Show us your African flora...

[Tom Kellie]

~ Hi, @@Soukous!

 

Logging into Safaritalk and seeing your Klein Karoo flowers is delightful!

As with so much else, I'd never heard of the Klein Karoo. My awareness of South Africa has been woefully limited, although reading Safaritalk trip reports is gradually expanding my consciousness.

At my parents' home in Kauai, Hawaii I'd seen various dramatic plants in xerophile plant collections which were labelled as being South African endemics.

I've been drawing the attention of interested university students in my classes to selected Safaritalk images. I largely teach life sciences students who are understandably interested in plants.

May I ask about the binomial nomenclature for the lovely images you've posted? Students here enjoy looking up relevant information but often have trouble with English. The binomial nomenclature is accessible on Chinese natural history Web sites..

• Is the Chinese Lantern Tree Nymania kapensis?

• Is the aloe species Aloe ferox?

• Is the Pyjama lily Crinum macowanii?

They're all so striking, and utterly unlike endemic flora here in China that students in tomorrow morning's Saturday class are sure to like them and want to know more.

Your images are so clear and vibrant — really pleasing. The mountains behind the aloe blooms are quite a sight! How little I know about South Africa's beauty.

In the couple of weeks that I've been becoming active in Safaritalk, it's not only been a pleasurable diversion, but educational.

There's much of value — e.g. your flowers and @@graceland's and @@Peter Connan's Adenium multiflorum — available for increasing the appreciation of African ecology on all its forms. Very useful in my classes!

Thank you, @@Soukous, for posting such beautiful floral shots.

Tom K.

Edited April 3, 2015 by Tom Kellie

[Soukous]

@@Tom Kellie

• Is the Chinese Lantern Tree Nymania kapensis? - yes

• Is the aloe species Aloe ferox? - yes

• Is the Pyjama lily Crinum macowanii? - I think so

[Tom Kellie]

Photographed in Lake Nakuru National Park, Kenya on 5 October, 2014 at 10:24 am with an EOS 1D X camera and an EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II super telephoto lens.

ISO 125, 1/2000 sec., f/2.8, 400mm focal length, handheld Manual exposure.

Tagetes minuta is a marigold also called Black Mint which has been naturalized in Africa from southern South America.

Edited April 5, 2015 by Tom Kellie

[Treepol]

King Protea, Kirstenboch Gardens, Cape Town

 

[Tom Kellie]

~ Hi, @@Treepol!

 

What hath natural selection wrought?

Your King Protea image dazzles.

It's the first one I've ever seen.

What process over eons resulted in such an intricate pattern?

Really like it!

Tom K.

[Treepol]

@@Tom Kellie thanks for your enthusiastic comments. This photo was taken nearby in Kirstenbosch, but I don't know the name of the protea.

 

[Tom Kellie]

@@Tom Kellie thanks for your enthusiastic comments. This photo was taken nearby in Kirstenbosch, but I don't know the name of the protea.

 

 

~ Hello, @@Treepol!

 

Thanks so much for the very kind comment.

Is the protea possibly Leucospermum cordifolium, Red Pincushion Protea?

Is the bird possibly Nectarinia famosa, Malachite Sunbird?

I've never been to South Africa and thus am uncertain about the tentative identifications.

What a superb shot! You're motivating me to give greater consideration to a South African safari in the future.

Tom K.

[Game Warden]

@@marg

I have photos of plants, flowers and trees in Africa. Does anyone know of a good reference book or app? I cannot find one or identify some of my photos.

That's the idea of this topic: upload your images here for other people to identify if you don't know.

Matt

[Treepol]

@@Tom Kellie yes, the bird is a Malachite Sunbird, I really wouldn't know about the flower but your suggestion of Red Pincushion protea makes sense.

[Tom Kellie]

@@Tom Kellie yes, the bird is a Malachite Sunbird, I really wouldn't know about the flower but your suggestion of Red Pincushion protea makes sense.

 

~ Hi, @@Treepol!

 

Overnight I asked a trusted botanical researcher.

She confirmed that it is Leucospermum cordifolium.

Such an improbable flower, which must have been beautiful in the South African sunlight. Assuredly, no such blooms grace our Beijing gardens.

Again, really liked your photo, both bird and flower.

Double happiness!

Tom K.

