CAPE FLORAL KINGDOM
Within the borders of South Africa, almost solely in the Western Cape province, lies one of the 6 floral kingdoms of the world, the Cape Floral Kingdom. It has over 9000 different plant species, of which 69% can only be found here, creating the highest concentration of plant species in the world. It boasts some 1300 plant species per 1 million ha, while the South American rainforest has some 400 species per 1 million ha. In order to protect this natural wealth, this kingdom contains 13 areas which are protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
FLORAL KINGDOMS
Floral kingdoms are geographical areas with a relatively uniform composition of endemic plant species. In 1947, botanist Ronald Good divided the world into 6 different floral kingdoms. The boundaries between these kingdoms are usually not sharp, but rather a transitional area with overlap of species from both kingdoms.
BOREAL
North America, Europe, Northern-Central, Asia and North Africa
NEOTROPICAL
Caribbean Islands, Central America and
South America (excluding Patagonia)
PALEOTROPICAL
Tropical areas of Africa, Asia and Oceania (excluding Australia and New Zealand)
AUSTRALIAN
Australia (including Tasmania)
ANTARCTIC
South of the 40°S latitude like Antarctica, Patagonia and most of New Zealand
SOUTH AFRICAN
South Africa (mostly the Western Cape province)
CAPE FLORAL KINGDOM
The entire Cape Floral Kingdom contains 4 different biomes – a geographical area with specific climate, vegetation and animal life – but the Fynbos biome is by far the largest in size (80%) and most species rich in the kingdom. Besides plant species from the Fynbos biome, you can also find species from the Succulent Karoo, Albany Thicket and Forest biome in this Kingdom.
8.600.000 ha
land size
9.000+
species
69%
endemic
7%
land of South Africa
33%
species of South Africa
0.3%
land of Africa
20%
species of Africa
0.06%
land of the world
3%
species of the world
1.700+
threatened species
3.000+
concerned species
FOREST BIOME
This is the smallest of the biomes in South Africa, covering less than 1% of its land mass. Forest are characterized by a closed canopy and a rich underlayer of plants. In the south-western part of the kingdom, they are usually small patches that can be found in gorges and ravines. When you travel to the east, through the Garden Route, you will find larger areas of indigenous forest, including the largest; the Tsitsikamma forest. The forest richness and diversity also increases when travelling from south-west to east.
Although South Africa has a couple of different types of forest within the forest biome, in the Cape Floral Kingdom you will only find the Southern Afrotemperate Forest and the Southern Coastal Forest. Both these types are found from the Cape Peninsula in the west to the borders of the Eastern Cape province in the east. These forest types are dominated by Outeniqua Yellowwood (Afrocarpus falcatus), Real Yellowwood (Podocarpus latifolius), White Milkwood (Sideroxylon inerme), Coast Silver-Oak (Brachylaena discolor) and Mountain Guarri (Euclea natalensis).
The area around Knysna and Tsitsikamma is considered the main center of diversity for these types of forest.
THICKET BIOME
Most of the Thicket biome can be found along the coastline of Kwazulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. Within the Cape Floral Kingdom, these patches are located in the area around Oudtshoorn and the Baviaanskloof. This biome makes up some 3% of South Africa.
Thickets are dense groups of bushes and small trees. They are easily recognized as largely impenetrable shrubs, where many of the species have spines and are some 3m tall. Most species here produce berries, attracting fruit-eating birds such as Mousebirds, who disperse their seeds.
The Elephant Bush (Portulacaria afra) – also known as Spekboom - is the dominant species within the biome. It can grow up to 6m tall and 200 years old. Other prominent species are Cape Honeysuckle (Tecomaria capensis), Jade Plant (Crassula ovata), Gwarrie (Euclea undulata) and many species of the genus Euphorbia.
SUCCULENT KAROO BIOME
The Succulent Karoo biome is, after the Fynbos biome, the second most diverse biome in South Africa. Over 6000 plant species make up this biome and 40% of them are endemic. It also has the richest succulent flora in the world. About one-third of all succulent plant in the world can be found here. When it comes to the Cape Floral Kingdom, the Succulent Karoo biome plays just a small part, mainly found in the Little Karoo region.
