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Friday, June 24, 2011

Wild Dagga …

Is there something about warm fire coloured blossoms that makes them such prolific winter flowering plants? As the usually green, green hills of Natal take on the golden hues of their frost deadened grasses, the mostly vibrant yellows and oranges of seasonal shrubs now in bloom contrast beautifully against the brown, enlivening many a local landscape. They give a feeling of warmth, not always in keeping with the cool daytime air temperatures, although in fairness I’m finding this, my first winter in the Midlands, delightfully mild. Many of the species flowering presently are aloes (in fact next month Creighton in the south Midlands hosts an aloe festival) but equally prevalent right now are the unmistakable spiky bracts of Leonotis Leonorus commonly known as Wild Dagga (although it has none of the narcotic properties of its cannabis namesake). Popular in domestic gardens, spreads of this plant in nature are easily found.
It is almost impossible at the moment to find a flowering Dagga plant not being harvested by honey bees, an obvious subject for a close-up study and a macro lens but with a backdrop as magnificent as the uMngeni Valley looking towards Albert Falls dam, this is the image I have chosen to share.
And, yes, I did take the close ups too.

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