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| << January10, 2007 - Turtle Essays edition no 195 dated 9th January 2007 |
February05, 2007 - Turtle Essays edition no 197 dated 5th february 2007 >> |
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Turtle Essays Edition no 196 dated 22nd January 2007 ** Do you enjoy this ezine? Please tell your friends about it and send them to http://www.zinester.com/mpb/ml_fs.cgi?topic=50058 to become regular readers ** For tours in and around Cape Town please contact us at tourinfo@turtlesa.com ** In this edition Editor's Blurb Capensis: The Cape's Floral Kingdom ** Editor's Blurb Hi there folks. Welcome to all my new and regular readers. This week we are visiting the Cape's Floral Kingdom which is the smallest of all the floral kingdoms in the world yet has more species of plants than many of the bigger kingdoms. As there are so many different varieties of proteas in the protea family I have set up a special webpage with more photos and explanations about the various wildflower kingdoms. You can find it by clicking : Floral Kingdoms Geoff Fairman ** Capensis: The Cape's Floral Kingdom The Cape Floral Kingdom occurs in a strip of land which extends inland from the coast for about 200 kilometres and forms an arc which runs from Van Rhynsdorp in the west to Port Elizabeth and Grahamstown in the east. The climate in this area is Mediterranean meaning that the area experiences hot summers and wet winters. Many of the plants that grow in the Cape Floral kingdom have adapted themselves to be able to survive fires. The Cape Floral Kingdom is made up of four major vegetation types and they are: Mountain and Sand Plain Fynbos which grows on infertile acidic sandstone derived sands. Renosterveld which grows on more fertile soils derived from granite or shale. Strandveld plants grow in calcareous dune sands. Mountain Fynbos which grows in mountainous areas is reasonably well protected although many hectares of the fynbos has been replaced with pine forests. Many of the forested areas are being removed in a project called “Working for water” as the alien trees use up to 200 of litres per day. Once the trees are removed the mountain fynbos which uses very little water will re-establish itself. The other three vegetation types are in trouble as they are highly threatened by agriculture and urban spread. The Capensis or Cape Floral Kingdom being the smallest kingdom compensates for its size by having more species per unit area than the tropical rain forests in the Amazon. There are more than 8500 indigenous species found in the Capensis region and of those 6000 species are endemic to the region. i.e. they grow nowhere else in the world. Table Mountain has 1470 species growing on it which is more species than you will find growing in the entire British Isles. The British Isles has 1443 different species. Cape Fynbos which is the main type of vegetation has three distinctive elements namely: Proteoids Proteoids are tall bushes with hard leaves with dull surfaces. Ericoids Ericoids which are shrubs with small, narrow and often rolled leaves. Restioids Restioids are tufted plunts with near leafless, tubular or wiry non-woody stems. Below is a breakdown and numbers of the various species found in the Cape Fynbos. Asteracea with 1034 species Ericaceae with 765 species. Mesembryanthemaceae (Vygies) with 728 species. Iridaceae with 624 species Fabaceae (legumes) with 606 species Liliaceae with 369 species Proteaceae with 322 species Restionaceae with 315 species Rutaceae with 250 species Orchidaceae with 220 species Gramineae with 154 species Rosaceae with 115 species Fynbos is an important economic asset to the Cape area in that it is a tourist attraction, provides outdoor recreation, flowers and rooibos tea, medicinal remedies to local communities, prevents erosion by water and is vital to scientific research. The Capensis or Cape Floral Kingdom has to be seen to be properly appreciated. Contact TurtleSA tours to arrange your tour. We look forward to seeing you all here soon. Geoff Fairman ps. For more information on the World's floral kingdoms visit Floral Kingdoms pps You can find this letter at http://www.turtlesa.com/ezine196.html together with some photos of the flowers ** For my personal details, contact address,warnings and details pertaining to products and tours advertised in this ezine please read the disclaimers which can be found at: http://www.turtlesa.com/Disclaimer.html |
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| << January10, 2007 - Turtle Essays edition no 195 dated 9th January 2007 |
February05, 2007 - Turtle Essays edition no 197 dated 5th february 2007 >> |
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