Fauna & flora

Family: Iridaceae · Genus: Geissorhiza

Blou trots

Stony clay renosterveld · Nieuwoudtville

A blue-flowered cormous plant of the Bokkeveld. The regional record is separate from the common-name flower captions in our archive.

Late August–September; rain and temperature affect flowering.

Typical regional flowering window. Month-level or seasonal approximation; rainfall, temperature and locality can change bloom timing. No exact day boundaries inferred.

• SANBI · Geissorhiza splendidissima
• GBIF accepted genus record: Geissorhiza — family Iridaceae

Family: Araceae · Genus: Zantedeschia

Soetvarkblom

Wet dolerite boulder crevices · Nieuwoudtville

Associated with wet crevices in the local dolerite landscape. Its very particular habitat should not be confused with any damp patch on the farm.

Late winter, around July–August in the cited account.

Typical regional flowering window. Month-level or seasonal approximation; rainfall, temperature and locality can change bloom timing. No exact day boundaries inferred.

• SANBI · Zantedeschia odorata
• SANBI · Hantam geology
• PZA-ARUM
• GBIF accepted genus record: Zantedeschia — family Araceae

Family: Asphodelaceae · Genus: Bulbinella

Heavy red dolerite clay · Bokkeveld

Yellow flower spikes are characteristic of the region's dolerite veld. Older accounts use the rank var. doleritica.

Winter–spring.

Typical regional flowering window. Month-level or seasonal approximation; rainfall, temperature and locality can change bloom timing. No exact day boundaries inferred.

• SANBI · Bulbinella latifolia subsp. doleritica
• BULB-RL
• GBIF accepted genus record: Bulbinella — family Asphodelaceae

Family: Iridaceae · Genus: Hesperantha

Perdeblom

Dolerite clay · Bokkeveld to Calvinia

A flower connected to specialised monkey-beetle pollination in the regional literature.

August–September.

Typical regional flowering window. Month-level or seasonal approximation; rainfall, temperature and locality can change bloom timing. No exact day boundaries inferred.

• SANBI · Hesperantha vaginata
• GBIF accepted genus record: Hesperantha — family Iridaceae

Family: Iridaceae · Genus: Romulea

Karoosatynblom

Dolerite renosterveld · Nieuwoudtville

One of the geophytes described in SANBI's dolerite-veld guide.

Late July–October in the regional account.

Typical regional flowering window. Month-level or seasonal approximation; rainfall, temperature and locality can change bloom timing. No exact day boundaries inferred.

• SANBI · Dolerite renosterveld
• GBIF accepted genus record: Romulea — family Iridaceae

Family: Amaryllidaceae · Genus: Brunsvigia

Maartblom

Open flats and rocky ground · Bokkeveld

A regional candidate for learning about autumn-flowering bulbs. Our photographs are owner-captioned Maartblomme; that name alone is not a checked species identification.

Late summer–autumn; local displays depend on conditions.

Typical regional flowering window. Month-level or seasonal approximation; rainfall, temperature and locality can change bloom timing. No exact day boundaries inferred.

• SANBI · Brunsvigia bosmaniae
• INFO
• GBIF accepted genus record: Brunsvigia — family Amaryllidaceae

Family: Asteraceae · Genus: Euryops

Harpuisbos

Localised Hantam habitat

A locally restricted shrub in the SANBI account. Included as regional context without a collecting location or farm occurrence claim.

June–August.

Typical regional flowering window. Month-level or seasonal approximation; rainfall, temperature and locality can change bloom timing. No exact day boundaries inferred.

• SANBI · Euryops virgatus
• GBIF accepted genus record: Euryops — family Asteraceae

Family: Fabaceae · Genus: Aspalathus

Rooibostee

Cultivated lands · Cloudskraal

Our cultivated crop is documented in the family's photographs. Flowering was photographed on 21 October 2021; this does not establish a wild rooibos population on the property.

Typical regional flowering window. Month-level or seasonal approximation; rainfall, temperature and locality can change bloom timing. No exact day boundaries inferred.

See the family photograph collection

• SANBI · Aspalathus linearis
• Alex Nel · dated family photograph collection
• ROOIWILD
• GBIF accepted genus record: Aspalathus — family Fabaceae

Family: Asphodelaceae · Genus: Aloidendron

Kokerboom

Rocky arid country · wider region

A wider-region species, rather than a claim about plateau farmland or a tree identified on Cloudskraal.

June–July flowering in the species account.

