''Erica turgida'', the showy heath or Kenilworth heath, is a species of ''

Erica Erica or ERICA may refer to: * Erica (given name) * ''Erica'' (plant), a flowering plant genus * Erica (chatbot), a service of Bank of America * ''Erica'' (video game), a 2019 FMV video game * ''Erica'' (spider), a jumping spider genus * Eric ...

'' that was naturally restricted to the city of

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 ...

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 countri ...

, but is now classified as

Extinct in the Wild A species that is extinct in the wild (EW) is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as known only by living members kept in captivity or as a naturalized population outside its historic range due ...

. This small, delicate erica produces thin, willowy stems, covered in velvety hair. It produces masses of bright-pink, cup-shaped flowers. This ''Erica'' used to grow naturally in the area that is now beneath the

suburbs of

Rondebosch Rondebosch is one of the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town, South Africa. It is primarily a residential suburb, with shopping and business districts as well as the main campus of the University of Cape Town. History Four years after the first Dutch s ...

Kenilworth Kenilworth ( ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Warwick (district), Warwick District in Warwickshire, England, south-west of Coventry, north of Warwick and north-west of London. It lies on Finham Brook, a ...

and Wynberg. It was therefore an endemic to the critically endangered

Cape Flats Sand Fynbos Cape Flats Sand Fynbos (CFSF), previously known as Sand Plain Fynbos, is a critically endangered vegetation type that occurs only within the city of Cape Town. Less than 1% of this unique lowland fynbos vegetation is conserved. Description This ...

vegetation type. Soon before the last wild population died out at

Kenilworth Racecourse Conservation Area Kenilworth Racecourse Conservation Area is a nature reserve, situated in the centre of Kenilworth Racecourse, in Cape Town, South Africa. Due to its location, it has been left undisturbed for more than 100 years, making it now the best preserve ...

, a woman named Elsie Esterhuizen took cuttings to Kirstenbosch gardens and thus saved the species from permanent extinction. Along with its fellow extinct-in-the-wild heath, ''

Erica verticillata ''Erica verticillata'' is a species of ''Erica'' that was naturally restricted to the city of Cape Town but is now classified as extinct in the wild. Distribution It formerly grew only in certain areas of the Cape Flats on the Cape Peninsula of ...

'', it is now being re-introduced to the Kenilworth Racecourse Conservation Area, now that the spread of the invasive alien vegetation there has been controlled. http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantefg/ericaturgida.htm

Gallery

File:Erica turgida plant detail.JPG File:Erica turgida sign.JPG

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5387957 turgida Flora of the Cape Provinces