This delightful bulb (actually a corm), known as Yellow Tritonia, with its very striking yellow flowers belongs to the Iris family and is fairly common in the Nature Reserve. It is normally solitary and is currently in flower on the Scilla walk.
It is also called, Bergkatjietee, and Khahlaenyenyane which is Sotho for the small Khahla or Gladiolus.
The Basotho use parts of it to treat stomach complaints and heal infections in the navel of a newborn child.
Photos: Joan Keyter
Image: Joan Keyter
Rodney Moffett (Research associate, Dept. of Plant Sciences, UFS) contributing with a series of articles regarding the more interesting plants in the Clarens Village Conservancy.
Members of the Iridaceae are a group characterized by long strap-like leaves and flower parts in 3’s or 6’s, and having only 3 stamens. The most well-known are the bearded irises found in many gardens. These are, however, not indigenous, having originally come from the northern hemisphere.
Indigenous members of this family occurring in and around the Conservancy are genera such as Moraea, Gladiolus, Watsonia, Hesperantha, Schizostylis, Dierama, Crocosmia, Tritonia and Aristea.
Moraea alticola
Image by Wim Wybenga
Gladiolus dalenii.
Image: Anneke Kritzinger
Gladiolus crassifolius
Image: Wim Wybenga
Gladiolus papilio
Image: Anneke Kritzinger
Gladiolus saundersii
Image: Rod Moffett
Watsonia lepida
Image: Anneke Kritzinger
Schizostylis coccinea
Image: Wim Wybenga
Hesperantha coccinea
Image: Anneke Kritzinger
Hesperantha schelpeana
Image: Rod Moffett
Dierama robustum
Image: Anneke Kritzinger
Crocosmia paniculata
Image: SANBI
Tritonia lineata
Image: Wim Wybenga
Aristea woodii
Image: Wim Wybenga
During winter they do not eat at all or if they do, very little. This explains why they are stuffing themselves now and why we are seeing them more often prior to winter. They are hunting to build up fat reserves and then they will be off to seek a suitable shelter for the cold months ahead. But some snakes, like pythons and Puff Adders, are actively busy with mating on the Highveld right into the middle of winter..
Our winters are not cold enough for snakes to hibernate and although they are far less active in winter, they may emerge from their winter hide-outs on a warm winter day to bask in the sun. Even when we have frost on the Highveld and temperatures drop well below zero, these snakes are relatively warm a meter or two underground where the temperature will not drop below 20 degrees C.
Hibernation has been described as an inherent, regular and prolonged period of inactivity during winter and the term ‘brumation’ is popularly used for reptiles. Snakes in cold regions of the world do hibernate and often in dens where hundreds or even thousands of snakes may share the same winter shelter.
With a dramatic drop in snake activity in winter, very few bites are reported and the majority of bites on humans are recorded in the warm summer months of January – April.
According to Professor Harry Greene, snakes consume between 6 – 30 meals per year and this is in summer. During winter they do not eat at all or if they do, very little. Because snakes are ectotherms and require no food for their heat requirements, they can survive with very little food and a large Puff Adder probably consumes less than 1 kg of food per year.
You will often see a rinkhals basking just outside its hole when a winters day warms up to around 23 degree Celsius.
