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Aspalathus Steudeliana
''Aspalathus steudeliana'' is a species of ''Aspalathus'' shrub, which occurs in the Breede River Valley and Overberg regions of the Western Cape Province, South Africa. Description An erect shrub reaching 1 meter in height, without thorns. It has small (1-3mm), slender, linear, glabrous leaves. The flowers are bright yellow, with short, triangular calyx lobes. It somewhat resembles the related ''Aspalathus smithii'', ''Aspalathus leucophylla'', '' Aspalathus subtingens'' and ''Aspalathus lactea''. Distribution and habitat This species is indigenous to the Breede River Valley and Overberg regions, of the southern Western Cape Province, South Africa. It occurs from near Ashton in the north, southwards to Swellendam, Bredasdorp and the Agulhas plain. It also occurs in the area north of De Hoop, and eastwards to Heidelberg, Riversdale and Mossel Bay. Its habitat is typically rocky, clay-rich flats, of shale, silcrete and old alluvial terraces. It grows in Renosterveld vegetat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aspalathus
''Aspalathus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The yellow flowers and spiny habit of some species have suggested a resemblance to ''Ulex europaeus'', the thorny " English gorse" Accordingly, "Cape Gorse" has been proposed as a common name although the resemblance is largely superficial; for instance, gorse is thorny, whereas ''Aspalathus'' species are variously spiny or unarmed. The genus belongs to the subfamily Faboideae. There are over 270 species, mainly endemic to southwestern fynbos regions in South Africa, with over fifty occurring on the Cape Peninsula alone. The species ''Aspalathus linearis'' is commercially important, being farmed as the source of Rooibos tea. ''Aspalathus'' species generally are shrubs or sometimes shrublets. They typically are bushy, but some species may be sprawling or erect with free-standing branches. The flowers of most species are plentiful in season, a rich, showy yellow very common in the Western Cape mountains in parti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
De Hoop Nature Reserve
De Hoop Nature Reserve is a nature reserve in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. It lies three hours from Cape Town in the Overberg region, near Cape Agulhas, the southern tip of Africa. Approximately in area, it is one of the largest natural areas managed by CapeNature. De Hoop is one of the components of the " Cape Floral Region Protected Areas" World Heritage Site. The De Hoop Marine Protected Area extends three nautical miles out to sea from the coastline of the nature reserve. History In the mid twentieth-century, the South African government bought the farms ''De Hoop'' and ''Windhoek'' with the intention to establish a wildlife farm for endangered species. In the mid 1970s, the area became dedicated to the conservation of the Cape Floral ecosystem, and became the southernmost nature reserve in Africa. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004. Climate De Hoop Nature Reserve's climate is Mediterranean, with warm summers and mild winters. The reser ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endemic Flora Of South Africa
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, the Cape sugarbird is found exclusively in southwestern South Africa and is therefore said to be ''endemic'' to that particular part of the world. An endemic species can be also be referred to as an ''endemism'' or in scientific literature as an ''endemite''. For example '' Cytisus aeolicus'' is an endemite of the Italian flora. '' Adzharia renschi'' was once believed to be an endemite of the Caucasus, but it was later discovered to be a non-indigenous species from South America belonging to a different genus. The extreme opposite of an endemic species is one with a cosmopolitan distribution, having a global or widespread range. A rare alternative term for a species that is endemic is "precinctive", which applies to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crotalarieae
Crotalarieae is a tribe of flowering plants belonging to the family Fabaceae. It includes rooibos ''(Aspalathus linearis)'', harvested for sale as a tisane. Description The Crotalarieae arose 31.2 ± 3.4 million years ago (in the Oligocene). The members of this tribe consistently form a monophyletic clade in molecular phylogenetic analyses. The tribe does not currently have a node-based definition and no morphological synapomorphies have been identified. Several genera in the tribe produce quinolizidine alkaloids or macrocyclic pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Genera Crotalarieae comprises the following genera: * ''Aspalathus'' L. * ''Bolusia'' Benth. * ''Calobota'' Eckl. & Zeyh. * ''Crotalaria'' L. * ''Euchlora'' Eckl. & Zeyh. * ''Ezoloba'' B.-E. van Wyk & Boatwr. * ''Lebeckia'' Thunb. * ''Leobordea'' Del. * ''Listia'' E. Mey. * ''Lotononis'' (DC.) Eckl. & Zeyh. * ''Pearsonia'' Dummer * ''Rafnia'' Thunb. * ''Robynsiophyton ''Robynsiophyton vanderystii'' is a spec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fynbos
Fynbos (; meaning fine 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. The fynbos ecoregion is within the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome. In fields related to biogeography, fynbos is known for its exceptional degree of biodiversity and endemism, consisting of about 80% (8,500 fynbos) species of the Cape floral kingdom, where nearly 6,000 of them are endemic. This land continues to face severe human-caused threats, but due to the many economic uses of the fynbos, conservation efforts are being made to help restore it. Overview and history The word fynbos is often confusingly said to mean "fine bush" in Afrikaans, as "bos" means "bush". Typical fynbos foliage is ericoid rather than fine. The term, in its pre-Afrikaans, Dutch form, ''fynbosch'', was recorded by Nob ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Renosterveld
Renosterveld is a term used for one of the major plant communities and vegetation types of the Cape Floristic Region (Cape Floral Kingdom) which is located in southwestern and southeastern South Africa, in southernmost Africa. It is an ecoregion of the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome. Etymology Renosterveld directly translated in the Afrikaans language means "rhinoceros-field", a possible reference to the high number of rhinoceroses seen by the Afrikaner settlers at the time. It may also derive its name from the renosterbos ("rhinoceros bush - ''Elytropappus rhinocerotis''), which is a common species of shrub found here. The dull grey colour of renosterbos is similar to the colour of a rhino's hide. Geology Renosterveld plants grow on rich soil, which makes them more nutritious than typical fynbos plants. Typically, renosterveld is largely confined to fine-grained soils - mainly clays and silts - which are derived from the shales of the Malmesbury and Bokkeve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Silcrete