Typical regional flowering window. Month-level or seasonal approximation; rainfall, temperature and locality can change bloom timing. No exact day boundaries inferred.

• SANBI · Aloidendron dichotomum
• GBIF accepted genus record: Aloidendron — family Asphodelaceae

Family: Poaceae · Genus: Phragmites

Fluitjiesriet

Wet ground, river margins and reedbeds

A tall reed grass with feathery flower heads. Compare it with bulrushes and sedges; the reed species in the farm's wet places still needs to be identified.

Typical regional flowering window. Month-level or seasonal approximation; rainfall, temperature and locality can change bloom timing. No exact day boundaries inferred.

• SANBI · Phragmites australis
• Water Research Commission · WET-Health
• GBIF accepted genus record: Phragmites — family Poaceae

Family: Typhaceae · Genus: Typha

Papkuil · Matjiesriet

Freshwater margins and muddy wet ground

The dense brown cylindrical flower head differs from a reed's feathery plume. This is a comparison species, not a recorded farm identification.

Typical regional flowering window. Month-level or seasonal approximation; rainfall, temperature and locality can change bloom timing. No exact day boundaries inferred.

• SANBI · Typha capensis
• GBIF accepted genus record: Typha — family Typhaceae

Family: Otididae · Genus: Neotis

Ludwigse pou

Hantam regional bird list

A regional bird to recognise in open country, rather than a farm checklist record.

Ludwig’s Bustard is a large ground bird of open plains and low shrubland. It eats a mixture of small animals and plant material, and males display from open vantage points during courtship. Its brown head and fore-neck, orange hind-neck and white nape help distinguish it from Denham’s Bustard. Birds can travel widely between feeding areas; movements and the need for open habitat make a single regional record a poor predictor of where one will appear next.

Field clue: On open plains, look for the brown head and fore-neck, orange hind-neck and white nape; Denham’s Bustard has a contrasting black crown and white eyebrow.

Some birds use winter-rainfall Succulent Karoo and western Nama Karoo during these months. Partial migration and nomadism mean this is neither an exclusive window nor a farm prediction.

• SANBI · Hantam wildlife and biodiversity
• CapeNature: Knersvlakte Nature Reserve PAMP 2020–2030, taxa pp. 27–33
• iNaturalist: research-grade regional observation 33416731 (community identification)
• BirdLife South Africa: 2025 Red Data Book, Ludwig’s Bustard
• GBIF Backbone Taxonomy — Neotis ludwigii

Family: Nemestrinidae · Genus: Prosoeca

Flower-pollinator habitats · Nieuwoudtville–Hantamsberg

A 2021 study examined this fly feeding from Babiana vanzijliae. The 2025 revision extends the known range towards Hantamsberg; the identity should not be assigned to every flower-visiting fly.

This long-proboscid fly is a specialised member of the Nieuwoudtville flower fauna. Its exceptionally long feeding tube reaches nectar in long-tubed flowers, and documented visits include Lapeirousia, Babiana and Nemesia species. The 2025 taxonomic revision recognises a narrow range around Nieuwoudtville extending toward the Hantamsberg near Calvinia. Its grey to dark body and smoky wings help describe it, but distinguishing related flies requires more than simply seeing a very long proboscis.

Field clue: A long proboscis, grey to dark body and smoky wings are useful clues; photograph the whole fly and flower because other Prosoeca can look similar.

The revision reports adults from early August to early November, slightly later on Hantamsberg. Rounded to calendar months; not every day or an annual guarantee. Other life stages are not covered.

• Karolyi and colleagues · Nectar uptake in Prosoeca
• Theron, Ellis and Midgley · Prosoeca revision, 2025
• Barraclough (2018): Prosoeca marinusi, described from Hantam NBG
• iNaturalist: research-grade regional observation 11007431 (community identification)
• Theron, Ellis & Midgley (2025): ZooKeys 1257, Prosoeca marinusi treatment
• GBIF Backbone Taxonomy — Prosoeca marinusi
• Theron, Ellis & Midgley (2025), ZooKeys 1257: Prosoeca marinusi Biology, p. 264

Family: Marsileaceae · Genus: Pilularia

Seasonal-pan edges · Bokkeveld sandstone fynbos

An unusual wetland fern. SANBI's 2013 assessment refers to a 2001 collection; this is a historical regional record and present occurrence needs checking.

Wet-season habitat; a fern has no flowering season.

A fern does not have a flowering season.

