Fynbos vegetation can be found throughout Table Mountain National Park, Western Cape, South Africa. Although the Fynbos is known for its plants, the region is also home to a diverse number of unique animal species.
Is fynbos only found in South Africa?
Fynbos covers only about 6.7% of South Africa (about 85 000 km2) but has the largest number of plant species of any biome in the country (about 7500). Most Fynbos is found along the coast and in the Cape Fold Mountains between Nieuwoudtville in the north-west and Port Elizabeth in the east.
Where does fynbos occur?
Fynbos (/ˈfeɪnbɒs/; Afrikaans pronunciation: [ˈfɛinbos] meaning fine-leaved plants) is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. This area is predominantly coastal and mountainous, with a Mediterranean climate and rainy winters.
Why is fynbos so special?
The species diversity of fynbos is one of the main things that makes it so special. … In addition, when looking at diversity at the macro-scale within fynbos vegetation, it is home to between 150-170 unique species per 1,000 km thus making it two to three times more species diverse than the world’s rainforests.
What is exclusively found in South African fynbos vegetation?
A plant paradise
But when you look a bit closer you will see the sheer diversity of these numerous species found nowhere else in the world. The country’s national flower, the king protea (Protea cynaroides), is perhaps the most famous species of fynbos, along with ericas and reeds.
What is the smallest biome in South Africa?
Forests are southern Africa’s smallest biome, and although it is the region’s largest forest complex (Acocks 1953), the remaining Knysna forest covers a mere 568 km2 (Midgley et al.
What is the biggest tree in South Africa?
The Sagole Baobab (also Sagole Big Tree, Muri kunguluwa (i.e. tree that roars), or Muvhuyu wa Makhadzi) is the largest baobab tree (Adansonia digitata) in South Africa. It is located east from Tshipise, in Vendaland, Limpopo Province and has a trunk diameter 10.47 metres, circumference 32.89 metres.
Why is it called fynbos?
The word fynbos comes from the Dutch for fine-leaved plants. Many fynbos plants depend on fire for their survival, some needing the heat for their seeds to germinate. Many popular garden plants, such as geraniums and freesias have their origin in fynbos.
What does fynbos look like?
Fynbos appears unimpressive from a distance. It is treeless, scrubby and brown – ‘fine bush’ in the sense of thin, straggly and not very productive. It is a heathland – resembling similar environments in Europe, Australia and South America growing in nutrient-deficient soil under tough climatic conditions.
Where do we find South African largest rainforest?
The Knysna forest is the largest forest complex in Southern Africa, and covers an area of about 60,500 ha. The forest includes high (>20 m) and scrub (3 m) forest, and is found in fragmented patches on the seaward side of the coastal mountains.
What is fynbos used for?
Fynbos has been used for centuries to treat anything from the common cold to epilepsy.
How is fynbos economically important to South Africa?
The natural resources of the CFR also contribute indirectly to the region’s economic output: fynbos bees contribute to commercial fruit production, and fynbos mountain catchments provide the region’s main water supply.
What is fynbos for kids?
Fynbos is a unique mixture of natural vegetation in southwestern South Africa. It is also known as scrubland or heathland. About 9,000 species, or types, of plants grow in the fynbos region.
Which Sunbird is exclusively found in South African fynbos vegetation?
The orange-breasted sunbird (Anthobaphes violacea) is the only member of the bird genus Anthobaphes; however, it is sometimes placed in the genus Nectarinia. This sunbird is endemic to the fynbos habitat of southwestern South Africa.
What is the value of the Big Five to South Africa?
To get an idea of its worth, private Big Five real estate is valued at between R2 000 to R4 000 per hectare.
What biomes are in South Africa?
The most recent classification of the biomes in South Africa divides the region into the following seven biomes:
- Grassland.
- Savanna.
- Succulent Karoo.
- Nama Karoo.
- Forest.
- Fynbos.
- Desert.
- Thicket.
16.02.2012