The Cape Floral Kingdom blooms - Ornico Fusion

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Sep 8, 2017 - The protea, South Africa's national flower,is part of the fynbos family,as is rooibos, a plant increasing
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AVE (ZAR)

25

Fri 08 Sep 2017

39718.74

The Cape Floral Kingdom blooms The smallest of the six floral kingdoms has the highest concentration of plant species and is home to nearly 20% of Africa's flora RUBINA PATEL

SPRING isin theair, andlittle else symbolises"rebirth" andthechangingofthe seasonsmoreacutelythan thesight and smellof flowers. Buddingbloomsandleaves, that are changing from brown to green, herald thearrival of the newseason. At this very moment,oneof the most beautiful corners of South Africa has begun to burst withlife and colourand touristshavebegunflocking toit asthey doeveryyear despitethedroughtwhich hasseverelyaffectedtheWesternCape. The Cape Floral Kingdom, or Cape Floristicregioncovers78 555km?in the Western Capeand partsofthe Eastern Cape. It was declar ed a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2004 and is byfar the smallest ofthe six recognised floral kingdoms. Astonishingly ,it representslessthan 0.5%of Africa but ishometo near! ofthe continent' sflora. Botanist Ronald Goodidentified the six floral kingdoms in 1947,which he determined to be thelargest natural units for floweringplants. Theyinclude the Boreal, Neotropical, Paleotropical,Australian and Antarctic regions.Despiteonly accounting for 0.04%of the world'stotal, the Cape Floral Kingdomhas the highestknown concentr ationof plant species in the world, rivalledonlybytheSouth Americanrain forests. Thesite includes eight representative protectedareas- Table Mountain National Park, Cederber gWinderness

al NATURAL ASS ETS: The Table Mountain National Park is one of eight representative

protected sites in the Cape Floral Kingdom.

ofthe mostthreatened. and has one of the most restricted Alien plant invasion, fire, afforesta- rangesof any amphibianin the world. tion and urban expansion remain a Unescobelievesinvasivealien speserious threat. Accor ding to Conser- ciesandfire are the greatest managevation South Africa, the highly trans- mentchallengesfacingthe proper tyat formed Cape Flats area outside Cape present. Town, has the highest concentr ation Longer-termthreats includeclimate ofRed Dataspecies in the world andis change and development pressures the leadingsite for metropolitanspe- caused by a growing population, parBURST OF COLOUR: The Cape Floral Region has been identified as one of the world's 35 biodiversity hot spots cies extinctions globally, with fifteen ticularlyin theCapePeninsulaandalong and is home to more than 9600 plant species. species per km? being in danger of somecoastal areas. Area, Groot Wilterhoek Wilderness been identifiedas oneof the world's35 tional popularity as a herbal tea. extinetion. These threats are well underst ood Area, BolandMountainComplex(includ- biodiversityhotspots,is hometo more The regionis undoubtedlyoneof the The rare geometric tortoise (Psam- and addressed in the planning and ing the Kogelberg Nature Reserve, than 9.600plant species,mostofwhich countr y'sgreatestnatural assets. mobatesgeometricus),which is one of managementofthe protected areas and Jonkershoek Nature Reserve, Asse- areendemic andwill be foundnowher e Thousands of tourists flock here the most threatened tortoises in the their bufferzones(madeupof privately gaaiboschNature Reser ve,Hottent ots elsein the world. annually , contributing significantly to world, hasalreadylost 97%of its habitat owned, declar edmountain catchment Holland Nature Reserve and LimietSouthAfrican fynbosfor example,is tourism growth andjob creation.Eeo- to agricultur alexpansion. areasandother protectedareas). bergNature Reser ve),De HoopNature onesuchspeciesthat canonlybe found tourism,alongwith harvestsof fynbos The hot spot is also home to many Invasivespecies are beingdealtwith Reserve, BosmansbosWildernessArea, on South African soil. products,isestimated to bein theregion rare, endanger edand unique frog spe- through manual control programmes Swar tberg Complex and the BaviaanThe protea, South Africa's national of R77m a year. cies, including the elusive Table Moun- that havebeen used as a referencefor skloofMegaReser ve. flower,is part of the fynbos family,as Despiteit beingtherichest andsmall- tain ghost frog (Heleophr yne rosei), other parts ofthe world. The Cape Floral Region, which has is rooibos, a plant increasing in interna- est ofthefloral kingdoms,it is alsoone which only occurson Table Mountain news&thenewage.co.za