Hi all,
Just before Christmas a friend and I went for a walk up Table Mountain. (We started at 07h00 and reached bottom at 16h00 and our legs still hate us). The path was up Kasteelspoort, across to the Aquaduct and then up to McClear’s Beacon (the highest point of Table Mountain) and then across the central Table, down Echo Valley, through the Valley of Isolation and then down Jubilee Butress (big mistake!).
Coming up Kasteelspoort (on the Camps Bay side of the mountain) and cutting across to the Aquaduct we came upon the legless lizard pictured. I’m not quite sure what species it is. It looks like Chamaesaura aenea but this species is not supposed to be found on Table Mountain. It is surely not the uniform olive Cape grass lizard, Chamaesaura anguina. It was pretty tame and I was able to pick it up with it protesting much. It posed very politely for some photographs. Also found along the trail was a Disa cornuta (though the one pictured below was found on the central Table itself, it is quite common).
At the mouth of the Aquaduct were several plants of Corycium carnosum. While not grand, it is certainly not an unattractive orchid.
Entering the Aquaduct the rock ledges were decorated with Disa longicornu in full bloom. Each bloom is a single plant. There are many more plants that flowers. The close-up show two different flowers. The one has a uniform blue colour but a malformed hood. The other has a lovely shape but one of the pollinium has been taken exposing the red pollinium cup. The rock ledge shown is of a ledge in the Valley of Isolation. This species is wide spread on Table Mountain.
Also along the Aquaduct were some Disa glandulosa. These were rooted in the moss wall (as usual), growing horizontally away from the rock. These flowers presented themselves very nicely. Also to be found was Disa vaginata. These species are so similar I didn’t realize I had seen both until having a closer look at the photos. The vaginata grow on the ground in moss or damp loamy soil. They grow in clumps and at the time of being photographed the plant had began to wither, leaving only the flowers. Both species auto-pollinate their flowers. The vaginata flower in November into December, and the glandulosa from December into Januray.
Moving along the central Table I chanced upon a patch of Disa tenuifolia. This was the first time I had encountered this species outside of a book and the experience was thrilling. The sun-shine yellow of the flowers is spectacular. The little red blush of the sepals is just extra charm. They were growing in wet loamy ground in a small clearing. I imagine there were many more plants but they were crowded by the other plants and thus did not flower. After a fire I bet the entire area if brilliant yellow with their flowers. Sadly, I think I was the only person on the mountain that day who could appreciate this marvellous find. The tourists raced by the patch of the flowers on the way to the beacon for their photo opp. Directly opposite the tenuifolia was a patch of vaginata (about 30 flowering plants).
Going through the Valley of Isolation on the way back down, I stumbled upon another [/i]Disa[/i] species. At first I thought it was a Satyrium, but it lacked the twin spurs, and the only spur present was tiny if not almost absent. It could be Disa cylindrica but that is a big guess. In truth, I can match it to none of the photos or descriptions in Stewart et al’s Wild Orchids of Southern Africa nor Linder & Kurzweil’s Orchids of Southern Africa. None of the pictures show a flower with combination of reticulated lime green sepals, yellowy petals, short spur and dark stigma. This one is a bit of a mystery. I hope to pass the pictures on to Linder and see what he thinks. (Wish I had used my head and got a tissue sample to give to Bellstedt for DNA analysis.)
The last picture in the series is of a view taken on the way to McClear’s Beason looking down on the “Southern Suburbs” of Cape Town. You can make out Newlands Rugby Stadium. Across the road from it (towards the mountain) is Cavendish Shopping Mall. The family of my grandfather, Coenrad Dreyer, used to own all the land stretching towards the right till almost the end of the picture. He converted from Judaism to Christianity (mainly to irritate the Presbyterian pastor of his church about the immorality of offering plate) and was cut out of the will :-(
Hope you liked the photos. If you plan on visiting, let me know and I can show you around the mountain (there is a well maintained cable car so you don’t have to walk up the mountain).
Happy New Year!!!
