Spring walks on the Common

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.

Lunate ladybirds and blister beetles

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

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

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

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 flowers in March on the Common.

Rough Blue Sage

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.)

Cluster Pine on the Common

The pine trees that occur on the Common are the Maritime or Cluster Pine (Pinus pinaster) and the Stone Pine (Pinus pinea) both native to the Mediterranean area of Europe and the Middle East. Lichen on the deeply fissured, characteristic bark of the Cluster Pine.