Trip course (1) Springbok = Goegap Nature Reserve = Namaqualand = Nieuwoodbille (August 24 to September 3) (2) West Coast National Park = Lelie Fontaine = Calvinia = Tulbagh = Cape Town = Worcester (September 4 to 19) (3) Cape Town city (Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, Table Mountain) (September 20 to 29)

(South Africa South) (from the Google map) (1) Namaqualand flowers　　 Namaqualand, which follows the Namibia Desert in the north, is a desert area, but when the heavy rains falls in winter, the earth is filled with the flowers of the Asteraceae family. In such a flood of flowers, a group of iris with bulbs glows like a twinkling star in a galaxy.

			Gladiolus salteri Even in Japan, there is gladiolus, but they are not all horticultural species and no wild ones. As Japanese name shows as Dutch iris (Oranda Shobu), it was brought in from South Africa during the Meiji era and became widely cultivated. Many of wild gladiolus species are low in length. And this species is around 10 cm high. This is a rare species in South Africa and is slightly found in the east of Springbok in northwest of Namaqualand . The name of Gladiolus is taken from the Latin word Gladius because its leaf shape resembled that of a sword . (Goegap Nature Reserve, alt. 950m)
The iris family flowers are said to have about 66 genera and 2000 species in the world, but in South Africa there are a half of them, 1050 species, and 97% of which are endemic species. In addition to Gladiolus, Ixia, Montebretia, Babiana, etc. have already been introduced into Japan, but there are still more members of the iris family of about 30 genera such as Moraea, Geissorhiza, Lapeirousia, Spalrachis, and etc. (There are only 3 genera and 7 wild species in Japan: Iris, Iris setosa and Scutellaria )
Moraea shlechteri    Lapeirousia silenoides  (Goegap Nature Reserve)    （South of Springbok）

Babiana framesii 　（Namaqualand, Skill Pad, alt. 470m）		Babiana dregei 　 (Namaqualand ・ Lelie Fountain alt. 1200m )
You may imagine that Namaqualand is one of the four largest wild flower gardens in the world, where flowers are in full bloom, but it is actually a desolate arid area. There are no grass lands other than private ranches surrounded with electric fences for grazing sheep and goats. Along the fences flowers are blooms sporadically.in concentration.
And there are large groups of Asteraceae flowers such as Gazania in places. 　（Leliefontein/Kamiesberg) In fact, the flowers are planted for the pasture to sheep (because there is no poison on the flowers of the family Asteraceae).
		Lapeirousia fabricii （East of Hondeklipbaai, alt. 150m）
Moraea fugax Although this Moraea looks like Japanese irises, the habitat is greatly different. It grows in a sand dune on the coast (Japanese one in wetland). The leaves are thin and long to reduce evaporation from the leaves and resist drying. This flower only blooms for a short time in the afternoon. So, it is named as fugax (the meaning of ephemeral in Latin). 　　　　（Hondeklipbaai, alt. 3m）

We left Namaqualand, went south on Route 7 and headed for Nieuwoodbille.

		Speaking of Table Mountain, the mountain behind Cape Town is famous. But actually, table-like mountains (plateaus) can be seen everywhere. As the altitude is near 1000m, even in the dry desert area there are clouds on the plateau and rains a lot and it has a wet and humid climate. There are many flowers, and also agriculture and farming are run. （Near Vanrhynsdorp）
Moraea serpentina The foot of Table Mountain is a dry ground. Even in harsh environments, the leaves wind like a coil and prevent evaporation. Plants respond flexibly. Serpentina means snake (from the shape of a coiled leaf) （alt.170m）

Moraea bifida　（Moraea bifida)	Ascend to Table Mountain at 740m above sea level , it is a green field there. The orange color irises are spreading there （Nieuwoodbille Nature Reserve, alt. 740 m) 　 Various iris species are blooming here.
	Hesperantha vaginata 　 The color with yellow and black (dark engine color) is a kind of warning signal. It also seems to be effective in catching the attention of insects. It is named from the shape of lower leaves - sheath (Vagina in Latin).
Moraea egalis 　　　 　A flower shape is close to the iris seen in Japan.	Hesperantha cucullata 　 Like a fairy
Ferraria variabilis	Sparaxis tricolor
Lapeirousia oreogena
Romulea montana	Babiana vanzyliae
Geissorhiza splendidissima   The petals glow when it receives the sun. The face looks like cocking a snook.
Sparaxis elegans As the name suggests, it is very elegant. The central ring is distinctive and looks like a necklace. The reference species is light orange.

Ixia rapunculoides This species has already entered in Japan as a horticultural species. It is popular because it is strong and easy to grow. It was making a large community in the field.
Southern Hemisphere Starry Sky
As the air is dry, the night sky is full of stars. The Milky Way flows from the upper right to the lower center, and beside it the Southern Cross star twinkles. You can see the Large and Small Magellan nebula on the left. (In the distant future, the Milky Way Galaxy will merge with the Andromeda Nebula. I wonder at the time the Earth lives are still living.

