Harold Porter Botanical Gardens - indigenous forest section - Bettys Bay - South Africa

The Harold Porter National Botanical Garden covers almost 200 ha between mountain and sea, in the heart of the Cape Fynbos region within the

Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve Kogelberg Nature Reserve is a nature reserve of comprising the Kogelberg Mountain Range, to the east of Cape Town, South Africa. With about 1600 plant species, it contains a floral diversity per unit area that is greater than anywhere else in t ...

to the east 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 ...

, specifically near

Betty's Bay Betty's Bay is a small holiday town situated on the Overberg coast of South Africa's Western Cape province. It is located 100 km from Cape Town beneath the Kogelberg Mountains on the scenic R44 ocean drive between Pringle Bay and Kleinmond. This v ...

along Clarence Drive (R44). With about 1,600 plant species, the area contains a floral diversity per unit area that is greater than anywhere else in the world. The Garden consists of 10 hectares of cultivated gardens and 190.5 hectares of pristine natural

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 ...

. In addition, 60 species of birds can be found there, as well as

porcupine Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two families of animals: the Old World porcupines of family Hystricidae, and the New World porcupines of family, Erethizont ...

s, genets,

skunk Skunks are mammals in the family Mephitidae. They are known for their ability to spray a liquid with a strong, unpleasant scent from their anal glands. Different species of skunk vary in appearance from black-and-white to brown, cream or ginge ...

hyrax Hyraxes (), also called dassies, are small, thickset, herbivorous mammals in the order Hyracoidea. Hyraxes are well-furred, rotund animals with short tails. Typically, they measure between long and weigh between . They are superficially simil ...

es,

baboon Baboons are primates comprising the genus ''Papio'', one of the 23 genera of Old World monkeys. There are six species of baboon: the hamadryas baboon, the Guinea baboon, the olive baboon, the yellow baboon, the Kinda baboon and the chacma ba ...

s, and

snake Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...

s. Foot trails reach cliffs, ravines, heaths, forests, streams, and mountain pools. In 1939, Harold Nixon Porter, Jack Clarence, and Arthur Youldon, purchased the land between Rooi-Els and the

Palmiet River Palmiet River ( af, Palmietrivier) is a river located in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The Palmiet River is a typical Western Cape river, experiencing winter rainfall and it is important for the Western Cape Water Supply System. It h ...

. After Porter's death, the land was passed to the

South African National Biodiversity Institute The South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) is an organisation established in 2004 in terms of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, No 10 of 2004, under the South African Department of Environmental Affairs ( ...

(SANBI). The local municipality later added adjacent land to the garden. In 2022, the garden was expanded by 1.15 ha after the addition of a neighbouring erf, purchased in 2018 by the

World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wor ...

South Africa (WWF-SA). In 2019 the WWF-SA entered into a 99-year management agreement with

SANBI The South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) is an organisation established in 2004 in terms of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, No 10 of 2004, under the South African Department of Environmental Affairs (l ...

Gallery

File:Rapanea trees and waboom in Harod Porter gardens.jpg, Rapanea trees and some waboom (''

Protea nitida ''Protea nitida'', commonly called wagon tree, ''waboom'' or ''blousuikerbos'', is a large, slow-growing ''Protea'' endemism, endemic to South Africa. It is one of the few ''Protea'' species that grows into trees, and the only one that has usable ...

'') growing in the gardens File:Rapanea melanophloeos tree - Harold Porter garden South Africa 2.jpg, A Cape Beech tree (''

Rapanea melanophloeos ''Rapanea melanophloeos'', commonly known as Cape beech, Kaapse boekenhout or isiCalabi, is a dense evergreen tree that is native to the afromontane forests of Southern Africa. Outside forests they are also commonly encountered along stream banks ...

'') A shady walk.jpg, Visitors walking through the forest

References

External links

South African National Biodiversity Institute

Harold Porter National Botanical Garden Homepage

www.kbrc.org.za
{{Authority control Botanical gardens in South Africa

Gallery

See also

References

External links