February is the month of love, it’s also the time when Red Disas bloom in the Western Cape.
Come February, disa lovers make their annual pilgrimage up Table Mountain to see this wild orchid, sometimes referred to as the ‘Flower of the Gods’.
The Red Disa, Disa uniflora, blooms between December and March along stream beds, around waterfalls and on moist cliff faces on the sandstone mountains of the Western Cape, creating enchanting floral alcoves.
The large terrestrial orchid is a protected species to be left undisturbed on the mountain slopes in its wild glory. Nature has its wonderful ways, where every living being has a purpose. And so it is, with the Red Disa. Like many orchids, the shape of the flower is specific to its pollinator. The ‘Table Mountain Beauty’ or ‘Mountain Pride’ butterfly (Aeropetes tulbaghia), which is attracted to red flowers, is its single known pollinator.
Other disas seen on the mountain slopes over this period include the Drip Disa or ‘Bloumoederkappie’ (Disa longicornis), Cluster Disa (Disa ferruginea) and Blue Disa (Disa graminifolia).
Their beauty adds to the splendour of our natural world, always worth celebrating.
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