Aloiampelos juddii flowering red orange

Many erect, single raceme inflorescences have risen on purplish peduncles above the green foliage of this much-branched Aloiampelos juddii plant. The cylindrical perianths elongate as they begin to nod near their time of opening, first in the lowest parts of the racemes.

The fire that took the protea bush neighbour has done no visible damage to the succulent. Fire is a recurring and dramatic modifier of fynbos plant (and animal) life. When people cause too many fires, nature suffers. The normal, people free veld has its fires as well, mostly caused by lightning. Their frequency is then conducive to sustaining the biodiversity of this type of vegetation.

The bright red flowers of A. juddii are said to be relished by klipspringer that frequent the rocky slopes of the plant’s habitat (iNaturalist; Wikipedia; www.gansbaai.com).