Silcrete is an indurated (resists crumbling or powdering) soil duricrust formed when surface soil, sand, and gravel are cemented by dissolved silica. The formation of silcrete is similar to that of calcrete, formed by calcium carbonate, and ferricrete, formed by iron oxide. It is a hard and resistant material, and though different in origin and nature, appears similar to quartzite. As a duricrust, there is potential for preservation of root structures as trace fossils. Silcrete is common in the arid regions of Australia and Africa often forming the resistant cap rock on features such as the ''breakaways'' of the Stuart Range of South Australia. Silcrete can be found at a lesser extent throughout the world especially England (e.g. '' Hertfordshire puddingstone''), and France. In the Great Plains of the United States, polished silcrete cobbles are locally common on the surface and in river gravels east of the outcrops of the Ogallala Formation. In Australia, silcrete was widely use ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mossel Bay
Mossel Bay ( af, Mosselbaai) is a harbour town of about 99,000 people on the Southern Cape (or Garden Route) of South Africa. It is an important tourism and farming region of the Western Cape Province. Mossel Bay lies 400 kilometres east of the country's seat of parliament, Cape Town (which is also the capital city of the Western Cape), and 400 km west of Port Elizabeth, the largest city in the Eastern Cape. The older parts of the town occupy the north-facing side of the Cape St Blaize Peninsula, whilst the newer suburbs straddle the Peninsula and have spread eastwards along the sandy shore of the Bay. The town's economy relied heavily on farming, fishing and its commercial harbour (the smallest in the Transnet Port Authority's stable of South African commercial harbours), until the 1969 discovery of natural offshore gas fields led to the development of the gas-to-liquids refinery operated by PetroSA. Tourism is another driver of Mossel Bay's economy. Etymology The origi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Riversdale, Western Cape
Riversdale ( af, Riversdal) is a town located on the N2 (South Africa), N2 highway between Cape Town and George, Western Cape, George on the Agulhas Coastal Plain of the southern Western Cape province of South Africa. It is an agricultural service oriented town, being a hub for shopping and other services for surrounding farming communities, smaller towns, and coastal resorts, like Witsand and Stilbaai. It is located beneath the imposing Langeberg Mountains to the north, with Sleeping Beauty Mountain overlooking the town. History The town was founded as a church on the farm, Doornkraal, and was subsequently named after Harry Rivers, the then incumbent Civil Commissioner of Swellendam. It was proclaimed a town on 30 August 1838. Riverdale is the seat of the Hessequa Local Municipality. It is also sometimes considered the westernmost point in the Garden Route region. Notable residents *Willem Botha, singer * Dyan Buis, Paralympic athlete *Dalene Matthee (13 October 1938 – 2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heidelberg, Western Cape
Heidelberg is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa. It is located near South Africa's south coast, on the N2 highway, 274 km east of Cape Town (about halfway between Cape Town and Knysna). Heidelberg is just east of the Overberg region, and some consider it the beginning of the Garden Route. Heidelberg is part of the Hessequa Local Municipality. ''Fourie House'' on Fourie Street is the oldest house in Heidelberg. History In 1716, Louis Fourie obtained grazing rights from Governor van der Stel and he settled alongside the Duivenhoks River. This is where he later constructed the Doornboom Homestead - registered in 1728 - and the Doornboom Farm was established. The area was initially part of the greater Riversdale district until the Riversdale Dutch Reformed church council in 1855 bought a portion of the farm Doornboom on which to lay out the town when a new Dutch Reformed congregation was created for the farmers between Swellendam and Riversdale. The town grew around the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bredasdorp
Bredasdorp is a town in the Southern Overberg region of the Western Cape, South Africa, and the main economic and service hub of that region. It lies on the northern edge of the Agulhas Plain, about south-east of Cape Town and north of Cape Agulhas, the southernmost tip of Africa. Tourist attractions of Bredasdorp include the Heuningberg Nature Reserve, many historical churches, and art galleries and craft shops. Bredasdorp is also home to the Shipwreck Museum which tells the stories of the 150 wrecks along the nearby Agulhas Reef. It is the only museum of its kind in the southern hemisphere. History The town of Bredasdorp was founded with the building of a Dutch Reformed Church in 1838 on the farm Langefontein. The town was named after Michiel van Breda, the first Mayor of Cape Town, who was also known as the father of South Africa's merino sheep industry. Van Breda and Pieter Voltelyn van der Byl could not agree on a location for the church; as a result two churches were built ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Breede River Valley
Breede River Valley is a region of Western Cape Province, South Africa known for being the largest fruit and wine producing valley in the Western Cape, as well as South Africa's leading race-horse breeding area. It is part of the Cape Winelands, Boland bordering on becoming Little Karoo towards the east. Geography The Breede River Valley is relatively broad and flat for a Western Cape valley, averaging at a floor height of 80m-250m above sea-level. Western regions are mostly alluvial and flat, while eastern regions have more hills of the Bokkeveld Group with narrow alluvial deposits. The valley is framed by the high mountains of the Cape Fold Belt, with the Hex River Mountains and the Skurweberge to the northwest, the Langeberg Mountains (up to 2000m) to the north, the smaller Boland Mountains to the southwest, and the Riviersonderend Mountains to the south. It stretches from Tulbagh in the north to McGregor, Western Cape, McGregor in the south and Rawsonville in the west to Ash ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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