Know, grow, protect and enjoy South Africa's indigenous plants

Creating stepping stones for sunbirds

Have you ever watched the birds in your garden and wondered what they eat and how far they have flown to get there? In cities, where habitat is being lost, many birds that rely on pollen are having to travel further in order to find food. This journey not only puts them at risk, but also the plants that they pollinate. An organisation working in the Cape Flats is looking to address this threat, by creating stepping stones for birds. CEINWEN SMITH and JOEL SIMONS explain.

Safeguarding Our Flora: The Role of the Great Southern Bioblitz in the Summer Rainfall Region

Safeguarding Our Flora: The Role of the Great Southern Bioblitz in the Summer Rainfall Region In the heart of South Africa's Summer Rainfall Region, a concerted effort is underway to protect and document the region's rich plant diversity. The Great Southern Bioblitz (GSB) 2024 is at the forefront of this mission, bringing together conservationists, volunteers, and local communities in a collective endeavour to safeguard our botanical treasures. The Botanical Society of South Africa's theme, "Protect," resonates deeply with the need to conserve our indigenous plant species, many of which face extinction threats.

The Giving Garden – Rethinking the food-medicine continuum in the urban sprawl

The Giving Garden - Rethinking the food-medicine continuum in the urban sprawl

The puzzle of the pepperbark tree

Is the pepperbark doomed to die out in the Kruger National Park?

Steward of nature

For Refilwe Malatji at Pretoria National Botanical Garden, conservation of nature meets the art of horticulture to show the garden at its best

20 reasons to celebrate CREW’s 20th

Built on the idea that we need to know where plants are to be able to protect them, CREW began a remarkable journey in conservation 20 years ago

Rejoicing at rescue and regeneration

Decades of struggle to rescue and restore a precious conservation area at Cape Town’s Princess Vlei

Many lichens are still mysteries to science

‘Nearly half of all SA lichens are still mysteries to science – we’ve been taking on the challenge and already found two new genera!’

Webinar: Desirable plants and how to protect them

Actions to improve the response to poaching of our desirable plants – succulents and cycads.

Haasendal Restoration

A recent restoration effort – a partnership between the Botanical Society national team and the Kirstenbosch branch, with FynbosLIFE and other incredible partners

Halting the illegal succulent plant trade

Responding to the crisis: During 2021, South Africa’s government conservation agencies

Plant spotters to the rescue

Newer invasive species compound our existing problems – to the detriment of our country’s environment, human livelihoods and the economy.

Webinar: Plant Taxonomy

Thousands of new plant species are discovered every year around the world. Others are reclassified as technology advances, more material is available in herbariums due to the efforts of collectors and we learn more.

Webinar: Herbaria: What’s the blooming point?

There's nothing boring about herbaria. The truth is, they play an incredibly important role in solving many of our plant and ecological mysteries.

Growing the proud legacy of BotSoc

Value has different meaning among our community of plant-loving people. This year, we have experienced what energises people through what they value; be it the botanically-rich landscapes

Beating the boom

The fight to save a tiny succulent reveals that even our current conservation approach might not be enough to save SA’s threatened species

Celebrating our floral heritage at the Leeuwenhof Estate

From the Cape Flats to the slopes of Table Mountain, our floral heritage is bringing people from different walks of life together – centred around the historic Leeuwenhof Estate.

BotSoc in action: Protecting threatened patches in Gqeberha

The Algoa BotSoc branch – custodians of the valuable plants and animals populating these patches with their “Adopt-A-Plot” initiative.

Webinar: BotSoc in action

Isn’t that quite simply the power of our BotSoc community: members, young and ‘older’, helping to improve our natural world?

Mossel Bay’s guardian buchu – scarcer than rhinos

Mossel Bay has its own endemic buchu species, Diosma aristata. It is scarcer than rhinos. Despite this, this little buchu is punching well above its weight.

Give back for joy

Take a look at what BotSoc branches are doing to conserve the SA environment and protect our plants

Sinister succulents in South Africa

Do your bit to protect SA’s indigenous plants by helping spot this new wave of menacing succulents.

BotSoc Webinar: Environmental Impact Assessments

EIAs are powerful tools to help guide decision-making on projects BEFORE they happen, and even to shape projects to be more appropriate

The land of magic: The perfect destination for this plant get-together

Venda! Land of magic, mists and mystery. A perfect venue for meeting the plants and people of the Limpopo Province.

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The shining scarlet seeds of the forest mahogany i

Our BotSoc branches are as busy as ever this March

The attractive pink and white flowerheads of the S

Climate-smart gardening in autumn - our plant cons

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