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www.hiltoncollege.com |
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Flora on the Estate
The Hilton estate offers the amateur botanist a wonderful opportunity to learn about both flowers and trees. The estate has a number of ecological habitats, ranging from open grassveld, where wild flowers abound, to patches of dense natural bush. The flatter areas of the Umgeni and Teapots Valleys are predominantly thornveld and this grades into a thicker and more varied bushveld in the Gwen’s Valley and the steeper slopes of the Umgeni Valley. Both the Gwen’s stream and the Teapots Stream have a more luxuriant riverine vegetation while two small patches of dense bush occur; one on the cooler, south-facing slope of Pinnacles, and the other at the junction of the Gwen’s stream and the Umgeni River.
Trees
Some seventy different species of indigenous tree have been identified and
many more await identification. Thirty of the commoner species were labelled
along the popular paths on the estate. There is a Tree Trail on the Estate
which is used as a teaching ground for boys wanting to do the tree
identification course. Seed is also collected from trees on the estate and
germinated in the nursery at the Wildlife Centre.
The thornveld region of the estate is
dominated by three species of Acacia, namely Acacia sieberana (Paperbark
Thorn), Acacia nilotica (Scented Thorn) and Acacia karoo
(Sweet Thorn), although this becomes increasingly more varied as one moves
on to the higher slopes of the Umgeni Valley and into the Gwen’s Valley.
Here the more obvious species that appear include the various fig trees
(Mountain Rock Fig, Red-leaved Rock Fig, and Common Wild Fig), the Bronze
Paper Commiphora (Commiphora harveyi), Wild Pear (Dombeya
rotunifolia), White Stinkwoods (Celtis africana), Flame Thorn (Acacia
ataxacantha), scattered Bush Willows (Combretum erythrophyllum
and C. molle) and large patches of the Rock Elder (Canthium
mundianum).
Along
the Gwen’s stream, the list becomes more varied, but the most obvious trees
are the large wild figs, Ficus capensis (Cape Fig) and Ficus
natalensis (Natal Fig). A magnificent specimen of the Natal Fig is to be
found at the top of the Gwen’s 3 waterfall. Finally, the sandstone krantz's
which form the upper limit of the Gwen’s valley are decorated with Red Rock
Figs (Ficus ingens) Cabbage Trees (Cussonia spicata), Cycads (Encephalartos
natalensis) and numerous Aloes (Aloe arborescens and A.
candelabra) amongst others.
Among the more spectacular species that occur are the Weeping Boer Bean (Schotia
brachypetala), the Natal Bottlebrush (Greyia sutherlandii), the
Sneezewood (Ptaeroxylon obliquum) and the lovely Large Leaved
Erythrina (Erythrina latissima), a magnificent example of which is
found at the entrance to the Crookes block of the school.
Click here for a feature on this tree
Wild Flowers
Hilton College is blessed with a wide variety of habitats for flowering
plants, from the moist, shady margins of the Gwen’s stream to the hot, dry
grassy slopes overlooking the Umgeni. Consequently, we have many interesting
and very beautiful wild flowers.
Probably the best known of our wild flowers is the Hilton Daisy (Gerbera
aurantiaca). (Picture used with
permission Nat. Botanical Inst. of SA:
www.plantzafrica.com) In
the early 1900’s Hiltonians would pick the flowers of this magnificent plant
to wear on Founders Day. Unfortunately, this practice, and the spread of
plantations and arable land has led to its demise. This beautiful flower,
named for the school, has not been seen growing wild on the estate for very
many years. In "Lift Up Your Hearts", Neville Nuttall mentions that attempts
were being made to reintroduce it on the estate in the early 1970’s, but
obviously this met with no success. Its reintroduction would seem to be a
very useful conservation project. There is, at present, a national effort to
germinate the seed on a large scale, but results are not encouraging at this
stage. There are specimens in the indigenous garden in front of the Campbell
Building.
Click here for
an article by Isabel Johnson of the National Botanical Institute of SA.
| Probably the area with the largest variety of wild flowers on the estate is grassland. Let us start there. In the spring, especially after a burn, a wealth of beautiful bulbous flowers, starting with several different fire lilies (Cyrtanthus spp.), emerge from their winter rest. Later, the giant Brunsvigias throw up their magnificent pink heads, each larger than a football, which turn into the familiar "tumbleweed" dried heads, beloved of flower arrangers. These plants, with their enormous bulbs and strange flat elephant ear leaves, are very common where the soil has not been disturbed, such as along the edge of Pinnacles and Rolling Stones. On the steeper grassy slopes the long inflorescence of Dierama can be seen arching elegantly into the winds. Here and there attractive and familiar wild Gladiolus species stand tall against the grassy background. Amongst the wealth of bulbous plants are many small, but no less beautiful, annuals and fire-resistant, woody perennials. The attractive orange red of the Lion’s Paw (spp.) is conspicuous here, as is the pretty little plants, including the brilliant red Strigas, the lovely blue and yellow Commelina, or Mickey Mouse flower, and many different coloured everlasting flowers, mostly Helichrysum. There is such a richness here that our grasslands are well worth a close look and a short article cannot even begin to do them justice. |
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Here and there, in this dry grassland, there are wetter vleis where the
flowers are very different. Probably the most spectacular denizens of these
vleis are a number of stately orchids including several pink or yellow
Eulopia spp. In the really wet parts of the Henderson Vlei, small
sundews (Drosera spp.) spread their leaves covered with sticky red
hairs to trap and digest tiny insects.
Of course, the grasses in these areas are also flowering plants and warrant
a careful study. With our wide variety of habitats there are many most
attractive species to be found.
On the way from the grassy areas to shady riverine forest, one passes along
the edge of many areas of bush. The flowers here are completely different.
The most familiar and obvious plants are several species of the beautiful
blue or lilac Plectranthus. In damp patches the large red
"paintbrushes" of Haemanthus show themselves in Summer. Creeping
through the edge of the bush, we can see the beautiful clear blue bells of
Barleria obtusa. A number of shrubby pea flowers, mostly
Crotolaria and Indigofera spp., will also be found here and
there.
On the way down to the Gwen’s stream, we pass through grassland studded with
the attractive Aloe candelabra, while the cliffs are brilliant with huge
clumps of the spectacular Aloe arborescens, all of which makes a
magnificent show in winter. Finally, in the thorny, shady scrub near the
water’s edge, another completely different range of flowers delights the
eye. Sheltering among the damp rocks and the leafy litter are several
species of Streptocarpus with lovely purple-blue trumpet flowers and
even some bright orange Begonia sp.