Kenilworth Racecourse Conservation Area is a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

, situated in the centre of Kenilworth Racecourse, in

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 ...

. Due to its location, it has been left undisturbed for more than 100 years, making it now the best preserved patch of “ Cape Flats Sand Fynbos” in the world. The reserve contains indigenous

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 ...

and

wetlands A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

– both permanent and seasonal. Among the hundreds of plant species that can be found here, at least 20 are threatened with extinction. 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 ...

species, and two plants (''

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 ...

'' and ''

Erica turgida ''Erica turgida'', the showy heath or Kenilworth heath, is a species of ''Erica'' that was naturally restricted to the city of Cape Town, South Africa, but is now classified as Extinct in the Wild. This small, delicate erica produces thin, will ...

'') are listed as

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

in the wild, but have recently been re-introduced here. The reserve is home to the critically endangered Micro Frog (''

Microbatrachella capensis The micro frog (''Microbatrachella capensis''), or Cape Flats frog, is a species of frog less than long in the family Pyxicephalidae, in the monotypic genus ''Microbatrachella''. Its color varies from rufous brown with dark mottling, to tan or g ...

'') along with other small but healthy populations of mammals, reptiles, amphibians and birds. Invasive alien vegetation is a severe problem, especially Port Jackson willow (''

Acacia saligna ''Acacia saligna'', commonly known by various names including coojong, golden wreath wattle, orange wattle, blue-leafed wattle, Western Australian golden wattle, and, in Africa, Port Jackson willow, is a small tree in the family (biology), fami ...

'') and domestic garden escapees.

References

{{Cape Town, natural Nature reserves in Cape Town Nature conservation in South Africa

See also

References