Not tonight Josephine

This famous quote is attributed to Napoleon. But most historical researchers seem to question his ability to say no to Josephine. Napoleon Bonaparte was totally obsessed by this intriguing woman and could not resist her. But what on earth has this got to do with a couple of Outramps CREW Tannies (middle-aged to old) scouring the mountain north of Eseljacht for rare and endangered plants? On the very steep descent, we had to thread our way through bands of rock, with the occasional foefie slide down the vertical slabs, hanging on to bits of vegetation to slow the ride. We were still fairly high up, when we saw a couple of Brunsvigia looking plants further west on a narrow ledge. It was quite tricky to get there, but there was a huge reward when we did. Six plants standing about 80cm high had us speechless. Wrong habitat for orientalis, not big enough for B. striata, which we saw on the lower slopes - they had to be Brunsvigia josephinae (Vulnerable). LOT has previously seen this beauty west of Mossel Bay, but for Nicky, Sandra and Di it was a first and it made our day. The exposed bulbs are characteristic of this species and make for a certain id.

With permission from Dewald van Tonder of the farm Eseljacht, we arrived early to climb the mountain north of the farm. I got his directions slightly wrong, and went further east than indicated, but it all worked out brilliantly in the end. At the base, we found Aspalathus pedunculata (Rare). This was soon followed by Psoralea diturnerae (Endangered), which was scattered on the south-facing slope from an altitude of 640m to 890m near the top of the mountain. Also scattered more sparsely was Lotononis elongata (Endangered). The higher we got, the smaller these flowers became, so we will need to confirm this id. It was a stunning mountain to climb and well worth effort. The views from the summit to the Swartberg, Kammanassie and Outeniquas were spectacular. Broad sandy ledges ran east/west on the northern side just below the summit. There is regeneration here after a fire 2/3 (?) years ago, but more rain is needed to give the vegetation a hupstoot. The altitude was too low for any chance of Mimetes chrysanthus (Golden Pagoda – Vulnerable) and the indicator plants were absent. But we had a simply wonderful day. We have called our mountain Eselskop, as it is unnamed on the map.

Inelegantly negotiating a couple of fences on hands and knees did not dampen our enthusiasm at all, but added to our disreputable appearance.

We were filthy by the end of the day. Pushing through the blackened stems of burnt Proteaceae had us looking like the legendary chimney sweeps. We were also bruised and bleeding from various wounds inflicted by thorns and sharp branches. Which all ties in with our title, “Not tonight, Josephine”, or certainly not until a very good shower had removed most of the grime. There was burnt Hakea sericea (invasive) on the higher reaches and some burnt Pines. Attention will have to be given to clearing the seedlings in the foreseeable future. Many thanks to Dewald for the very warm welcome he gave us. We hope to return in the Spring.
Di

The Hunter Gatherers
A small LOT team (average height 5ft2") headed out on Thursday morning to the R327 (Herbertsdale Road) to collect seed of Aspalathus obtusifolia (Vulnerable), which we had identified in January when it was blooming in yellow profusion. As so often happens, the non-flowering plants become completely nondescript once flowering is over and we spent some time scouting for the bushes before locating the perfect site (safely off the road, on public land, with easily accessible plants). A decent amount of seed was bagged.

There was very little else worth mentioning, with the rather lovely exception of a single Gladiolus emiliae (NT) growing in the centre of a mowed track. After some thoughtful deliberation it was decided that the plant should be moved to a place of safety.
We were home in time for lunch.
Sally, Gail and Rusell

Fynbos Outeniqua Mountain hike on Sat 30 March
An Outramps marketing effort!

HAT Evie is guiding a Fynbos hike as part of the Garden Route Festival held over the Easter weekend. The hike is starting from NMU/Saasveld campus and continues up to Tierkop - the goal being the Peak at Tierkop at 781m. Although this has been marked as a strenuous walk- it probably should be called moderate. Gaining the actual peak does involve some scrambling over rocks. Trail distance – about 10 Km and an elevation of around 600m.

