Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens cultivate and display African indigenous plants from all over Southern Africa (mainly South Africa) with an emphasis on South Africa's fynbos families such as Proteaceae, Ericaceae and Restionaceae. Other families displayed are Asteraceae (such as Namaqualand daisies), Asphodelaceae (aloes), Geraniaceae (a wonderfully vast collection of species of Pelargonium).

Here is a quick by-family overview of some genera to look out for.

Proteaceae:

Leucospermum, Leucadendron, Protea

Look out for the beautiful silver tree Leucadendron argenteum, whose range is mainly restricted to Table Mountain. It is really really silver in colour.

Ericaceae:

Erica

Geraniaceae:

Pelargonium

Geranium

Sterculiaceae:

Sterculia

Hermannia

Moraceae:

Ficus

Asteraceae:

Ursinia

Dimorphotheca

Gazania

Berkheya

Felicia

Mesembryanthemaceae/Aizoaceae:

Lampranthus

Ruschia

Look out for the spring displays of succulent mesembryanthemums whose flowers are hugely bright red, orange, white or yellow. Lampranthus means bright flower.

Euphorbiaceae:

Euphorbia

Look out for the huge succulent greenhouse or the 'rocky areas' of the gardens - paths through rockeries - where displays of succulents such as the cactus-like euphorbias are found.

Lamiaceae:

Salvia

Plectranthus

Iridaceae, Orchidaceae, Hyacinthaceae and Amaryllidaceae:

These are bulbous irises, orchids...geophytes in general and there are beautiful displays in glass houses.

Dietes

Lachenalia

Amaryllis

Asphodelaceae:

Aloe

There are wonderful displays of many many families of plants. There are spring daisy blooms and mesembryanthemum blooms. There are glasshouses of ferns and bulbous geophytes (orchids, irises and Streptocarpus). There are extinction gardens showing rare or extinct-in-the-wild species such as Felicia tricolor and Erica verticillata. There are medicinal gardens and, out of the cultivated areas, walks through the wild fynbos of Table Mountain.

There are wonderful trees, representatives of many species of South Africa's huge tree-flora. Genera of trees found at Kirstenbosch include: Aloe, Acacia (Senegalia), Alsophila, Cussonia, Ficus, Croton, Euphorbia, Sterculia, Rhus, Crotalaria, Adansonia, Kigelia, Grewia, Podocarpus, Dombeya, Cassine, Canthium, Schotia, Encephalartos and Ilex.

Look for:

Sausage tree Kigelia africana

Quiver tree Aloe dichotoma

Baobab Adansonia digitata

Mopane Colophospermum mopane

Buchu Agathosma spp.

Cabbage tree Cussonia spp.

Namaqualand daisy Dimorphotheca spp.

Many rare and endangered species

Many plants are collections of species from the same genus - document how vast these per-genus collections can be

Erica Erica spp.

Pelargonium Pelargonium spp.

Cycad Encephalartos spp.

Drooping Agapanthus Agapanthus inapertus

Silver tree Leucadendron argenteum

Plectranthus

Otholobium

Hermannia

Lobostemon

Salvia

Bulbine

Crassula

Albuca

Ornithogalum

Streptocarpus

Lampranthus

Dissotis (rather like a tibouchina)

Nemesia

Lobelia

Olea (wild olive)

Maytenus

Freylinia (look out for both the beautiful common species and the highly endangered species)

Acmadenia

Agapanthus

Pavetta (delicate white flowers, small shade-growing tree)

Rothmannia (beautiful in full bloom - gardenia-like)

Hemizygia (wonderful, long pink blooms)

Orthosiphon

Leonotis

Hibiscus (yes, there are South African hibiscus)