''Erica verticillata'' 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 ...

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 ...

Distribution

It formerly grew only in certain areas of the Cape Flats on the

Cape Peninsula The Cape Peninsula ( af, Kaapse Skiereiland) is a generally mountainous peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean at the south-western extremity of the African continent. At the southern end of the peninsula are Cape Point and the Cape of ...

of South Africa.

Habitat

It grew in

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 ...

, a

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 ...

type that is threatened by

urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...

and fragmentation. It preferred damp sandy soils such as those that were naturally found around Wynberg, Kenilworth and Zeekoevlei.

Conservation

Although the species became

functionally extinct Functional extinction is the extinction of a species or other taxon such that: #It disappears from the fossil record, or historic reports of its existence cease; #The reduced population no longer plays a significant role in ecosystem function; or ...

due to agricultural and urban development of its habitat in the early 20th century, cuttings from several plants discovered in the wild in the later 20th century have ensured that the species will continue in cultivation. 1984 saw the introduction of cuttings from two specimens, one in

Protea Park ''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 a ...

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

and another in

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is a ...

. The former were collected by

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden Kirstenbosch is an important botanical garden nestled at the eastern foot of Table Mountain in Cape Town. The garden is one of 10 National Botanical Gardens covering five of South Africa's six different biomes and administered by the South A ...

scholar David von Well after he recognized the plant from herbarium sheets photocopied by Kirstenbosch horticulturist Deon Kotze. The third infusion came from a plant found by Kirstenbosch foreman Adonis Adonis in a clearing. This species was introduced back into the wild at

Rondevlei 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 na ...

, a bird sanctuary and nature reserve in Cape Town.

Ecology

Various pollinators such as bees and birds such as

southern double-collared sunbird The southern double-collared sunbird or lesser double-collared sunbird (''Cinnyris chalybeus'') is a small passerine bird which breeds in southern Africa. It is mainly resident, but partially migratory in the north-east of its range. Habitat Th ...

s have been observed feeding on the tubular pink flowers on ''E. verticillata''.

Cultivation

''E. verticillata'' comes in three forms: the Kirstenbosch form, the Pretoria form and the Kew form. It prefers seasonally moist sandy soils, but will grow well in average garden conditions provided the soils are acidic. The best time to plant is in autumn or during the winter although they may be planted at other times of the year if regularly watered. It is important to never disturb its roots when weeding. Plants should be well watered after planting and then every two to three days unless good rainfalls occur.

Gallery

File:Erica verticillata plant detail.JPG File:Ericaverticillata.jpg File:P1050813.JPG

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q5387961 verticillata Endemic flora of South Africa Flora of the Cape Provinces Fynbos Natural history of Cape Town Plants extinct in the wild Critically endangered flora of Africa Species endangered by urbanization