The daisy family is the largest in the plant kingdom. We see them everywhere, in the veld, in our gardens and on the road side. Some, like the Baberton daisy likes stony terrain.
Most are small herbacious or shrubby annuals or perrenials which respond very quickly to rain. They germinate quickly, grow fast and flower quickly to complete their cycle in a short space of time.
This is the typical life style of pioneer plants, which always dominate disturbed areas. Daisies produce thousands of wind blown seeds, which fits very well into this lifestyle.
Fire is a big friend of pioneers, but also of bulbs and corms. These plants have to compete with grasses for sunlight. After a fire they take their chances, growing and flowering before the grass can catch up. This pink sage bush was found on burnt veld on the Sabie road. It belongs to the mint family, renowned for aromatic herbs like Origanum, Omicum (sweet basil), Mentha, Thymus and essential oils like Lavendula.
The tiny blue Commelina (there is a yellow one as well) is a pioneer which needs a very tiny space to grow!
Unlike the pioneer community of fire veld, the woodland community is more mature and more stable. The large leaved Albizia (Albizia versicolor) with its magnificent wide canopy grows where there has been little disturbance by fire in the past. It grows even bigger than the kiaat and this beautiful tree is becoming rare because of development and veld fires. This time of year it shows creamy- yellow powder brush flowers.
On the ground, in the shade of the woodland the ground orchid is inconspicious with simple, broad, grass-like leaves. It only becomes visible in spring when it shoots out long stems with yellow flowers. It also has relatives which only grow on branches up in trees.
