Aristea capitata making the most of opportunities

This stand of Aristea capitata shows what the flowering blouvuurpyl (blue rocket) can do in fynbos when all goes well. The dense, evergreen clumps may push up eight tall flowering stems or more at a time. Hundreds of short-lived flowers keep the rockets blue for pollinators over several weeks.

These plants are soon to return after fire, enabled by their strong, underground rhizomes, unharmed by the flames. Apart from a fire probably some years ago, this flowering tells of sufficient moisture in the ground. Many insects are likely active here, starting early in the morning in the well established, recently undisturbed fynbos (Privett and Lutzeyer, 2010; Manning 2007; iNaturalist).