TheCape Floral Region is afloristic region located near the southern tip ofSouth Africa. It is the only floristic region of theCape Floristic Kingdom, and includes only onefloristic province, known as theCape Floristic Province.
The Cape Floristic Region, the smallest of the six recognisedfloral kingdoms of the world, is an area of extraordinarily high diversity andendemism, and is home to over 9,000vascular plant species, of which 69 percent are endemic.[1]
Much of this diversity is associated with thefynbos biome, a Mediterranean-type, fire-prone shrubland.[1] The economical worth of fynbos biodiversity, based on harvests of fynbos products (e.g.wildflowers) andeco-tourism, is estimated to be in the region ofR77 million (~US$5 million) a year.[1]
Thus, it is clear that the Cape Floristic Region has both economic and intrinsic biological value as abiodiversity hotspot.[1]
The region occupies less than 0.5% of Africa's land area but supports approximately 20% of its plant life.
Home to the greatest non-tropical concentration of higher plant species in the world, the region is the only hotspot that encompasses an entire floral kingdom, and holds five of South Africa's 12 endemic plant families and 160 endemic genera. Covering 78,555 km2, Cape Floristic Region hotspot is located entirely within the borders of South Africa.
It is one of the five temperate Mediterranean-type systems on the hotspots list, and is one of only two hotspots that encompass an entire floral kingdom (the other beingNew Caledonia)[citation needed].
The Region covers theMediterranean climate region of South Africa in theWestern Cape in the southwestern corner of the country, and extends eastward into theEastern Cape, a transitional zone between the winter rainfall region to the west and the summer-rainfall region to the east inKwaZulu-Natal.
Fynbos in theWestern CapeA 360 degree photograph of fynbos in theGroot Winterhoek region of the Western Cape about 18 months after a fire. New plants can be seen in various stages of growth following the fire. The infertile white soil that fynbos tends to grow in can also be clearly seen.
Most of the region is covered withfynbos, asclerophyllousshrubland occurring on acid sands or nutrient-poor soils derived from Table Mountain sandstones (Cape Supergroup). Fynbos is home to a diverse plethora of plant species including many members of the protea family (Proteaceae), heath family (Ericaceae), and reed family of restios (Restionaceae). Other vegetation types aresandveld, a soft coastalscrubland found mostly on the west-facing coast of theWestern Cape Province, on tertiary sands.
Renosterveld is a grassy shrubland dominated by members of the daisy family (Asteraceae), particularlyrenosterbos (Elytropappus rhinocerotis), graminoids and geophytes, occurring on the base-rich shaley soils of the coastal forelands. Small pockets ofAfromontane forest (Southern Afrotemperate Forest) can be found in humid and sheltered areas.
^Тахтаджян А. Л. Флористические области Земли / Академия наук СССР. Ботанический институт им. В. Л. Комарова. — Л.: Наука, Ленинградское отделение, 1978. — 247 с. — 4000 экз.DjVuArchived 5 October 2018 at theWayback Machine,Google Books.
^Takhtajan, A. (1986).Floristic Regions of the World. (translated by T.J. Crovello & A. Cronquist). University of California Press, Berkeley,PDF,DjVu.