Gauteng Fauna and Flora

The Highveld terrain is generally devoid of mountains, consisting of rolling plains, especially in the Free State, sometimes interrupted by rocky ridges such as the Witwatersrand, the Magaliesberg, and Vredefort Dome. The Vaal River and its tributaries form the main...

Themeda triandra is a perennial grass widespread in Africa, Australia, Asia and the Pacific. In Australia it is commonly known askangaroo grass. In eastern and South Africa it is known as red grass and red oat grass, rooigras in Afrikaans. Red Grass length up to 1,5...

Melinis repens is a species of grass known by the common names rose Natal grass, or simply Natal grass, and Natal redtop. It is native to southern Africa but it is well known on other continents, including North America and Australia, as an introduced species and...

Hyparrhenia is a genus of grasses. Many species are known commonly as thatching grass. They are mostly native to tropical Africa; some can be found in warmer areas in temperate Eurasia. These are annual and perennial bunch grasses. The inflorescence branches into twin...

Heteropogon contortus is a tropical, perennial tussock grass with a native distribution encompassing Southern Africa, southern Asia, Northern Australia and Oceania. The species has also become a naturalised weed in tropical and subtropical regions in the Americas and...

Eragrostis curvula is a species of grass known by the common name weeping lovegrass. Other common names include Boer lovegrass, curved lovegrass, Catalina lovegrass, and African lovegrass. It is native to southern Africa, and it is present on other continents as...

Glyceria is a genus of grasses known commonly as mannagrass or, in the UK, sweet-grass. These are perennial rhizomatous grasses found in wet areas in temperate regions worldwide. The base of the grass grows along the ground and may root at several places. Then it...

Cymbopogon plurinodis is a tufted perennial with 2 - 5 mm leaf blades. The inflorescence is a false panicle of up to eight paired spikes. The Narrow Turpentine Grass is unpalatable except when young. It is a poor grazing grass due to the essential oils which give the...

Eragrostis curvula is a species of grass known by the common name weeping lovegrass. Other common names include Boer lovegrass, curved lovegrass, Catalina lovegrass, and African lovegrass. It is native to southern Africa, and it is present on other continents as...

Senecio  is a genus of the daisy family (Asteraceae) that includes ragworts and groundsels. Variously circumscribed, the genus Senecio is one of the largest genera of flowering plants, cleaved or not of species belonging to other genera. The 'traditional'...

Plumbago is a genus of 10-20 species of flowering plants in the family Plumbaginaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the world. Common names include plumbago and leadwort (names which are also shared by the genus Ceratostigma. The generic name,...

The Orange River lily is a large bulbous plant up to 1m high, which produces attractive grey green gracefully arching leaves during the summer months. A tall stem bearing large, hanging, lily-type flowers which are white with a pink to red stripe in each petal, is...

Gazania is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, native to Southern Africa. They produce large, daisy-like composite flowers in brilliant shades of yellow and orange, over a long period in summer. They are often planted as drought-tolerant groundcover....

This succulent plant has thick leaves which may vary from green to grey, often with a red line around the margin. Cotyledon orbiculata has five varieties, based on differences in leaf and flower shape. The variability of leaf size, shape and colour is also influenced...

Morning glory is the common name for over 1,000 species of flowering plants in the family Convolvulaceae, whose current taxonomy and systematics are in flux. Morning glory species belong to many genera. Most morning glory flowers unravel into full bloom in the early...

Digitalis or is a genus of about 20 species of herbaceous perennials, shrubs, and biennials commonly called foxgloves. This genus was traditionally placed in the figwort family Scrophulariaceae, but recent phylogenetic research has placed it in the much enlarged...

Karagain is a low, diffuse shrub, 15 to 30 centimeters or more in height. Leaves are 7 to 10 centimeters long, with 40 to 60 pairs of narrow leaflets, and a solitary, sessile gland on the rachis below the leaflets. Flowers grow one or two together in the axils of the...

Gladiolus (from Latin, the diminutive of gladius, a sword) is a genus of perennial bulbous flowering plants in the iris family (Iridaceae). It is sometimes called the 'Sword lily', but usually by its generic name (plural gladioli). The genus occurs in Asia,...

Campanula rotundifolia is a perennial species of flowering plant, a slender, prostrate to erect herb, spreading by seed and rhizomes. The basal leaves are long-stalked, rounded to heart-shaped, usually slightly toothed, with prominent hydathodes, and often wither...

Blandfordia nobilis grows as a tufted perennial herb. The strappy green leaves are up to 75 cm (30 in) long and 0.3 to 0.5 cm wide. The leafless flower stalks growing directly from the ground are up to 80 cm (32 in) long. Flowering occurs in late spring and summer....

Zantedeschia is a genus of eight species of herbaceous perennial flowering plants in the family  Araceae, native to Southern Africa from South Africa north to Malawi. The genus has been introduced on all continents except Antarctica. Common names include arum lily....

A medium to large tree 7 to 12 m in height. Straight or multi-stemmed with dense spreading crown. The bark is a smooth pale gray or yellow brown that flakes with age to expose pale bark patches with large lumps (not galls) sometimes occur on older trunks and main...

Euclea crispa is a single-stemmed small tree with many smaller branches forming a dense crown reaching a height of 2–6 metres and a spread of 2–4 metres. The bark varies from grey and smooth, when young, to dark brown and rougher with age; it is often found covered in...

Gymnosporia heterophylla (Common Spike-thorn) is a small, hardy, deciduous African tree up to 5m tall, occurring in rocky places with a wide distribution. It makes a very effective, fast-growing security hedge. The wood is hard and durable, suitable for carving,...

Ziziphus mucronata, known as the Buffalo thorn, "blinkblaar-wag-'n-bietjie" in Afrikaans and "mphasamhala" in Tsonga, is a species in the Rhamnaceae family. The Buffalo thorn is a small to medium sized tree, reaching a height of about 10m (33ft). It can survive in a...

Diospyros lycioides or Bluebush is one of South Africa’s most widespread multi-stemmed shrubs. Occasionally it is found in groups, but is generally alone – with others nearby. It is easiest to find in mountains and rocky areas, as well as near rivers or as part of a...