly South African home should be without a Begonia dregei

Baobab-Begonia, Maple-leaved begonia

Zulu: iDlula

German: Baobab-Begonie

Begonia dregei plant with flowers

Begonia dregei is a South African endemic occurring naturally from

East London to Durban.

Begonia dregei is rare occurring in forests, on rocky, mossy cliffs and steep banks, from the coast to 1 219 m. According to the IUCN listing Begonia dregei is endangered.

Begonia dregei is a spectacular evergreen shade loving perennial that makes an excellent indoor or outdoor pot plant.

Begonia dregei caudex

Begonia dregei is a tuberous, fleshy perennial that grows with a swollen stem base known as a caudex. The caudex is usually mostly out of the soil. The stems grow from the caudex. During long dry periods Begonia dregei can loose all of their foliage or even die down to the caudex to recover quickly after the first rain or watering. 

  

The leaves are generally small (50–80 x 20–35 mm), asymmetrical, lobed often with large white spots when young and widely toothed. The 40–90 mm long leaf stalks are green or reddish, there is however a very large variation in leaf size and form from population to population.

The leaves look much like those of the Maple Tree Acer spps. which gives it one of it´s common names the Maple Leaf Begonia.

The far more spectacular male flower of Begonia dregei

The flowers of Begonia dregei are fragrant and produce a delightful show. In cultivation Begonia dregei flowers for almost the entire year producing small white to pinkish flowers with a bright yellow centre.

The male and female flowers occur separately on the same plant which are inter fertile so if one only has one plant it will still produce large amounts of fertile seed. The male flowers can be recognised because they have two petals and the female flowers have five.

The far less spectacular female flower of Begonia dregei

I have grown Begonia dregei for many years having found the first specimen growing in the Kloof area about 25 years ago. The plants that I am now growing were propagated from a single specimen that I found growing at scary cliffs at Mount Moreland in December 2007

  

Over the years I have found Begonia dregei to be very easy to grow and quick-growing from seed or cuttings.

Seed is best sown in early spring or summer in a moist well drained medium, plant sparingly because the seed is very fine and germinates readily coming up like hairs on a dogs back. The fine seed from my plants is distributed by the wind and seedlings pop up on a regular basis in the pots of other plants that I am growing in particular my orchid plants where they germinate well on little or no soil. Cuttings are far easier to grow for the average gardener they do better in the warmer months but can be grown just about any time of year by the more experienced grower.

Begonia dregei seed capsules the one on the right has already split and has released much of the seed

Begonia dregei grows well in light shade but will also grow in deep shade as well as where they get. a moderate amount of sun for part of the day. Plants grown under brighter conditions flower far more profusely.

I have found Begonia dregei rewarding and easy to grow as a pot plant where I have usually grown them in hanging pots together with my orchids they will also grow well in the ground

The large caudex makes Begonia dregei look a lot like a miniature baobab tree Adansonia digitata.

Begonia dregei is mostly pollinated by bees.

The caudices of Begonia dregei are used for traditional medicine.

  

Begonia dregei is another one of our floral gems that is very well known, treasured and grown in very large numbers abroad but is hardly known or grown here in South Africa which is rather disgusting of us Eurocentric South Africans for us not to treasure and be proud of that which is South African.

Sun hibiscus no garden should be without one

Hibiscus calyphyllus, Sun hibiscus, lemon-yellow rosemallow 

German: Sonnen-Hibiskus

  

Hibiscus calyphyllus flowers are bright sulphur yellow with a deep maroon centre.

Hibiscus calyphyllus occurs naturally from southern East Africa up the East African coast to Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Yemen. Hibiscus calyphyllus also occurs in tropical Central Africa, Madagascar and the Mascarene Islands.

The natural habitat of Hibiscus calyphyllus is open bush, thickets and forest edges where it is often found along rivers.

Hibiscus calyphyllus is a local medium sized shrub that has large, bright green, soft and velvety leaves, giving it a lush tropical appearance with 12 cm flowers which are bright sulphur yellow with a deep maroon centre. 

Hibiscus calyphyllus grows to 1-1.5 meters tall and is often prostrate and straggly in the wild.

Hibiscus calyphyllus is a very rewarding showy garden plant for both the exotic tropical garden as well as in the indigenous garden that I have grown in my own gardens in Durban for at least the last 30 years. Unfortunately as is the case with so many of our magnificent local plants it is still hardly known and grown in South African gardens although it is very well known and widely grown garden ornamental throughout the tropics and subtropics.

