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Soutpansberg Conservancy
Soutpansberg Conservancy, also known as Western Soutpansberg Conservancy, is a protected area situated in the northern part of the Limpopo province of South Africa. The reserve has an area of about 90,000 Ha and consists mostly in the mountainous terrain of the western part of the Soutpansberg Range. The Brak River, a tributary of the Sand River, flows beyond the western end of the Soutpansberg Conservancy. The Waterpoort, the deep gorge cut by the Sand River across the range is located in the central part of the protected area. The Soutpansberg or “Tha vhani ya muno” (mountain of salt) is in the traditional area of the Venda people. It is rich in plant diversity with yellowwood trees, twelve acacia species, including fever trees, giant cabbage trees, proteas and ancient tree ferns The tree ferns are arborescent (tree-like) ferns that grow with a trunk elevating the fronds above ground level, making them trees. Many extant tree ferns are members of the order Cyatheales ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Limpopo
Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature is situated in Lebowakgomo. The province is made up of 3 former homelands of Lebowa, Gazankulu and Venda and the former parts of the Transvaal province. The Limpopo province was established as one of the new nine provinces after South Africa's first democratic election on the 27th of April 1994. The province's name was first "Northern Transvaal", later changed to "Northern Province" on the 28th of June 1995, together with two other provinces. The name was later changed again in 2002 to the Limpopo province. Limpopo is made up of 3 main ethnic groups namely; Pedi people, Tsonga and Venda people. Traditional leaders and chiefs still form a strong backbone of the province's political landscape. Established in terms of the Limpopo House of Tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acacia
''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus name is New Latin, borrowed from the Greek (), a term used by Dioscorides for a preparation extracted from the leaves and fruit pods of ''Vachellia nilotica'', the original type of the genus. In his ''Pinax'' (1623), Gaspard Bauhin mentioned the Greek from Dioscorides as the origin of the Latin name. In the early 2000s it had become evident that the genus as it stood was not monophyletic and that several divergent lineages needed to be placed in separate genera. It turned out that one lineage comprising over 900 species mainly native to Australia, New Guinea, and Indonesia was not closely related to the much smaller group of African lineage that contained ''A. nilotica''—the type species. This meant that the Australasian lineage (by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protected Areas Of South Africa
The protected areas of South Africa include national parks and marine protected areas managed by the national government, public nature reserves managed by provincial and local governments, and private nature reserves managed by private landowners. Most protected areas are intended for the conservation of flora and fauna. National parks are maintained by South African National Parks (''SANParks''). A number of national parks have been incorporated in transfrontier conservation areas. Protected areas may also be protected for their value and importance as historical, cultural heritage or scientific sites. More information on these can be found in the list of heritage sites in South Africa. Special Nature Reserves Special nature reserves are highly protected areas from which all people and human activities are excluded, except for conservation and scientific research. The Prince Edward Islands, which are South African territories in the Southern Ocean, have been declared as a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birds Of Prey
Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and other smaller birds). In addition to speed and strength, these predators have keen eyesight for detecting prey from a distance or during flight, strong feet with sharp talons for grasping or killing prey, and powerful, curved beaks for tearing off flesh. Although predatory birds primarily hunt live prey, many species (such as fish eagles, vultures and condors) also scavenge and eat carrion. Although the term "bird of prey" could theoretically be taken to include all birds that actively hunt and eat other animals, ornithologists typically use the narrower definition followed in this page, excluding both piscivorous predators such as storks, herons, gulls, skuas, penguins and kingfishers, as well as primarily insectivorous birds such as passerine birds (e.g. shrikes) and birds like nightjars and frogmouth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tree Ferns
The tree ferns are arborescent (tree-like) ferns that grow with a trunk elevating the fronds above ground level, making them trees. Many extant tree ferns are members of the order Cyatheales, to which belong the families Cyatheaceae (scaly tree ferns), Dicksoniaceae, Metaxyaceae, and Cibotiaceae. It is estimated that Cyatheales originated in the early Jurassic, and is the third group of ferns known to have given rise to tree-like forms. The others are the extinct ''Tempskya'' of uncertain position, and Osmundales where the extinct Guaireaceae and some members of Osmundaceae also grew into trees. In addition there were the Psaroniaceae and Tietea in the Marattiales, which is the sister group to most living ferns including Cyatheales. Other ferns which are also tree ferns, are ''Leptopteris'' and ''Todea'' in the family Osmundaceae, which can achieve short trunks under a metre tall. Fern species with short trunks in the genera ''Blechnum'', '' Cystodium'' and ''Sadleria'' from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protea
''Protea'' () is a genus of South African flowering plants, also called sugarbushes (Afrikaans: ''suikerbos''). Etymology The genus ''Protea'' was named in 1735 by Carl Linnaeus, possibly after the Greek god Proteus, who could change his form at will, possibly because they have such a wide variety of forms. Linnaeus's genus was formed by merging a number of genera previously published by Herman Boerhaave, although precisely which of Boerhaave's genera were included in Linnaeus's ''Protea'' varied with each of Linnaeus's publications. Taxonomy The family Proteaceae to which ''Protea'' species belong is an ancient one among angiosperms. Evidence from pollen fossils suggests Proteaceae ancestors grew in Gondwana, in the Upper Cretaceous, 75–80 million years ago. The Proteaceae are divided into two subfamilies: the Proteoideae, best represented in southern Africa, and the Grevilleoideae, concentrated in Australia and South America and the other smaller segments of Gondwana that ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giant Cabbage Tree
