Knersvlakte
Named after the gnashing of teeth as the cart wheels drove over the quarts pebbles, this feature is the most characteristic feature of the landscape. Vlakte means plains, so the Knersvlakte is mostly flat plains covered with quartz pebbles. It is embedded in the inland portion of the Namaqualand region and thus experiences hot summer days in excess of 40 degrees and winter rainfall. The geology is mainly granite and shale koppies that surround the flats. In the centre is Vredendal, to the east overlooks the Hantams plateau and to the west the West Coast with Namaqualand to the north and the Gifberg and Cedarberg to the south.
Nodes
Bulbine diphylla
Frankenia
Pteronia succulenta
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Moraea serpentina
Gnidia pedunculata
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Taxonomy term
Monsonia crassicaule
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From the Latin crassus = "thick" and caule = "stem"
Moraea
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Linnaeus married Sara Elisabeth Moraea; her father was Dr. Johan Moraeus, the town physician of Falun. The name "Morea" was originally given by Philip Miller after "Robert More of Shropshire", but was taken over by Linnaeus and changed to Moraea.
Ornithoglossum
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Gk. ornithos = bird; glossa = tongue; referring to the narrow tepals.
Oxalis
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From the Greek oxys = sharp, sour or acid and (h)als = salt. The plant is frequently consumed for its sour taste caused by the oxalic acid, particularly the flowering stalks of O. pes-caprae. In large quantities the oxalic acid inhibits digestion and in stock leads to the condition 'dikpens' or bloated belly.
Phyllobolus
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Gk. phyllon = leaf; bolos = throwing; referring to the deciduous shedding of leaves by some species.
Polygala
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Gk. poly = much; gala = milk; so-called from the belief that cattle grazing in fields with this plant produced more milk. (San Marcos growers in the United States claim that Polygala virgata ‘Portola’ has this property but the authors could find no scientific evidence).
Pteronia
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Gk. pteron = a wing; probably referring to seeds which are wind-dispersed.
Romulea
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For the legendary Romulus, founder and first king of Rome.
Spergularia
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Spergula (q.v.); -aria = resembling.
Tetragonia
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Gk. tetra = four; gonia = an angle; referring to the angular shape of the fruit.
Tylecodon
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Anagram of Cotyledon, in which genus the species were previously placed.
Tylecodon reticulatus
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From the Latin reticulatus = 'net-like'; typically referring to the veins that have multiple secondary or tertiary veins