Tanqua Karoo
Semi-arid and arid desert east of the Cedarberg Mountains. It is famous not only for its highly endemic flora but also is the locality of the outrageously outlandish Afrika Burn festival that takes place at Tankwa Town every May. The flowering period is typically brief and is often early relative to the rest of the Western Cape, typically peaking in August. In summer it is blisteringly hot with dust-devils raking the molten metamorphic rock covering portions of the Tanqua basin. Much of the Tanqua is used for grazing though there are increasing numbers of reserves including the Tanqua Karoo National Park that provide some measure of protection. The border between the Northern and Western Cape cuts through the Tanqua Karoo. Perhaps the best known of the plants is the Hoodia (Ngaap) that occurs naturally in the area and has been exploited as an appetite suppressant. Sceletium is a plant imbibed or sniffed for its energising and euphoric properties. Some creatures unique to the Tanqua include the terrifying Stofadil that terrorizes tourists to the area and has a particular prediliction for car tyres.
Nodes
Lachenalia
Zygophyllum
Hoodia gordonii
Gladiolus
Chlorophytum
Drimia convallarioides
Babiana
Gladiolus watermeyeri
Gethyllis
Pages
Taxonomy term
Adromischus marianae
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Agathosma
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Gk. agathos = good; osmē = smell, odour; referring to fragrant oils in the glands of the leaves.
AIZOACEAE
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Named after the genus Aizoon. Gk. Aei = Always/ever, and zoos/zoon = life, referring to the plants ability to survive on minimal water in deserts due to its succulent leaves.
Albuca
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La. albus = white or albicans = becoming white; referring to the colouring of some Albuca flowers.
Aloe
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Gk. aloē (from earlier Semitic word alloeh) = bitter. The liquid or dried juice found in the leaves is bitter.
Aloe
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Gk. aloē (from earlier Semitic word alloeh) = bitter. The liquid or dried juice found in the leaves is bitter.
AMARYLLIDACEAE
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Named after the genus Amaryllis. From Greek Amarullis, typical name of a country girl or shepherdess (in Theocritus, Virgil, Ovid, etc.), from amaryssein "to sparkle, twinkle, glance," as the eye.
AMARYLLIDACEAE
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Named after the genus Amaryllis. From Greek Amarullis, typical name of a country girl or shepherdess (in Theocritus, Virgil, Ovid, etc.), from amaryssein "to sparkle, twinkle, glance," as the eye.
Androcymbium
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Gk. andro- = male (in botanical language, stamen); kymbium = cup or saucer (La. cymba). The petal limbs enfold the stamens. Common names ‘men-in-a-boat’, ‘cup-and-saucer’.
Androcymbium
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Gk. andro- = male (in botanical language, stamen); kymbium = cup or saucer (La. cymba). The petal limbs enfold the stamens. Common names ‘men-in-a-boat’, ‘cup-and-saucer’.
Androcymbium
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Gk. andro- = male (in botanical language, stamen); kymbium = cup or saucer (La. cymba). The petal limbs enfold the stamens. Common names ‘men-in-a-boat’, ‘cup-and-saucer’.
Androcymbium dregei
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Commemorates the brothers Carl Friedrich Drege (1791-1867) and Johann Franz Drege (1794-1881) of Huguenot ancestry. Prodigious botanists and plant collectors in the Cape.’
Androcymbium volutare
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Androcymbium volutare
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