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
Oxalis
Oxalis
Arctotis
Bulbine abyssinica
Eriocephalus
Cladoraphis spinosa
Eriospermum
Cephalophyllum
Pelargonium
Pages
Taxonomy term
Tetragonia
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Gk. tetra = four; gonia = an angle; referring to the angular shape of the fruit.
Tetragonia
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Gk. tetra = four; gonia = an angle; referring to the angular shape of the fruit.
Thesium
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Derivation uncertain. Gk. thes = a hired labourer. An ancient name for a species of Linaria, toad flax, used by Pliny the Elder. Georg Christian Wittstein traces this to the legendary hero Theseus, who slew the Minotaur and to whom Ariadne gave a wreath in which this plant was woven.
Trachyandra
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Gk. trachys = rough; andros = male. The thick filaments are usually hairy.
Trachyandra
{"type":"FeatureCollection","features":[]}
Gk. trachys = rough; andros = male. The thick filaments are usually hairy.
Trachyandra
{"type":"FeatureCollection","features":[]}
Gk. trachys = rough; andros = male. The thick filaments are usually hairy.
Trachyandra
{"type":"FeatureCollection","features":[]}
Gk. trachys = rough; andros = male. The thick filaments are usually hairy.
Trachyandra
{"type":"FeatureCollection","features":[]}
Gk. trachys = rough; andros = male. The thick filaments are usually hairy.
Trachyandra
{"type":"FeatureCollection","features":[]}
Gk. trachys = rough; andros = male. The thick filaments are usually hairy.
Trichodesma
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Gk. trichos = hair, hairy; desme = band, cable; referring to the long, spiralling hairs or awns.
Tritonia
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La. triton = weathercock; alluding to the variable positions of the stamens. (Triton was also a Greek sea demigod, often represented as half man, half fish.)
Tylecodon
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Anagram of Cotyledon, in which genus the species were previously placed.
Ursinia
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Named in honour of Johann Ursinus of Regensburg, the author of Arboretum Biblicum. Sphenogyne R.Br. is not considered separable.
Ursinia
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Named in honour of Johann Ursinus of Regensburg, the author of Arboretum Biblicum. Sphenogyne R.Br. is not considered separable.