Trip report: a day in Darling

14 Sep 2020
14 Sep 2020

Article by Hana Petersen

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Springtime in the Cape is always a spectacular affair. With the drop in number of infections and the easing of COVID-19 restrictions in South Africa coinciding with the start of spring, many are taking the opportunity to enjoy the dazzling floral displays. After a long 6 months of uncertainty, struggle and loss, the abundant beauty that South Africa’s natural spaces continues to provide year after year is something that we can always rely on. This year’s floral displays were particularly splendid, after the abundant rainfall, providing some reprieve after a long period of drought.

 

Some friends, fellow UCT students and I went on an excursion to Darling, a small town in the west coast region that is famous for its wildflowers. The annual Darling Wildflower Show, which was scheduled to take place on 21 September 2020, had to be cancelled due to COVID-19, but the Darling Wildflower Society encouraged responsible trips to the wildflower reserves.

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Fairies-of-the-veld (Heliophila coronopifolia). Photo © Hana Petersen.

We spent the morning at the Waylands Wildflower Reserve and were greeted by waves of cool blue and purple fairies-of-the-veld (Heliophila coronopifolia) and bright, warm yellow African daisies (Arctotis hirsuta). Once our eyes adjusted to this magnificent contrast, the smaller, no less splendid, and arguably more interesting species made themselves abundantly known. The famous wine cups (Geissorhiza radians), from which drank an assortment of insect visitors, were a very pleasant find, exquisite in their regal deep purples and reds. Their effortlessly beautiful copycats, the Kelkiewyns (Babiana rubrocyanea), were even more abundant, providing deep purple eye candy on a green backdrop.

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Left to right: Geissorhiza radians (Photo © Gabriella Leighton) and Babiana rubrocyanea (Photo © Hana Petersen).

Shockingly large sundew flowers (Drosera cistiflora) were abundant in a small wetland area, accompanied by several arum lilies (Zantedischia aethiopica). A dizzying variety of other blooms of all shapes and sizes showed off along the paths, notably Lachenalia, Moraea, Nemesia and Romulea. We were also graced with the presence of a red-nosed male parrot-beaked padloper tortoise (Homopus areolatus). We ended the morning in a shockingly dense patch of African daisies before making our way into Darling for a lunch of cake and coffee, the only option on the Tuesday menu at Evita se Perron.

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Left to right: large sundew (Drosera cistiflora), pyjama bush (Lobostemon sp.), Cape tulip (Moraea gawleri), lionfaces (Nemesia affinis). Photos © Hana Petersen.

The Darling Renosterveld Wildflower Reserve was our next stop. Here we encountered a species that was a first for everyone in our party: Wurmbea marginata (spider lily). A variety of gorgeous geophytes were also flowering in abundance: Babiana, Gladiolus, Ixia and Moraea, among others. Two orchid species, Pterygodium catholicum and P. alatum, were seen donned in their pale-yellow bonnets. An angulate tortoise (Chersina angulata) passed us by, on its merry way to chew some leaves stealthily in a bush. After enjoying the afternoon sun and a pleasant walk in this small, diverse and critically endangered patch of Swartland granite renosterveld, we made our way back to the city.

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Top to bottom, left to right: Kalkoentjie (Gladiolus alatus), Kersblakertjie (Moraea lugubris), spider lily (Wurmbea marginata), cowled friar (Pterygodium catholicum), winged bonnet orchid (Pterygodium alatum), hairy iris (Moraea papilionacea). Photos © Hana Petersen.

 

If you are by the means to do so, a visit to Darling is a great way to find peace and inspiration post-lockdown. We at the PCU look forward to returning to research and field work, exploring and broadening our understanding of the natural spaces we love, and how best to conserve them.

 

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Designated frolicking zone: a field of African daisies (Arctotis hirsuta). Photo © Hana Petersen.