Orchid Society outing to Wingfield Nature Reserve.
The intrepid hunters were at it again this time on a rather more strenuous and wet expedition into a very deep and dark gorge. Dark because our cameras were working at their limits and it was a good idea to set up for flash photography. We returned with clothes and skin torn by the prickly climbers, bruises, bumps and slips from all the boulder hopping: all good for building character. The recent rains had filled the stream a little and had greened up the vegetation especially the scratchy Basket grass.
There were a number of beautiful colonies of fungi on the many different dead branches and tree trunks which littered the floor of the gorge.
Polystachya pubescens grows on wide horizontal branches.
Mystacidium venosum
Mystacidium pusillum
There were large tubers of Gerrardanthus on the rocky cliffs. Gerrardanthus tomentosus (VU) can only be identified by bat-wing-like seedpods which we (unsuccessfully) scoured the forest floor for.
Here the photographers are scaling the rocks to photograph the Habenaria arenaria growing next to a Gerrardanthus tuber.
Filmy fern
Scadoxus multiflorus subsp. katharinae
Waterfalls and rocks:
A water fern called Potamogeton pusillus stuck to rocks sheets under fast flowing water:
Stenoglottis fimbriata
We went to two sites. The first was down the Mlungu stream which runs into that steep gorge. It runs into the Gwahumbe River lower down but it was necessary to do a long drive to the bottom of the gorge, across a scary rocky ford and then another march to get there.
Encephalartos villosus with leaves 2.5m+ long growing in shallow sandy soil next to the river.
Also Diaphananthe millarii (VU).
Growing on the cliffs where some Gasteria croucherii, Crassula multicava subsp floribunda in flower and Crassula perforata.
Ficus sur trees were all in new leaf
Commiphora harveyi
The hunters: Natalie, Alison, Peter and Paul. (Photographer Andrew).
Midlands CREW 