Hibiscus calyphyllus has been in cultivation abroad for a long time having been first offered for sale in England in 1883 under the name Hibiscus chrysanthus with Port Natal, Cape Colony identified as the source. In addition Hibiscus calyphyllus seeds were sold in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century under the name Hibiscus Giant Yellow.

 Hibiscus calyphyllus has large, bright green, soft and velvety leaves

Hibiscus calyphyllus grows best in fully sun to light shade. Hibiscus calyphyllus is a relatively fast-growing plant, providing that it is planted in fertile, rich and well-drained soil well enriched with organic material. The soil pH should range from mildly acidic to neutral.

Although Hibiscus calyphyllus is very drought resistant and can grow under very dry conditions, to do well in the garden it needs a moderate amount of water on a regular basis.

In cultivation it is good cultural practice to prune Hibiscus calyphyllus back after the main flowering season to encourage bushiness, light pruning during the summer growing period encourages flowering.

In South Africa the leaves of Hibiscus calyphyllus have been traditionally used as toilet paper which could be a good thing to remember when hiking out in the bush.

In East Africa, the leaves of Hibiscus calyphyllus are eaten as a vegetable

and in the Okavango Delta the flowers are cooked and eaten.

Justicia betonica, White shrimp plant, Squirrels’ tails

Justicia betonica is a very variable plant in the family Acanthaceae with a large distribution range

which extends from the east coast of South Africa along the coast of tropical east Africa and on through Arabia, India and East Asia. In many areas in particular where it is cultivated as a garden and landscape plant it is known as the white shrimp plant or squirrel's tail.

Justicia betonica in flower

The plants that I have growing are medium sized 1-1.5 m glossy brilliant green plants that

have blooms that are held in slim upright showy, terminal or axillary spikes which are comprised of papery, green bracts enclosing small white flowers. The flowers which are produced in late summer into the early autumn are followed by club-shaped seed capsules which open explosively when ripe to scatter the seeds.

  

Justicia betonica flower

Justicia betonica needs to be cut back hard in late winter after flowering and tip-pruned as it grows through spring and early summer, to promote a compact tidy shape, otherwise it can become leggy. Justicia betonica grows best in partial shade but will also grow well in full sun. This attractive, fast-growing plant grows best in rich moderately wet areas in the garden and spreads rapidly by seed, forming dense stands.

Although Justicia betonica grows best in shaded wet conditions in loose sandy soil well enriched with organic material I have found it in my own garden to be very drought tolerant growing on dense dry clay soils being one of the very last plants to wilt during times of drought.

If you do not want Justicia betonica to spread throughout the garden it would be advisable to remove the seed heads before they ripen and scatter the seed far and wide.

Black striped hairtail Anthene amarah amarah

Justicia betonica is an asset to any natural indigenous garden because it is always a pleasant refreshing bright shining green colour and it attracts large numbers of insects in particular wasps, solitary bees as well as butterflies in particular species belonging to the family Lycaenidae and a rage of other colourful bugs.

Juvenile Stink Bug Caura rufiventris

Justicia betonica which is not well known here in South Africa is well known and is widely cultivated in most of the warmer regions of the world in particular in the United States of America as a bedding plant in private gardens and public landscapes.

Justicia betonica grows very easily from seed, transplanted seedling or large cuttings that are simply planted in situ and watered until they have rooted.

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Indigenous Landscape Design: Attracting Frogs to your Proudly South African Gar...

Indigenous Landscape Design: Attracting Frogs to your Proudly South African Gar...: Frogs are under threat worldwide, from habitat loss, pollution, and, more alarmingly, a new deadly parasitic fungus known as amphibian chyt...

Attracting Frogs to your Proudly South African Garden

Frogs are under threat worldwide, from habitat loss, pollution, and, more alarmingly, a new deadly parasitic fungus known as amphibian chytrid.

Greater Leaf-folding Frog Afrixalus fornasinii

Frogs and toads play an important role in the ecology of the garden, where they eat insects which make up the largest part of the diet of frogs, they also eat slugs, earthworms and millipedes

Painted Reed Frog Hyperolius marmorata

If you want to play your part and ensure their survival in your own back yard, there are several things you can do to create a frog-friendly garden.

