Cape Flats Dune Strandveld - Wolfgat - Cape Town

Cape Flats Dune Strandveld is an

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...

vegetation type. This is a unique type of Cape Strandveld that is endemic to the coastal areas around

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

, including the

Cape Flats The Cape Flats ( af, Die Kaapse Vlakte) is an expansive, low-lying, flat area situated to the southeast of the central business district of Cape Town. The Cape Flats is also the name of an administrative region of the City of Cape Town, which lie ...

Habitat

''Strandveld'' means “beach scrub” in the

Afrikaans language Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch dialects, Dutch vernacular of Holland, Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German set ...

. It covers and stabilises

sand dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, fl ...

s on the beaches around Cape Town, and is incredibly colourful in spring when it bursts into flower. It supports a very high

biomass Biomass is plant-based material used as a fuel for heat or electricity production. It can be in the form of wood, wood residues, energy crops, agricultural residues, and waste from industry, farms, and households. Some people use the terms bi ...

of browsing animals, and in the past it was grazed by large herds. The strongly

alkaline In chemistry, an alkali (; from ar, القلوي, al-qaly, lit=ashes of the saltwort) is a base (chemistry), basic, ionic compound, ionic salt (chemistry), salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as ...

, calcareous dune sand of the coast lies over a base of older

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

. In some places, this limestone juts out of the dune sand, and forms impressive beach cliffs.

Succulents In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word ''succulent'' comes from the Latin word ''sucus'', meani ...

form a high proportion of Strandveld plants, consequently, fires are much less common in Strandveld than in the neighbouring

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 clim ...

vegetation. Cape Flats Dune Strandveld is

. More than half of the Cape’s Strandveld has been lost to urbanisation and the building of beach resorts, and only 14 percent of this unique vegetation type is actually conserved. ;Habitat preserves Nature preserves with Cape Flats Dune Strandveld habitat include: *

Blaauwberg Conservation Area Blaauwberg Nature Reserve was proclaimed a local and provincial nature reserve in 2007. The reserve has views down fynbos slopes, across the city, to seven kilometres of rocky and sandy coastline and the ocean and beyond. The reserve presents its ...

Edith Stephens Wetland Park Edith Stephens Wetland Park is a nature reserve for wetlands and fynbos, located in the city of Cape Town, South Africa. The park consists of a large seasonal wetland, with surrounding stretches of Cape Flats Sand Fynbos and Cape Flats Dune Stra ...

Rondevlei Nature Reserve The Rondevlei Nature Reserve is located in Grassy Park, Zeekoevlei and Lavenderhill, suburbs of Cape Town, South Africa. The bird sanctuary covers approximately of mostly permanent wetland and consists of a single large brackish lagoon. The natu ...

Wolfgat Nature Reserve Wolfgat Nature Reserve is a coastal nature reserve in Mitchells Plain on False Bay in the Western Cape, South Africa. This conservation area consists of of endangered dune vegetation and majestic limestone cliffs, extending along a portion o ...

Flora

Cape Strandveld vegetation is typically composed of areas of tall, evergreen shrubs, with great numbers of bulbs, grasses, succulents and annual flowers growing in between. Historically, dense forests of large Milkwood trees used to exist at Noordhoek, Olifantsbos, Macassar and Gordons Bay. Plants that are naturally found in Cape Strandveld include shrubs such as ''

Chrysanthemoides monilifera ''Osteospermum moniliferum'' ''(Chrysanthemoides monilifera)'' is an evergreen flowering shrub or small tree of the Asteraceae (daisy) family that is native to South Africa, such as the Cape Flats Dune Strandveld habitat. Most subspecies have woo ...

'', '' Olea exasperata'', ''

Metalasia muricata ''Metalasia muricata'', commonly known as white bristle bush or blombos, is a hardy virgate or twiggy shrub with honey-scented flowers usually 2–4 m tall, woody with a rounded crown, and an important component of the coastal and mountain fynbos ...

'', '' Roepera flexuosum'', '' Rhus laevigata'' and ''

Rhus glauca ''Searsia glauca'' (or the blue kuni-rhus) is a small, compact tree or bush that is commonly found along the coastline of southern Africa. Although commonest near the coast, it is also found inland among fynbos vegetation. Description The leav ...

''; succulents such as Sour figs ('' Carpobrotus acinaciformis'' and ''

Carpobrotus edulis ''Carpobrotus edulis'' is a ground-creeping plant with succulent leaves in the genus '' Carpobrotus'', native to South Africa. Its common names include hottentot-fig, sour fig, ice plant or highway ice plant. Description ''Carpobrotus edulis' ...

