The fire razed veld in the Circular Drive area of the Cape Point reserve continues to beguile. It’s become an exhibition arena for plants which are usually crowded out by the dominant ericoids, proteoids and restionaceae. And nature’s moving along smartly here with a fabulous showing of these geophyte paintbrush lilies / April fool flowers. Each day brings further rewards as they bloom forth in prolific form.
Showy blooms appear by end of January.
The leathery leaves die down before the flowers bloom.
A new bloom peaks up between the crinkled leaves.
Four days growth.
The densely packed inflorescence.
Insects, sunbirds, moths and bees are pollinators
25 – 100 flowers are contained in the head.
Shaving brush blooms.
It’s interesting to note that this species of Haemanthus blooms profusely after fire.
Nature on the Edge 
Ungainly but gorgeous.
Gorgeous in every respect, Liz!
Thanks Dina 🙂 And what a treat they are!
Treat for sore eyes, I’d say. 🙂
Lovely comment, Mike. Conjures up an image of long-legged flowers tottering along. Actually those peduncles are pretty sturdy – fortunately, as in these gale force winds we’re enduring flower macros are tricky.
Bold beauties!
That’s a perfect description, Gilly 🙂
How beautiful… the Phoenix, then…
True, from the ashes ….
Spring is on it’s way! Nice!
Hi Lena …the equinox is coming 🙂
What is the equinox?
When the sun crosses the equator setting the time for autumnal /vernal equinox – 21 March heralding the change of winter to spring (or summer to autumn) and visa versa 21 September. Signals the change in seasons 🙂
Great to see some good come out of the fires. They are wonderful!
Yes, what a show of flowers – quite extraordinary that month by month something else appears. March 2nd will be a year since the big Muizenberg fires.
Beautiful, vibrant macros…the perfect remedy for a cold and dreary day in the Northeast! Appreciate your ecological observations and insights. Fascinating.
Glad to brighten up your day Nick. The botanists here are in 7th heaven cataloguing flowers that haven’t popped up in a long while.
Believe the snow storms are radical. NYC looked buried in layers of the stuff. Bet you’re getting use out of your winter gear now?
Lovely blooms, and a wonderful symbol of nature’s resilience!
Yes, it’s a marvel. It’s quite extraordinary to see the veld blooming like this.
Very vibrant.
I read posts like this and I am amazed all over again at the resourcefulness of Nature. Phenomenal!
What a beautiful response to a seeming disaster. It just goes to show that the most fragile life on this planet is human beings, nature quickly seizes the advantage to regain lost territory.
So true, nature’s robust cycles of renewal.