Just before Christmas a friend and I went for a walk up Table Mountain. (We started at 07h00 and reached bottom at 16h00 and our legs still hate us). The path was up Kasteelspoort, across to the Aquaduct and then up to McClear’s Beacon (the highest point of Table Mountain) and then across the central Table, down Echo Valley, through the Valley of Isolation and then down Jubilee Butress (big mistake!).
Coming up Kasteelspoort (on the Camps Bay side of the mountain) and cutting across to the Aquaduct we came upon the legless lizard pictured. I’m not quite sure what species it is. It looks like Chamaesaura aenea but this species is not supposed to be found on Table Mountain. It is surely not the uniform olive Cape grass lizard, Chamaesaura anguina. It was pretty tame and I was able to pick it up with it protesting much. It posed very politely for some photographs. Also found along the trail was a Disa cornuta (though the one pictured below was found on the central Table itself, it is quite common).
At the mouth of the Aquaduct were several plants of Corycium carnosum. While not grand, it is certainly not an unattractive orchid.
Entering the Aquaduct the rock ledges were decorated with Disa longicornu in full bloom. Each bloom is a single plant. There are many more plants that flowers. The close-up show two different flowers. The one has a uniform blue colour but a malformed hood. The other has a lovely shape but one of the pollinium has been taken exposing the red pollinium cup. The rock ledge shown is of a ledge in the Valley of Isolation. This species is wide spread on Table Mountain.
Also along the Aquaduct were some Disa glandulosa. These were rooted in the moss wall (as usual), growing horizontally away from the rock. These flowers presented themselves very nicely. Also to be found was Disa vaginata. These species are so similar I didn’t realize I had seen both until having a closer look at the photos. The vaginata grow on the ground in moss or damp loamy soil. They grow in clumps and at the time of being photographed the plant had began to wither, leaving only the flowers. Both species auto-pollinate their flowers. The vaginata flower in November into December, and the glandulosa from December into Januray.
Moving along the central Table I chanced upon a patch of Disa tenuifolia. This was the first time I had encountered this species outside of a book and the experience was thrilling. The sun-shine yellow of the flowers is spectacular. The little red blush of the sepals is just extra charm. They were growing in wet loamy ground in a small clearing. I imagine there were many more plants but they were crowded by the other plants and thus did not flower. After a fire I bet the entire area if brilliant yellow with their flowers. Sadly, I think I was the only person on the mountain that day who could appreciate this marvellous find. The tourists raced by the patch of the flowers on the way to the beacon for their photo opp. Directly opposite the tenuifolia was a patch of vaginata (about 30 flowering plants).
Going through the Valley of Isolation on the way back down, I stumbled upon another [/i]Disa[/i] species. At first I thought it was a Satyrium, but it lacked the twin spurs, and the only spur present was tiny if not almost absent. It could be Disa cylindrica but that is a big guess. In truth, I can match it to none of the photos or descriptions in Stewart et al’s Wild Orchids of Southern Africa nor Linder & Kurzweil’s Orchids of Southern Africa. None of the pictures show a flower with combination of reticulated lime green sepals, yellowy petals, short spur and dark stigma. This one is a bit of a mystery. I hope to pass the pictures on to Linder and see what he thinks. (Wish I had used my head and got a tissue sample to give to Bellstedt for DNA analysis.)
The last picture in the series is of a view taken on the way to McClear’s Beason looking down on the “Southern Suburbs” of Cape Town. You can make out Newlands Rugby Stadium. Across the road from it (towards the mountain) is Cavendish Shopping Mall. The family of my grandfather, Coenrad Dreyer, used to own all the land stretching towards the right till almost the end of the picture. He converted from Judaism to Christianity (mainly to irritate the Presbyterian pastor of his church about the immorality of offering plate) and was cut out of the will :-(
Hope you liked the photos. If you plan on visiting, let me know and I can show you around the mountain (there is a well maintained cable car so you don’t have to walk up the mountain).
Happy New Year!!!