'') and

Mesembryanthemum ''Mesembryanthemum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Aizoaceae; like many members of this family, it is characterized by long-lasting flower heads. Flowers of ''Mesembryanthemum'' protect their gametes from night-time dews or frosts ...

species;

Restio ''Restio'' is a genus of flowering plants within the family Restionaceae, described in 1772.Rottbøll, Christen Friis. 1772. Descriptiones Plantarum Rariorum 9 The entire genus is endemic to South Africa (Cape Province and KwaZulu-Natal). In c ...

s; herbs such as

geranium ''Geranium'' is a genus of 422 species of annual, biennial, and perennial plants that are commonly known as geraniums or cranesbills. They are found throughout the temperate regions of the world and the mountains of the tropics, but mostly in ...

s and a great variety of daisies (''

Senecio elegans ''Senecio elegans'' is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names redpurple ragwort, purple groundsel, wild cineraria and purple ragwort. Description It is an annual herb producing a single, erect, branching ste ...

'', ''

Senecio burchellii ''Senecio'' is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family (Asteraceae) that includes ragworts and groundsels. Variously circumscribed taxonomically, the genus ''Senecio'' is one of the largest genera of flowering plants. Description Mor ...

'', '' Dimorphotheca pluvialis'' and many others). Larger trees that are indigenous to coastal Strandveld include: * Milkwood (''

Sideroxylon inerme ''Sideroxylon inerme'' (aMasethole or white milkwood, af, wit-melkhout, xh, Ximafana, zu, Umakhwelafingqane) is a Southern African coastal tree, with dense foliage, black berries and small, foetid, greenish flowers. The tree's generic name mea ...

'') * Sea guarri (''

Euclea racemosa ''Euclea racemosa'' (the sea guarrie or dune guarrie) is a small to medium-sized evergreen tree that is indigenous to the Indian Ocean coast of Africa from Egypt to South Africa, as well as in Comoros, Oman and Yemen. ''Euclea racemosa'' has l ...

'') * Cape Camphor tree (''

Tarchonanthus camphoratus ''Tarchonanthus camphoratus'' (known as camphor bush for its scent, or leleshwa in Kenya), is a shrub or small tree, widespread in Africa south of the Sahel. Description The camphor bush can reach up to 6 meters in height. The twigs and younger ...

'') *

Candlewood Candlewood may refer to: *Candlewood Lake, the largest lake in Connecticut *''Pterocelastrus tricuspidatus'', a medium-sized evergreen tree, indigenous to South Africa. * Candlewood, New Jersey, an unincorporated community in the United States. *Ca ...

(''

Pterocelastrus tricuspidatus ''Pterocelastrus tricuspidatus'', commonly called candlewood, cherrywood or kershout, is a medium-sized evergreen tree, indigenous to South Africa. Distribution The candlewood is indigenous to the southern part of South Africa. Here it naturall ...

'') *

Wild olive Wild olive is a common name for several plants and may refer to: *''Bontia daphnoides'' * Several species in the genus ''Elaeagnus'' (family Elaeagnaceae), particularly: **''Elaeagnus angustifolia'' **''Elaeagnus latifolia'' *''Halesia carolina'' ( ...

('' Olea europea subsp. africana'') * Coastal silkybark (''

Robsonodendron maritimum ''Robsonodendron maritimum'' (also known as white silky bark or witsybas) is a small, shrubby, evergreen tree that is indigenous to the coastal regions of South Africa. Its natural range extends from Cape Town, along the coast as far as the Eas ...

'') There are also

endemic 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 elsew ...

plant species such as '' Lampranthus tenuifolius''. The most similar vegetation types to CFDS are Langebaan Dune Strandveld and Overberg Dune Strandveld . File:Cape Flats Dune Strandveld flowers at Macassar Dunes.jpg, Flowering geophytes are common in Cape Strandveld. File:Camphor tree - Strandveld beach vegetation - Western Cape.JPG, The Cape Camphor tree (''

'') naturally occurs in Strandveld. File:Passerina Ericoides ChristmasBerry Plant - Cape Town.JPG, The Christmas-berry Plant, a Cape Flats Dune Strandveld plant. File:Lampranthus tenuifolius2.jpg, '' Lampranthus tenuifolius'', an endemic plant.

References

{{Cape Town, natural Flora of the Cape Provinces Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub in South Africa Vegetation types of Cape Town

Habitat

Flora

See also

References