Cape Floristic Region - a global hotspot

Located at the southern tip of Africa, the Cape Floristic Region (CFR) is by far the smallest of the world's six floral kingdoms. It has also been listed as one of 34 internationally recognised biodiversity hotspots. The CFR is one of the richest parts of the world in terms of floristic diversity and endemism: around 9000 plant species occur within an area of 87 892 km2 and around 70% of these are endemic, meaning that they are found nowhere else on Earth. This degree of endemism is among the highest in the world.  

What is Renosterveld?

Renosterveld is one of the most threatened habitats in the CFR, because so little remains. Despite this, less than 1% of Renosterveld habitat is currently formally protected. Along with Fynbos, Renosterveld is a dominant vegetation type in the CFR. While Fynbos grows on sandy nutrient-poor soils, Renosterveld tends to occur on more fertile and fine-grained shale, granite or silcrete derived soils where rainfall is a moderate 350 to 650 mm/year. At rainfall levels above about 800 mm/year soils are leached and Renosterveld vegetation becomes dominated by Fynbos elements. Generally, where the rainfall is less than 250 mm it is replaced by one of the Succulent Karoo vegetation types. Because it occurs on fertile soils, much of Renosterveld has been ploughed for agriculture.

Renosterveld is thought to be adapted to a fairly frequent fire regime however it seems that Renosterveld can generally persist for longer without fire than a similar area of Fynbos.  

Both vegetation types are characterised by very high species diversity. When differentiating between Renosterveld and Fynbos, it is usually easiest to refer to habitat (which considers geology and rainfall) rather than species composition. A rule of thumb, however, is that the typical Fynbos families Ericaceae and Proteaceae tend to be uncommon in Renosterveld.  

The Conservancy's flora is made up of Renosterveld which is characterized by the dominance of members of the Daisy Family (Asteraceae), specifically one species - Renosterbos Elytropappus rhinocerotis, from which the vegetation type gets its name. Although Renosterbos is the characteristic dominant, many other plants are also prominent - for instance in the Daisy Family (Asteraceae): Eriocephalus, Felicia, Helichrysum, Pteronia, Relhania; Pea Family (Fabaceae): Aspalathus; Gardenia Family (Rubiaceae): Anthospermum; Cocoa Family (Sterculiaceae): Hermannia; Thyme Family (Thymelaeaceae): Passerina. All these shrubs are characterized by their small, tough, grey leaves. Grasses are also abundant. In fact, it is alleged that the high shrub cover is a result of continuous grazing. Early records suggest that the Renosterveld had abundant grasses, and that the game and Khoi cattle migrated over the region. With the establishment of European stock farmers, continuous grazing and the elimination of the diverse grazing-browsing fauna, the shrubby element was promoted. This theory is not universally accepted, but proponents argue to the sudden decline of hay near Cape Town in the early 1700's, and the many historical records of early explorers claiming that Renosterbos was taking over and that grass was becoming scarce.

Another feature of Renosterveld is the high species richness of geophytic plants chiefly in the Iris family (Iridaceae) and Lily Family (Liliaceae), but also in the Orchid Family (Orchidaceae).

Proteas, Ericas and Restios - typical of Fynbos - tend to be absent in Renosterveld, or are present at very low abundances. There are few endemics to Renosterveld vegetation alone, many of the species occurring in Fynbos as well. However, species endemic to the Cape Floral Kingdom comprise about one-third of Renosterveld plant species.