First published by the Walker Bay Fynbos Conservancy
Where fire raged through six months ago, at an area managed by the Walker Bay Conservancy, some fynbos flowers are already in bloom.
ππ°π¦π±π¦π³π’ π§ππ¦πΉπΆπ°π΄π’ puts on a wonderful show of yellow flushes across patches of dune strandveld in the area.
This plant is known by a few interesting common names -Thin Twinleaf, Maerbossie, Spekbossie and Vyfpondbos.
The origins behind these names are as special as the nature of this plant itself.
The name vyfpondbos and spekbossie is related to this species being highly palatable, and therefore having great grazing-value for game.
In the 1950s, while an agricultural officer gave a lecture in the field at Zebra in Oudtshoorn, an audience member asked what the common name of this plant was when they discussed the merits of it.
The officer replied that it did not have one, however, given the grazing-value that this plant has, it is worth at least five pounds (vyf pond) β henceforth having the name vyfpondbos. Another common name of ππ°π¦π±π¦π³π’ π§ππ¦πΉπΆπ°π΄π’ is that of spekbossie, because the animals that graze on it were said to become spekvet (as fat as pigs).
Picture: Walker Bay Fynbos Conservancy