We head to Tulbagh, which is famous for wine. On the way, we drop to Cederberg Mountain where 600 million years old strata have become exposed. At Tulbagh we stayed at a winery and enjoyed delicious wines and flowers.
Gladiolus venusta It was named after the Goddess of Beauty, Venus. So it is the most beautiful flower among Iris family. （North of Wuppertal）
Moraea gawleri   Moraea filicaulis
Sparaxis grandiflora The length is about 20 cm, but the petal diameter is nearly 4 cm. As the name implies, it is the largest of this genus. It made a community on the meadow near the entrance of the Tulbagh. (alt. 120m ) Tulbagh is surrounded by rocky mountains that exceed 1000 m on three sides (east, west, north) like Kyoto. In addition to the heat in summer, dryness is also harsh. For this reason delicious grapes can be harvested.    （The lodge of the winery where we stayed）     Gladiolus alatus    Babiana villosa About 20 km south of Tulbagh, there is the Elands Nature Reserve, which designates a large private area as a nature reserve. This is a special place where only limited guests are invited. In addition to Peacock Moraea, which is one of the most beautiful flowers among Iris family, there are many endemic species such as iris which took Japanese name.  Moraea villosa  Moraea villosa subsp. elandsmontana Moraea tulbaghensi  　　　　    Moraea ogamana Certified as a new species in 2014 , but there is concern about extinction. For the protection of this species the South African Plants Assn. asked for the right to name, and there is a financial donor, whose name was dedicated.               Watsonia dubia Codonorhiza elandsmontana

So far, we have been coming south all the way along the National Road No. 7, here turned to the west, went to the coast (West Coast). It is basically a dry area, but the mist from the sea rises. Plants take in a little water firmly and grow rapidly.

			Babiana lingens A flower that uses a small bird (Sunbird) as a pollinator. A bird stops in a stalk-like branch (deformed leaf) that curves backward and sucks nectar. At that time, pollen is delivered to the birds and carried. This species is a large type. 　 　Sunbird (about 15 cm in length ) ）
	Romulea tabularis   It is the only bluish petal in Romulea. Tabularis, in the sense of a table, was first collected at Table Mountain in Cape Town.
			Babiana_rubrocyanea Endemic of Darling region, a center of the West Coast. Every September , a festival of wild plants is held in Darling, and flower lovers gather from all over the country.
South African version of "Look-a-like sister"
	Romulea obscura		Romulea eximia
In the coastal sand dunes, flowers of the Asteraceae family such as Gazania are predominant.

Finally we are in Cape Town, the capital city of Western Cape. The highway runs across as if in the American West Coast. The triangle mountain in the middle is Lions Head, and the right is Signal Hill that tells the time by the sound of the cannon. The table mountain on the left is in the clouds. Cars run on the left as in Japan.

In Cape Town, based on a hotel in the city, we searched for flowers in the Cape Peninsula and the eastern suburbs, and after the group left, I moved to a guest house and searched for flowers in the Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden and Table Mountain.

		Growing in the sandy land overlooking the sea of Cape Peninsula. carinatus means Keel in Latin. The central part of the leaf is raised like a keel of a vessel. On the other hand, Debilis is attached to small and cute seeds such as Hemanitage (Anemone debilis) in the sense that it is weak and weak.
Gladiolus carinatus	Gladiolus debilis
Gladiolus virescens    It looks like a butterfly with its wings wide open. The flower in this picture looks pale purple color, but normal one is pale green, so the name is derived from Latin, which stands for pale green. Despite mid spring, as the surrounding rocky mountain is over 2000 m in height, snow still remains near the top of mountains. Eastern Worcester suburbs of Cape Town

★ Thank you for your cooperation in charity for disaster victims (Eastern Japan Earthquake, Hokkaido Iburi Earthquake, West Japan Heavy Rain)
In December last year, I showed a flower calendar from the flower pictures I took and asked for cooperation. Finally 204 copies were purchased by 111 people, and the total amount (204,000 yen) was donated to the public interest foundation "Michinoku Mirai Foundation" which donates scholarship to orphans by the Great East Japan Earthquake.
In addition, 150 copies of the flower calendar were sent to temporary housing for those affected by the Hokkaido Iburi Earthquake and the heavy rainfall in West Japan. Some persons who helped with the charity of the Great East Japan Earthquake donated the purchased calendar to the temporary housing. Thank you as well.

We will continue our charity activities even after "Reiwa" era, so please continue your cooperation in the future.

★Notice of Noh performance "Tooru"
This autumn our Noh play club will hold performance at the National Noh Theater. Along with that, I plan to play Noh "Tooru", who was a top aristocrat in "Heian" era and the model of main character of Genji Story, Hikaru Genji. This play is well-performed at the Noh professional's funeral service because it represents a song of condolence or sympathy.
I play for the admonition to my father who died last year, my mother's 7th memorial, my feelings for my diseased friends, as well as for celebration of my turning 70 years old.
Date: September 22 (Sun)
Place: National Noh Theater (Sendagaya)

Details will be announced later.



To the page of flowers in the four seasons(sorry in Japanese)

Go to Insight Research Website

2019．6．12 upload