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Natal Forest Tree Frog Leptopelis natalensis

Build a pond using a sheet of thick plastic laid into a depression covered with a suitable layer of soil or out of concrete. It need not be large to be effective and it need be no more than 30 cm deep. In fact any container big or small that holds water can be used to attract frogs. Water plants need to planted into the pond to provide shelter and food for tadpoles.

Even more important than the pond itself is the area around it, so suitable local indigenous reeds and other marginal aquatic plants need to be planted in and close to the pond which will then provide an attractive habitat for reed and other frogs.

Natal Dwarf Puddle Frog Phrynobatrachus natalensis

In addition local indigenous shrubs, groundcovers and grasses must be planted nearby to provide additional shelter and to attract insects slugs and other food for the frogs to feed on. The more indigenous plants you have in your garden the more habitat you will provide to make it attractive to frogs. A garden full of sterile exotic plants will attract very few if any frogs.

Red Toad Schismaderma carens

Because all frogs breathe partially through their skin, they are particularly sensitive to toxic chemicals in the environment therefore you should avoid using insecticides in the garden wherever possible.

African Common Toad Amietophrynus gutturalis

All the frogs photographed above and many other species are resident and breed in my own garden in Mount Moreland in a number of small and large tubs, shallow plastic trays, plastic dirt bins and concrete ponds which have been place in strategic positions within the plants in the garden.

If you are interested in the conservation of frogs please go to Save the Frogs at http://www.savethefrogs.com/ and subscribe to their news letter and if funds are available make a donation to help to save the frogs.

If you would like Ecoman to design you a garden that is attractive to frogs please view my website at
http://www.ecoman.co.za

Indigenous Landscape Design: Trema orientalis Pigeon Wood Tree

Indigenous Landscape Design: Trema orientalis Pigeon Wood Tree: Trema orientalis is a common pioneer tree which belongs to the hemp (dagga) family, Cannabaceae. Pigeon Wood Trema orientalis ...

Trema orientalis Pigeon Wood Tree

Trema orientalis is a common pioneer tree which belongs to the hemp (dagga) family, Cannabaceae.

Pigeon Wood Trema orientalis

Trema orientalis has a very wide distribution in the tropical and warm temperate parts of the Old World. It´s range extends from South Africa, through Africa the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent into southern China, Southeast Asia  including the Philippines and Australia.

Over it´s wide range Trema orientalis has many common names which include pigeon wood, charcoal-tree and gunpowder tree

Trema orientalis has considerable ecological significance being a very productive tree

with at least 14 species of butterfly using it as a larval food plant. Many species of birds are attracted to this tree to eat the vast amounts of small berries that it produces almost continuously throughout the year or to feed on the abundant insects which live on these trees. 

Pigeon Wood Trema orientalis berries

In my own garden they are frequented by a large number of bird species which include Black Collard Barbet, Crested Barbet, Yellow Rumped Tinker Bird, Glossy, Black Bellied, Violet Backed and Redwinged Starlings, Purple Crested Turaco, White Eyes, Thickbilled Weavers, Klaas Cuckoo Diederik Cuckoo, Somber Bulbul, Grey Bulbul, Speckled Mouse bird, Ring Necked Doves and many others. 

The vast numbers of tiny greenish yellow flowers are pollinated by various bee species which attract insect eating birds.

Pigeon Wood Trema orientalis flowers

The leaves are also browsed by game animals and can be used as spinach. This tree is a fast growing species found in previously disturbed areas and on forest margins. It is a pioneer species that can grow on poor soil and can be used to regenerate forest areas by providing shade and protection to saplings of forest hardwoods

Trema orientalis is a nitrogen fixing tree which improves soil fertility for other plant species.

From a conventional landscaping point of view Trema orientalis  is not a very suitable candidate for a landscape feature tree because it often looks rather messy due to its leaves being eaten by just about every conceivable insect however it is a must in every garden that strives to encourage wildlife.

Pigeon Wood Trema orientalis leaves eaten by insects

Being a pioneer tree Trema orientalis is very useful when it comes to establishing a new proudly South African garden in particular on poor soils providing shade and a windbreak for other plants that are being established.

Trema orientalis is invaluable when it comes to indigenous forest restoration where it provides shade, nutrients and organic material in the form of dead leaves and vast amounts of excrement from the many insects that feed on its leaves. In addition it provides protection for the slower growing and more tender specimens. Seeds of many trees are also brought onto site by birds which come to feed on the seeds though this may not always be a good thing where undesirable alien plants seeds are brought in by birds feeding on its fruits.