The Swartberg has a

diversity of vegetation from

Renosterveld to mountain
fynbos and spekboomveld
The Cederberg is named after the
endangered Clanwilliam Cedar
(Widdringtonia cedarbergensis),
which is a tree endemic to the area
There are more than
1 400 bulb fynbos
species, of which 96 are
Gladiolus, a genus of
perennial bulbous
owering plants in the
iris family
Diosma echinulata
are endemic to the
stretch of coastline
between De Hoop and
Albertinia to the east in
the south coast
ecoregion
This vegetation type is dominated
by a species of grey-coloured plant
called the Renosterbos. However, the
Proteas, Ericas and
Restios, typical of
Fynbos habitats,
tend to occur in very
low abundance in
Renosterveld
The king protea (Protea cynaroides) is the
national ower of SA. It is found in southern
fynbos regions and adapted to survive wildres
by its thick underground stem
The Knysna Lourie
found in Baviaanskloof
has been classied as a
species of its own
The Bokkeveld
mudstones, formed
about 400 million
years ago, are known
for fossils
Sources: whc.unesco.org, botany.uwc.ac.za, CapeNature, Wikipedia JACO GROBBELAAR, Graphics24
100km
PRIMARY BROAD HABITAT
UNITS OF THE WESTERN CAPE
Afromontane forest
Coast Renosterveld
Fynbos Renosterveld Mosaic
Inland Renosterveld
Grassy fynbos
Sand plain fynbos
Limestone fynbos
Mountain fynbos complex
Botanic diversity
Dune pioneer
Broken veld
Strandveld
Vygieveld
Fynbos thicket mosaic
Mesic succulent thicket
Xeric succulent thicket
8
7
6
5
4
3
1
2
The Cape Floristic Region is located mostly in the Western Cape. The region
is one of the richest areas for plants in the world. It represents less than
0.5% of the area of Africa, but is home to nearly 20% of the continents ora
SAs Western Cape is more
botanically diverse than the
richest tropical rainforest in
South America, including the
Amazon. A serial site made up
of eight protected areas,
covering 553 000ha, the Cape
Floristic Region is one of the
richest areas for plants in the
world.
The region is one of two hot
spots (the other being New
Caledonia) that encompass an
entire oral kingdom and holds
ve of SAs 12 endemic plant
families.
Characteristics of global
scientic interest are: responses
of the plants to re; seed
dispersal by ants and termites;
the high level (83%) of plant
pollination by insects, mainly
beetles and ies; and its
linkages to Gondwanaland
allowing reconstruction of the
oras ancient connections
Most of the region is covered
with fynbos, a sclerophyllous
shrubland occurring on acid
sands, or nutrient-poor soils
derived from Table Mountain
sandstone. Fynbos is home to an
amazing diversity of species,
including members of the Protea
family (Proteaceae), Heath
family (Ericaceae) and Reed
family of restios (Restionaceae).
Other vegetation types are
sandveld, a soft coastal
scrubland found mostly on the
west-facing coast, on tertiary
sands. Renosterveld is a grassy
shrubland dominated by
members of the daisy family
(Asteraceae), graminoids and
geophytes, occurring on the
base-rich shaley soils of the
coastal forelands
The World Wildlife Fund divides the
Cape Floristic Region into three
ecoregions: the Lowland fynbos and
renosterveld; Montane fynbos and
renosterveld; and the Albany thickets.
It is thought that the Cape Floristic
Region is experiencing one of the
most rapid rates of extinction in the
world due to habitat loss, land
degradation and invasive alien plants,
particularly wattle and acacia trees
from Australia
A biodiversity hot spot is a biogeographic region with a signicant
reservoir of biodiversity. Around the world, 25 areas qualify under
this denition, with nine other possible candidates. SA is one of the
most diverse countries with three biodiversity hot spots:
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Location and description
Flora
Ecology
The Cape Floristic Region is one of eight
World Heritage Sites in SA
In 2004, the Cape Floristic Region
Protected Areas were inscribed as a
World Heritage Site. The site includes
eight representative protected areas:
Table Mountain National Park
Cederberg Wilderness Area
Groot Winterhoek Wilderness Area
Boland Mountain Complex
(Limietberg Nature Reserve,
Jonkershoek Nature Reserve,
Assegaaibosch Nature Reserve,
Hottentots Holland Nature Reserve,
Kogelberg Nature Reserve)
De Hoop Nature Reserve
Boosmansbos Wilderness Area
Swartberg Complex
(Swartberg Nature Reserve,
Gamkapoort Nature Reserve,
Towerkop Nature Reserve)
Baviaanskloof Mega Reserve
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8 174 000ha
17 254ha
64 000ha
26 000ha
113 000ha
32 000ha
15 000ha
112 000ha
The Succulent Karoo
desert ecoregion notable
for the worlds richest
ora of succulent plants
and harbours about
one-third of the worlds
approximately 10 000
succulent species
The Maputaland-
Pondoland-Albany
Biodiversity Hot Spot
unites four diverse centres
of endemism culminating
in six of SAs eight biomes
along the east coast of
southern Africa
World Heritage Site
Biodiversity hot spot
USEFUL LINKS:
botanicalsociety.org.za
capenature.co.za
ecoscape.org.za
environment.gov.za
fynboshub.co.za
proteaatlas.org.za
sanbi.org
tablemountain.net
thewesterncape.co.za