Impressive and highly informative publication a must for keen gardeners. (Review by Caroline Smart)The first edition of What Flower Is That? was printed in 1984 (in English and Afrikaans). My copy was given to me by my parents in 1986 and, while comparing the two publications, I discovered a price on one of the pages – R34.95, about 12% of the price of the revised version which gives some idea of how costs have escalated!
Published by Struik Lifestyle, this is now the fifth edition of what has been a hugely popular publication – the fourth edition in 2000 had to go into reprint three times to cope with public demand.
The multi-talented Kristo Pienaar is acknowledged as having made a major contribution to popularising gardening in South Africa. A university lecturer, he acted in several movies and TV series and hosted Veld Focus. He was also a magazine columnist and one-time mayor of Bellville in the Cape. He became one of South Africa’s leading gardening celebrities in the 70s and 80s but died in 1996 after a long battle with cancer.
The South African What Flower is That? became the bible for Southern African gardeners. Updated and redesigned, it still stays true to Pienaar’s original creation with input from Prof Gideon F Smith, Chief Director of Research at the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) who is an acknowledged expert on succulent plants.
The publication includes the Foreword from the initial publication from Professor J N Eloff of Kirstenbosch in which he raises the point that South African gardeners are realising that indigenous plants are better adapted to our extremes of climate and soil conditions than plants introduced from other countries.
The new publication’s Foreword notes how many “imported plants have become disastrously naturalised so as to become invasive” and adds that this book will be “useful and welcome in many other countries – notably those in the Mediterranean and parts of America.” Considering that these comments come from Prof Davie J Mabberley, Keeper of the Herbarium, Library, Art and Archives at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in the UK – the book couldn’t have a better endorsement!
The first edition notes 22,000 “indigenous flowering plants” in South Africa. The new version tells us that 31,900 indigenous and naturalised flowering plants (including ferns and mosses) have been recorded from Southern Africa alone.
What Flower Is That? has illustrations of 1,500 species and covers everything from annuals, biennials and perennials to shrubs, trees, climbers and creepers. Palms, indoor plants, cacti and succulents are included as are aquatic plants, gymno-sperms (naked seed plants) and ferns. The book provides answers to many problems that beset the average gardeners.
At first, the guide on how to read the entries looks fairly daunting but persevere and you will discover that plants are catalogued in the name of the species. Running along the bottom of each page are the meanings to the various symbols, which is a great help. These refer to how much sun/shade/water the plants needs, whether it can withstand frost/wind and whether it is indigenous or invasive. If you don’t know the botanical name, there’s an index of the common name.
I have to admit to getting lost in the process. Eventually, I found my Rangoon creeper which is currently in glorious bloom. However, I am still looking for Stokesia (cornflower aster), jatropha and stephanotis/stefanotis! If you can’t find what you’re looking for in the text, sit back, relax and browse through the photographs until you find what you’re looking for. Or if you don’t have the time, head for Wikipedia!
The Southern African: What Flower is That? is an impressive and highly informative publication by Struik Lifestyle. It would make a valued gift for keen gardeners - particularly for those starting their own gardens. Recommended retail price R295. ISBN:9781770075269 – Caroline Smart
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