Verona Govender (left) and Saness Moodley looking at an Aslepias velutina plant
In the Mountainlands blog post “About Pollinators and Plants” posted on 8 March 2023 https://www.mountainlands.co.za/about-pollinators-and-plants/ we wrote about the fascinating research that two postgraduate students from Wits University are doing on the reserve. Verona Govender and Saness Moodley have returned this week to continue with their investigations. Two winter flowering endemic plants are their focus.
Verona is investigating the pollination biology of Aloe chortolirioides var. chortolirioides (classified as Near Threatened). This species may occur in different colours and she plans to establish if the colour influences the primary pollinators and their effectiveness. 
Colour variation in Aloe chortolirioides var. chortolirioides
Saness’s research includes the breeding systems and pollinators of the subfamily Asclepiadoideae. The winter flowering, ecological specialist Asclepias velutina (classified as Vulnerable) is her focus for this week’s field work.
A close up of Asclepias velutina flowers
Their studies are ground breaking and will improve the understanding of many facets about these plants.
