We have been watching the cyclone Dineo this past week as it battered the coast of Mozambique around Inhambane on Wednesday night. Mpumalanga, Limpopo and KwaZula Natal were all put on alert for heavy rains and high winds. Fortunately the cyclone was down-graded to a tropical storm and then to a tropical depression after making land fall. We have just been experiencing 2 days of soft soaking rains with intermittent squalls of heavier rain. We are truly blessed as this will indeed be beneficial for the surrounding bushveld and increase the ground water reserves. Enough about the weather, now on to my flower of the week.
In a previous post last year, I wrote about the Grassland Barleria, today it is all about the butter yellow flowered Spiny Barleria. The Barleria genus belongs to the Acanthus family (Acanthaceae) which is a diverse group of herbs, some perennial and others annual. The flowers come in a variety of colours and shapes and although most plants tend to be spiny, there are some exceptions. One of the other family members is the Pistol Bush, known for the explosive sound made when the seed pods burst open. The Barlerias also have exploding seed capsules. The genus is names after a Dominican monk and French botanist, Jacques Barrelier who lived during the 1600s, and the epithet rotundifolia refers to the round shape of the leaves.
The shrub is a rambling, evergreen herb found in the warmer parts of South Africa, in the summer-rainfall areas of the Lowveld. The plants grow in well drained rocky hilltops and hillsides in full sun to semi-shade. The plants grow to between 400mm – 1,000mm high and wide.
The beautiful yellow tubular flowers appear from December through to late summer (March). The flower has four upper lobes separated from the shorter lower lobe to form an open tube from which 2 conspicuous stamens and the style protrude. The anthers are a deep purple colour.
The rounded leaves have a tapering base and are joined to the stem by a fairly long petiole. The mucronate protrusion (spiny point) on leaf tip is quite visible. The leaf folds along its midrib. Also conspicuous are the spines on the stems of these plants which makes them a good barrier plant to prevent pedestrian traffic through an area.
When we moved into our new home about 15 months ago, we were given a few indigenous plants by our very good friend Arno to plant around the house to help with rehabilitation of the building site. Two of these plants were Barleria rotundifolia. In some of my photographs you will also see a protective garden fence as they have been planted adjacent to an Erithrina humeana which we are currently protecting by a fence as the Klipspringer family loves to browse on its leaves. I have also found a number of wild plants growing amongst the rocks on our northern boundary.
A little whimsy – Moth Corntree
She creates bounty and harvest. She lives close to caverns and stalactite grottoes. She can only be seen when the first leaves fall from the trees. She wears dresses stitched with crystals and has butterfly wings the colour of yellow corn.
HeatherTon Wild Flowers 
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