Pink Ground-Bells – Graderia scabra

 

The genus Graderia is an anagram of Gerardia which was the genus these plants were originally allocated to by Linnaeus (the father of taxonomy). The Pink Ground-Bells may also be known as Wild Penstemon.   This genus forms part of the Orbanchaceae family or Ink flower family as they turn black when damaged or pressed.  The flowers of the Ink flower family are brightly coloured.

On the 8^th September 2017, a devastating veld fire swept through our area, burning everything in its path, including a fair number of trees.  We were extremely fortunate to prevent the fire from damaging our house; however we spent the next few weeks in a blackened, desolate landscape.  Nature has a wonderful way of regeneration and over a period of 6 weeks we have had two very severe hailstorms (26 September 2017 and 08 October 2017) which provided great nitrogen for the new growth and some lovely gentle misty rain as well.  As a result we have a carpet of yellow and pink flowers blooming across the veld.

 

Graderia scabra is a perennial shrublet which grows up to 600mm high and is found in grasslands and rocky areas from the eastern coastal areas of Southern Africa and inland to an altitude of 2100m from the Eastern Cape through to Zimbabwe. It has a strong woody rootstock which makes it extremely fire resistant (fortunately for us).  The species name scabra derived from scabrid means rough and refers to the hairy leaves and stems.

The bright pink 5-lobed flowers are funnel-shaped and about 30 mm long. They appear in spring and summer from August through to December.  The flowers are borne in the axils of the upper leaves and tend to be irregularly lobed.

 

The sub-opposite, overlapping leaves and stems are hairy (tomentose) and the leaves have a red margin. The leaf shape is lanceolate with large lobe-like teeth and the leaves sre between 10 – 30mm long.  Both surfaces of the leaves are covered in hairs and have little or no stalk – subsessile / sessile.

A little whimsy – Nettle Heartglitter

She casts love spells. She lives in brambles and blackberry bushes.  She can only be seen in the light of a shooting star.  She wears purple and green like berries and leaves and has colourful cerise wings like a bright butterfly.