• SANBI · Pilularia bokkeveldensis assessment
• GBIF accepted genus record: Pilularia — family Marsileaceae

Family: Marsileaceae · Genus: Marsilea

Seasonal pans · Nieuwoudtville and Hantamsberg vouchers

A water fern represented by historical herbarium specimens. The records are useful context for seasonal pools, not a current farm identification.

A fern does not have a flowering season.

• SANBI herbarium · Marsilea burchellii voucher
• Kew Plants of the World Online: Marsilea — accepted genus classification

Family: Hypoxidaceae · Genus: Pauridia

Seasonal pools and vlei edges · broad Cape range

A winter-growing geophyte, called Spiloxene aquatica in older sources. Included as a wetland comparison; a Cloudskraal occurrence is unverified.

May–November across the species account's wider range.

Typical regional flowering window. Month-level or seasonal approximation; rainfall, temperature and locality can change bloom timing. No exact day boundaries inferred.

• SANBI · Pauridia aquatica
• GBIF accepted genus record: Pauridia — family Hypoxidaceae

Family: Aizoaceae · Genus: Conophytum

Knopies

Quartz patches · lower Knersvlakte

A dwarf succulent of the lower plain's quartz habitats. The unidentified plants in our quartz photograph are not assigned this name.

Autumn, with night-opening flowers in the species account.

Typical regional flowering window. Month-level or seasonal approximation; rainfall, temperature and locality can change bloom timing. No exact day boundaries inferred.

• SANBI · Conophytum calculus subsp. calculus
• GBIF accepted genus record: Conophytum — family Aizoaceae

Family: Iridaceae · Genus: Lapeirousia

Dolerite clay; also stony tillite · Nieuwoudtville–Calvinia district

Regional guide candidate; occurrence on Cloudskraal has not been confirmed.

Typical regional flowering window. Month-level or seasonal approximation; rainfall, temperature and locality can change bloom timing. No exact day boundaries inferred.

• LAP
• Kew Plants of the World Online: Lapeirousia — accepted genus classification

Family: Iridaceae · Genus: Gladiolus

Dolerite renosterveld · Nieuwoudtville dolerite veld

Regional guide candidate; occurrence on Cloudskraal has not been confirmed.

Typical regional flowering window. Month-level or seasonal approximation; rainfall, temperature and locality can change bloom timing. No exact day boundaries inferred.

• DOL
• SEAS
• GBIF accepted genus record: Gladiolus — family Iridaceae

Family: Scrophulariaceae · Genus: Diascia

Sandy loam to clay loam; renosterveld margins · Grasberg and Hantam

Regional guide candidate; occurrence on Cloudskraal has not been confirmed.

Typical regional flowering window. Month-level or seasonal approximation; rainfall, temperature and locality can change bloom timing. No exact day boundaries inferred.

• PZA-DIAS
• GBIF accepted genus record: Diascia — family Scrophulariaceae

Family: Asteraceae · Genus: Arctotis

Flats and lower slopes; varied soils · Nieuwoudtville–Calvinia and wider Cape

Regional guide candidate; occurrence on Cloudskraal has not been confirmed.

Typical regional flowering window. Month-level or seasonal approximation; rainfall, temperature and locality can change bloom timing. No exact day boundaries inferred.

• PZA-ARCT
• GBIF accepted genus record: Arctotis — family Asteraceae

Family: Asteraceae · Genus: Cotula

Regional spring-flower display; soil unspecified · Hantam

Regional guide candidate; occurrence on Cloudskraal has not been confirmed.

Typical regional flowering window. Month-level or seasonal approximation; rainfall, temperature and locality can change bloom timing. No exact day boundaries inferred.

• SEAS
• GBIF accepted genus record: Cotula — family Asteraceae

Family: Scrophulariaceae · Genus: Nemesia

Regional spring-flower display; soil unspecified · Hantam

Regional guide candidate; occurrence on Cloudskraal has not been confirmed.

Typical regional flowering window. Month-level or seasonal approximation; rainfall, temperature and locality can change bloom timing. No exact day boundaries inferred.

• SEAS
• GBIF accepted genus record: Nemesia — family Scrophulariaceae

Family: Asteraceae · Genus: Senecio

Regional spring-flower display; soil unspecified · Hantam

Regional guide candidate; occurrence on Cloudskraal has not been confirmed.

Typical regional flowering window. Month-level or seasonal approximation; rainfall, temperature and locality can change bloom timing. No exact day boundaries inferred.

• SEAS
• GBIF accepted genus record: Senecio — family Asteraceae