Cavern Berg Resort Flower List

The fantastic array of beautiful mountain flowers found in the Drakensberg on The Cavern nature reserve is far too numerous to detail here. Suffice to say the diversity will enthral any keen botanist, from a dazzling sweep of blue Scilla natalensis to the flagrant display of Barleria monticola; the nodding daisies of Callilepsis laureola and the streamside beauty of Hesperantha coccinea. Within the shady forest patches of Streptocarpus spp. hug the mossy rocks and shy Disperis fanniniae peep from the leaf litter. A walk up the Amphitheatre or a drive to the Sentinel car park takes you to a world of Alpine flowers and rare Drakensberg endemics. A list of just some of the flowers, sedges, ferns and grasses found at The Cavern is given here to whet your appetite.

Next to each entry are the page numbers where this plant can be found in the field guide to “Wild Flowers of KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Region” [WF] and/or the field guide to the flora of the Drakensberg and Lesotho “Mountain Flowers” [MF]. Both these field guides are by Elsa Pooley, and published by the Natal Flora Publications Trust.

Further reading: Burrows, J.E. & S.M. (1990). “SA Ferns and Fern Allies“. Frandsen.

Grasses:

Alloteropsis semialata
Arundinella nepalensis
Cymbopogon validus
Digitaria tricholaenoides
Elionurus muticus
Eragrostis capensis
Harpochloa falx
Imperata cylindrica
Melinus nerviglumis
M. repens
Oplismenus hirtellus
Themeda triandra

Further reading: van Oudtshoorn F.P. (1992). “Guide to Grasses of South Africa “. Briza.