To quote the Website details:-
“This is a hike in the Outeniqua mountains with an introduction to some of the Fynbos plants of the area. A chance to enjoy, the unique scenery of the Outeniqua mountains, to participate in some good uphill walking to the Tierkop Peak, from which we have a wonderful view of both Cradock and George Peaks. Along the way we will have a chance to look at some of the Fynbos plants, with time allowed for photography. The Hike is partly along a jeep track as well as a narrow mountain footpath. No children under 8 years. “

Anyone interested – do join up. A donation fee is required! There are numerous other hikes on offer (Outramps Marge will be doing “the Doring Rivier Circuit”) - a wonderful opportunity for us locals and our visitors to enjoy some of the varied hikes on offer in the Garden route – some on private land not normally accessible.
Please spread the word. Visit www.walkingfestival.co.za

It is the annual WAGS excursion to Natures Valley this week. Robberg on Tuesday, Salt River on Wednesday and a mystery hike (replacing Kranshoek – closed for repairs) on Thursday. A very exciting line-up, although there is currently heavy rain forecast for Thursday. We will have to wait and see. On Friday we will make our annual pilgrimage to Camferskloof to monitor Disa arida (Jan’s Arid Disa – Endangered). The Outramps are not about to die of boredom.
Hamba Kahle
Groete en dankie
Di Turner
The Outramps CREW Group
Southern Cape

All id’s subject to confirmation by Doc Annelise and Jan Vlok, Steven Molteno Dr Tony Rebelo, Nick Helme, Prof Charlie Stirton, Dr Robert Archer, Dr Robert McKenzie, Dr Ted Oliver, Christopher Whitehouse, Derek Tribble, Adriaan Grobler, Prix Burgoyne, Dr Kenneth Oberlander, Dr Pieter Winter, Dr David Gwynne-Evans and Damion. Thank you all for your ongoing help and support. The South African community is busy migrating to iNaturalist and we will soon have projects etc. up and running. When they are ready, I will provide you with the links.

Abbreviations Glossary
MCSA – Mountain Club of South Africa
MSB - Millenium Seed Bank based at Kew in the UK
WIP – Work in Progress
HAT – High Altitude Team
LOT – Lowland Team
SIM – Somewhere in the Middle Team
WAGS – Wednesday Adventure Group
VB – Vlok Boekie “Plants of the Klein Karoo” and our Plant Bible
ITRTOL – Another thread “In The Rich Tapestry Of Life”(It describes a challenging situation, usually to do with the Buchu Bus)
ITFOT – In the fullness of time
WOESS – Fair Weather Hiker
FMC and JW – too vulgar to translate, but the equivalent is “Strike me Dead” An expression of surprise and delight on finding a new “Rare”
Kambro – same as above
Fossick – A meter per minute, scratching around looking for rares
SIDB – Skrop in die Bos – Another name for a field trip, this one coined by Prix
BAFFING – Running round like a blue-arsed fly
SYT – Sweet Young Thing - Anyone under the age of 40
TOMB – Get a move on
Mayhem - Needless or willful damage or violence
SESKRYNG – “Sit en staan kry niks gedaan” ,with thanks to Brian
SOS – Skelms on Scramblers
FW – Idiot
BOB – Another name for the Buchu Bus when she’s misbehaving.
CRAFT – A symptom of Old Age
DDD - Metalasia tricolor (Damned Diabolical Daisy)
VP – Vrekplek – Retirement Village
Qàq – Self-explanatory Inuit word describing some of our local problems
Mr Fab – Our Fabaceae specialist, Brian Du Preez – originally Boy 1
Muisvoel -The Mathematician – Peter Thompson
Boy 2 – Kyle Underwood who works on Orchids and is still at school
Sharkie – Finn Rautenbach – Our latest SYT is a surfer in his spare time
Sicko – Someone who suffers from Car Sickness. With 4 in the Group, allocating seating in the Buchu Bus is tricky
VAG – Virgin Active Garage, which is our meeting place when we head north
MATMUE – Meet At The Mall Under E - Meeting place when we head West
WG – Waves Garage in Wilderness East. - Meeting place when we’re going east.
VU- Vulnerable
DDT – Data Deficient and Taxonomically ?
NT – Near Threatened
EN – Endangered
CR – Critically Endangered
PE – Presumed extinct
LC – Least Concern
TBC – To be Confirmed
TLC – Tender loving care
JMS – An expression of absolute disdain
FOMO – Fear of Missing Out
Milk – the fruit of the vine
Condensed Milk – Scotland’s finest export
Full Cream Milk or Fat Milk – Any product of Humulus lupulus eg. Milk Stout
Milk of the Gods – Rooibos and Brandy
Milk Shake - Sparkling Wine
NS – Species of conservation concern new to the Outramps
PS -Priority Species allocated to the Outramps by our CREW Cape Co-ordinator , Ismail Ebrahim
iNFD – iNaturalist for Dummies as compiled by Sally
Mizzle – Mist and drizzle combined. A regular feature of George in the ”good old days”. Now seldom seen
FE – Fire Ephemeral – only appears immediately or after a couple of years after fire
Squirrel – aka President Ramaphosa
WOG – Wrath of God – eg. incurred when you put a young Pine tree on iNat as Leucadendron album

Posted on March 12, 2018 08:57 AM by outramps-tanniedi