Grassland Wildflowers

There are thousands of species of grassland wildflowers, and among them are some of the best-known blooms in the world. Think agapanthus. Think pelargoniums and geraniums. Think gladioli and Arum lilies. One of the best places to appreciate these flowers of early and late summer is the Drakensberg.

Have you missed out on the great sweeps of spring daisies in Namaqualand and the glorious fynbos flowers in the Western Cape in September and October?

If so, do not despair. The grassland wildflowers of the Drakensberg mountains, in KwaZulu-Natal, Free State and Mpumalanga, only peak in early summer (November).

And there’s another – some say even more spectacular – wave of flowering that takes place in late summer.

Even better, more than half of our wildflowers – 10 000 species – occur in grasslands and savannahs.

The grasslands, which are arguably most spectacular in the Drakensberg mountains, are home to some of the most beautiful plants. Here you’ll find white berg lilies, showy Arum lilies, watsonias, delicate orchids, starburst pelargoniums and gladioli, as beautiful as butterflies.

Along forest margins you may spot orange crocosmia (called 'falling stars' for good reason), traveller’s joy, white geraniums and showy agapanthus.

Nodding among the seed-heavy grasses you may chance upon half-a-dozen cheerful members of the daisy family. If you look in the right place (the savannah near Lydenburg and Nelspruit in Mpumalanga province), you may even find the famous Barberton daisy growing carefree and wild.

The high grasslands of southern Mpumalanga (around Wakkerstroom and even Graskop) and north-eastern Free State (between Clarens and Memel) are particularly rewarding. Here, in the cool, moist montane uplands you’ll find alpine wildflowers, figworts and everlastings, bellflowers, fairy bells, wild violets and minaret flowers.

Grasslands are prone to late winter fires, and if you are here in spring, this might be an ideal opportunity to see certain flowers that take advantage of respite from fast-growing grasses.

You may see hooded meadow-stars, dark-eyed and astral bells, chocolate bells, common liquorice beans, handkerchief flowers, silver vernonias and yellow starworts.

Among the most spectacular plants are the bulbous perennials – nerines, oxbane (Boophane disticha) and candelabra flowers (Brunsvigias), which flower spectacularly in late summer (January through to March) and then dry to a ball-shaped tumbleweed.

The best places to look for wildflowers are in the pristine grasslands, preserved from overgrazing or disturbance. National parks and nature reserves are the best.

But don’t forget the often undisturbed road verges and railway preserves. They are often as rewarding as secluded parks.

DID YOU KNOW?

South Africa is extraordinarily rich in floral beauty, with 19 000 different wildflower species.