Many of the succulent plants in this kingdom have found ingenious ways of adapting to the arid conditions of the region, where summers are dry and hot, and winters are cold with below average rainfall. The succulent plants have fleshy leaves or stems, with a waxy coating to reduce transpiration, in which they can store water. Stone plants (Aizoaceae) have developed a translucent layer in their upper leaf to get enough sunlight in, but also protect them from harmful UV-rays. Other plants have spiral-shaped leaves in order to protect them from the wind and retain moisture.
The vegetation in this biome is dominated by the plant families of Aizoaceae (Stone Plants), Crassulaceae (Stonecrop Family), Asteraceae (Sunflowers, Daisies, Asters, and allies) and Euphorbiaceae (Spurge Family).
These plants are called vygies in South Africa, meaning small fig, referring to the fruiting capsule that resembles the true fig. Worldwide, there are some 1800 different species in this family, of which 96% are endemic to the Succulent Karoo (the entire biome covers parts of South Africa and Namibia).
FYNBOS BIOME
The Fynbos biome is the largest within the Cape Floral Kingdom, covering some 80% of the area, and has by far the greatest diversity of plant species. Around 8000 plant species are found in this biome. The Fynbos biome is characterized by low-growing shrubs, heathlands and proteas, creating a beautiful carpet of colors and textures.
It can be divided into three vegetation groups; Fynbos, Renosterveld and Strandveld. Of these three, the Fynbos and Renosterveld are by far the largest. The Fynbos is usually found on the nutrient-poor mountains, whereas the Renosterveld is more at home on the fertile clay and silt soils of the lowlands. Strandveld is found closer to the seashore, but never in areas under direct influence of sea spray.
Fire is an important part in the life-cycle of the Fynbos and Renosterveld. Many of the plants germinate only after the intense heat of the fire, ideally in an interval of 10-15 years. If fires present themselves in the wrong season, or come too often, they can eliminate species. Besides fire, pollination is still very much a part of reproduction.
FYNBOS
The Fynbos vegetation group is an evergreen shrubland that is characterized by the presence of more than 5% restios, a high coverage of ericoid shrubs and the common occurrence of proteas. In simple speak, members of the families of Restionaceae, Ericaceae and Proteaceae have to be present. Perhaps the most famous plant in the Fynbos biome is the national flower of South Africa; the King Protea (Protea cynaroides).
Almost all of the species of this family, in the Cape Floral Kingdom, can be found in the genus Erica. This genus has over 850 species worldwide, with almost 700 of them in the CFK. When these plants are not in bloom, it can be quite difficult to tell the species apart, but in bloom - as you can see below - they are very diverse and beautifully colored.
RENOSTERVELD
This vegetation group is dominated by evergreen shrubs from the family Asteraceae, in particular the species Renosterbush (Dicerothamnus rhinocerotis). Besides these shrubs, there usually is an understorey of grasses and a high diversity of geophytes. Many families and genera of plants are shared between the Fynbos and Renosterveld – apart from geophytes - but very few species are shared between these two.
STRANDVELD
Strandveld vegetation are medium dense to closed shrublands. It shares vegetational features with the Fynbos, Renosterveld and even Succulent Karoo biome. Restios are a common element here and when the annuals bloom, many plants from the Asteraceae and Aizoaceae families show off their beautiful colors. Strandveld vegetation tends to be smaller in size closer to the sea shore, but can grow larger in sheltered places. Unlike Fynbos and Renosterveld, fire plays a smaller role in the Strandveld vegetation.
WORLD HERITAGE SITE
In 2004, the Cape Floral Region Protected Areas were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Meaning that this is an area of outstanding universal value to humanity and that it should be protected for future generations.
At that time, they comprised of 8 protected areas, covering some 550.000 ha and were surrounded by 1.3 million ha of buffer zones. In 2015, this World Heritage Site extended to 13 protected areas, with its size now doubling to almost 1.1 million ha and a buffer zone of 800.000 ha. Parts of the previous buffer zones were now included into the protected areas. These buffer zones are not part of the World Heritage Site, but are adjacent to them and contribute in the protection and conservation of the actual World Heritage Site.
The 13 protected areas are mostly made up of nature reserves, national parks and wilderness areas. Whereas the buffer zones are usually privately owned land, mountain catchment areas or other sorts of protected areas. Not all of these areas are open to the public and in some cases the visitor numbers are limited in order to protect fragile areas.