''Cussonia spicata'', known as spiked cabbage tree, lowveld cabbage tree or common cabbage tree, is a tree in the family Araliaceae, which is native to the moister regions of Sub-Saharan Africa. It is cultivated as a garden plant in areas without extreme degrees of frost. It is one of the favorite foods of wild elephants.Minute 6-7; April 5, 2009 episode)Naked Scientists Description Larger specimens develop a sturdy trunk and a rounded, spreading canopy, and can reach a height of 15 meters. The attractive leaves grow from the end of thick branches to form rounded heads. The species name ''spicata'' means "spike-like", and suggests the arrangement of its flowers. Range It occurs naturally from southern and eastern South Africa to the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia and northwards into tropical Africa. Ethnomedical uses It has been used in traditional African medicine and its medicinal properties are being investigated. *A bark decoction is used in the treatme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fever Tree
''Vachellia xanthophloea'' is a tree in the family Fabaceae, commonly known in English as the fever tree. This species of ''Vachellia'' is native to eastern and southern Africa (Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Somalia, South Africa, Eswatini, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe). It has also become a landscape tree in other warm climates, outside of its natural range. Description The trees grow to a height of . The characteristic bark is smooth, powdery and greenish yellow, although new twigs are purple, flaking later to reveal the characteristic yellow. It is one of the few trees where photosynthesis takes place in the bark. Straight, white spines grow from the branch nodes in pairs. The leaves are twice compound, with small leaflets (). The flowers are produced in scented pale cream spherical inflorescences, clustered at the nodes and towards the ends of the branches. The pale brown pods contain 5–10 elliptical, flattened green seeds and are long, straight, flat and rather pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Podocarpus
''Podocarpus'' () is a genus of conifers, the most numerous and widely distributed of the podocarp family, the Podocarpaceae. The name comes from Greek πούς (poús, “foot”) + καρπός (karpós, “fruit”). ''Podocarpus'' species are evergreen shrubs or trees, usually from tall, known to reach at times. The cones have two to five fused cone scales, which form a fleshy, berry-like, brightly coloured receptacle at maturity. The fleshy cones attract birds, which then eat the cones and disperse the seeds in their droppings. About 97 to 107 species are placed in the genus depending on the circumscription of the species.Earle, Chris J.''Podocarpus''.The Gymnosperm Database. 2013. Species are cultivated as ornamental plants for parks and large gardens. The cultivar 'County Park Fire' has won the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Names and etymology Common names for various species include "yellowwood" and "pine", as in the plum pine (''Podocarpu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; and to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini. It also completely enclaves the country Lesotho. It is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World, and the second-most populous country located entirely south of the equator, after Tanzania. South Africa is a biodiversity hotspot, with unique biomes, plant and animal life. With over 60 million people, the country is the world's 24th-most populous nation and covers an area of . South Africa has three capital cities, with the executive, judicial and legislative branches of government based in Pretoria, Bloemfontein, and Cape Town respectively. The largest city is Johannesburg. About 80% of the population are Black South Afri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Venda People
The Venḓa (VhaVenḓa or Vhangona) are a Southern African Bantu people living mostly near the South African-Zimbabwean border. The history of the Venda starts from the Kingdom of Mapungubwe (9th Century) where King Shiriyadenga was the first king of Venda and Mapungubwe. The Mapungubwe Kingdom stretched from the Soutpansberg in the south, across the Limpopo River to the Matopos in the north. The Kingdom declined from 1240, and power moved north to the Great Zimbabwe Kingdom. The first Venda settlement in the Soutpansberg was that of the legendary chief Thoho-ya-Ndou (Head of the Elephant). His royal kraal was called D’zata; its remains have been declared a National Monument. The Mapungubwe Collection is a museum collection of artefacts found at the archaeological site and is housed in the Mapungubwe Museum in Pretoria. Venda people share ancestry with Lobedu people and Kalanga people. They are also related to Sotho-Tswana peoples Sotho-Tswana and Shona groups. All these t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sand River (Limpopo)
The Sand River or Polokwane River ( af, Sandrivier) is a watercourse in Limpopo Province, South Africa, a right hand tributary of the Limpopo River. Its new name "Polokwane River" is homonymous with the name of the town of Polokwane, formerly Pietersburg, about upriver from its mouth. The Sand River flows by the western edge of this town. Course It has its source south of Mokopane and flows northwards across central Limpopo Province until it cuts across the Soutpansberg through a deep gorge, the Waterpoort. Then it meanders northwards across the Lowveld until it joins the right bank of the Limpopo east of Musina. Although considered a perennial stream it is often dry in the winter. The veld in the Sand River basin has suffered much degradation, mainly due to overgrazing. There are some wetland zones in the basin. These areas are an important ecosystem for certain rare or endangered plants, as well as frog and bird species. There are 18 mines in the Sand River basin. Dams and tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
