Members of the Lowveld Botanical Society recently visited Mountainlands to learn more about the pea family. Most people know peas as a food source such as chick peas, green peas or soy beans. But plants from legume or pea family, scientifically named Fabaceae, is the third largest family of flowering plants in the world with more than 700 genera and about 20 000 species. They come in all shapes and sizes and include trees, shrubs, herbs and vines.
Lowveld Botanical Society members snapping photos of Kniphofia linearifolia (Common Marsh Poker)
About 40 genera are found on Mountainlands and this variety was the peas de resistance. Several pea species grow next to the tracks making it easy peasy to view from vehicles and accessible within a short walking distance. Some of the plants seen include Argyrolobium frutescens, Argyrolobium ascendens, Pearsonia cajanifolia subsp. cajanifolia, Crotalaria recta, Stylosanthes fruticosa and Grona barbata var. dimorphya.