[gagan]

Really awsome pics...I wonder if somebody can share his or hers kitulo national parks photos...the place is known as serengeti of flowers

[Tom Kellie]

Really awsome pics...I wonder if somebody can share his or hers kitulo national parks photos...the place is known as serengeti of flowers

 

~ @gagan:

 

Thank you for asking this question.

In my paucity of understanding, I'd never heard of Kitulo National Park until you mentioned it.

After looking up information, I now realize that it's a relatively young park in southwest Tanzania.

Apparently it's also known for birds, small reptiles and amphibians. Sounds great!

I'm really glad that you mentioned it!

Tom K.

[gagan]

Thanks tom k ...this park is less visited due to less fauna and more floric dominated area....

[Tom Kellie]

Thanks tom k ...this park is less visited due to less fauna and more floric dominated area....

 

~ @gagan:

 

Ah, that's why.

If apex predators are absent, that may reduce pressure on smaller species, enabling them to prosper.

Your comment above inspires someone who enjoys flora, reptiles and amphibians as much as large carnivores.

Safaritalk educates someone like me who is eager to know more.

Many Thanks!

Tom K.

[gagan]

Dont know the names of these ..but looked different variety of flower..taken near mikumi national park

[gagan]

Some creative shots of acacia thorns...

[gagan]

Some clicks from coco beach dar es salaam...

[gagan]

Zanzibar clicks..

[Tom Kellie]

~ @gagan:

 

I like the isolation of the subjects from the background in both of these images.

The background bokeh is so effective.

As I've never visited Tanzania, it's interesting to see its flora.

Tom K.

[gagan]

@@Tom Kellie

 

Thanks for your appreciation..I had a pentax Dslr with 85-200mm zoom and f2.5 ..pretty old but provides good depth of field ...responsible for isolating ..subject from the object..

[Tom Kellie]

@@Tom Kellie

 

Thanks for your appreciation..I had a pentax Dslr with 85-200mm zoom and f2.5 ..pretty old but provides good depth of field ...responsible for isolating ..subject from the object..

 

~ @gagan:

 

The lens was f/2.5 — that accounts for the superlative bokeh.

Using such a fast lens brings out the intrinsic beauty of subjects.

I especially appreciate that you're the Safaritalk member who most frequently shares Tanzania's lovely plants.

With Appreciation,

Tom K.

[Peter Connan]

@@Tom Kellie, this is all your fault:

 

Kudu Lily:

Similar to it's cousin this plant has a large tuberous root. This particular one is massive, we estimate probably 1m in diameter, but the plant is very thorny and covered in other undergrowth so it was not possible to show it clearly in a photo.

 

Knobthorn:

 

Fever tree:

 

And this to my shame I have not been able to identify:

Edited May 6, 2015 by Peter Connan

[Tom Kellie]

@@Tom Kellie, this is all your fault:

 

 

 

~ @@Peter Connan:

 

If such lovely botanical images are the result, I gladly plead guilty!

For those of us who haven't yet had the privilege of visiting South Africa, it's especially nice to see such a varied collection of flora.

Without having been there, it's difficult to imagine what the characteristic plant growth might be like.

As you travel about to take your fine bird images, any images of intriguing plants would be most welcome in this forum.

With Appreciation,

Tom K.

[Tom Kellie]

Rain-soaked Crinum

Photographed on 2 May, 2015 at 7:53 am in the gardens of the Sirona Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya, with an EOS 1D Mark IV camera and a Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 100mm f/2 ZE lens.

ISO 1000, 1/800 sec., 100mm focal length, handheld Manual exposure with manual focus.

***********************************************************************************************************************

While waiting for guide Anthony Gitau to arrive at 8 am to begin the safari, I strolled around the damp gardens of the Sirona Hotel, observing the aftereffects of the deep night's rainfall.

This crinum caught my attention, due to the intense color of the rust-red anthers and the brilliant white of the floral tissue.

[Tom Kellie]

Jacaranda and Agave Plantation

Photographed on 10 February, 2014 at 12:25 pm on the road to Lake Nakuru National Park, Kenya, with a Sony RX1 R camera.

ISO 100, 1/1250 sec., f/5.6, 35mm focal length, handheld Manual exposure.

**************************************************************************************************

We were driving towards Lake Nakuru National Park when this blue-blooming jacaranda caught my attention.

The neat rows of agave plants behind are emblematic of the fertility of Kenya's rich soil. I first grew to love jacarandas in Autumn, 1973 when I lived in Buenos Aires, Argentina.