INTRODUCTION TO THE WILD FLOWERS OF BARBERTON: Until the discovery of gold in the 1870’s the outside world knew much more about the flora of the Cape Province than that of the region north of the Orange River. Many of the prospectors were themselves interested in the wonderful flowers of the Barberton area, but it was only when settlements created opportunities for more stable populations, that the collection of plants in this area became noteworthy. Two of the most important collectors were George Thorncroft, a shopkeeper and Ernest Galpin, a bank official. The town Barberton is named after the two Barber brothers, Fred and Harry, whose mother, Mary Elizabeth Barber was a keen amateur naturalist who collected plants and insects and painted them. Although she was an amateur, she corresponded with the great Charles Darwin and some of her articles were published in London. Harry Bolus, a stockbroker and amateur botanist from Cape Town, was the first important collector in this region. His name is immortalized in the botanical name of the Tree Wisteria, Bolusanthus Speciosus, which has pretty mauve, wisteria-like flowers. He described a number of other species from the then eastern Transvaal. George Thorncroft arrived in Barberton in 1887 to establish himself as shopkeeper and hotel manager at Moodies. He spent every spare moment in the veld and mountains, collecting plant specimens, many of which bear his name. He died in Barberton in 1934, having collected over 4000 specimens and written numerous articles in botanical and horticultural journals. THREE VERY RARE PROTEAS OF BARBERTON: The mineral rich hills which cradle Barberton have a wonderful variety of plants, some of them endemic or very rare and localized. Proteas are quite common on the steep slopes, being represented by about five species but three of them are extremely localized. The largest of these is PROTEA COMPTONII, named in honour of the late Prof. R. H. Compton, once Director of the National Botanic Gardens of SA. and author of “Flora of Swaziland”. It is a large, striking bush up to about 5 m high with dark, rugged bark, large, leathery, grey-green leaves and large inflorescence. These exquisite heads have cream, spoon-shaped bracts surrounding the mass of snow-white flowers in the centre. These beautiful blooms may be seen from late May to August. They are also found on a few hills in adjacent Swaziland. Endemic to a few serpentine hills just north of Barberton is the delightful PROTEA CURVATA. (Barberton Protea). It grows 2 - 4 m high with dark bark and narrow, grey green leaves which are sometimes sickle-shaped hence the name curvata, meaning curved. Dark red bracts form a frame around the thick mass of velvety, rose pink flowers. In the bud stage the tips of the flowers twist into a neat spiral. These heads can be seen from mid-winter to spring. These few hills that constitute the habitat of this localized protea are intriguing they boast numerous other, very interesting plants and one gets the feeling, judging by the diversity of rocks underfoot, that they house untold wealth, above as well as below the ground! Rarest of the proteas of this region is PROTEA ROUPELLIAE subsp. hamiltonii. It is a dwarf, prostrate species, only about 30-cm high, with scrambling branches up to 50 cm long. Like the typical subspecies it has long, slender, spoon-shaped bracts surrounding the blooms. Its distribution is restricted to a few square km in the vicinity of Nelshoogte pass, west of Barberton. This plant grows in a very fragile habitat, in leached out soil and is surrounded by the pine plantations that threaten far more than this dwarf protea. Some horticulturists have succeeded in growing it from seed and, judging from an article in Veld and Flora, it seems to be thriving at Kirstenbosch. There are three other species of protea in the Barberton region viz. PROTEA GAGUEDII, PROTEA CAFFRA and PROTEA ROUPELLIAE subsp. roupelliae, but they are far more common than the three proteas discussed above. PROTEA ROUPELLIAE subsp. roupelliae (Silver Protea, Silver Sugarbush): This tree is a well-known feature of grassy slopes and rocky outcrops along the escarpment, and is about 4 m high. The inflorescence is about 90 mm wide, with pink-and-white or cream-and-brown flowers and is characterized by the long spoon shaped bracts which vary from cream to pink to red. The flowering period is from April to June and it has been recorded from the central and southern mountains. BAUHINIA GALPINII Pride-of-de Kaap: This vigorous, well known Lowveld plant, with its glorious, vivid flowers, is successfully grown in gardens, but in the Lowveld it has to be kept under control lest it swamp everything in its sight? The blue-green, 2 lobed leaves, notched at the apex, are about 60 mm in diameter. The flowers are deep salmon to orange, with 5 crinkled, paddle shaped petals up to 40 mm long, and appear from November to March. The hard woody pods contain a few flat seeds. Found at low to medium altitudes, it is common in wooded places and riverine thickets. BOLUSANTHUS SPECIOSUS Tree Wisteria: This attractive tree, with its wisteria like flowers, is an outstanding garden tree and there is an impressive avenue at the entrance to the Botanical Research Institute in Pretoria SA. It grows up to 6 m high, with a relatively narrow crown and graceful, drooping foliage. The pendant inflorescence is a loose spray of beautiful mauve to purple flowers, which open during August and September. The flowering period of individual trees is brief but spectacular. Widely distributed over the whole Lowveld, in dry, open woodland.