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Robertson Karoo is a semi-arid
Robertson Karoo typically consists of low hills and flats covered in small succulent vegetation, usually growing on rocky shale-based soils. The climate is semi-arid due to the region lying in the rainshadow of the large mountain ranges to the south-west, but the rainfall does tend to occur mainly in winter.
This vegetation type has a large number of endemic species and several endemic genera.
WWF article on Robertson vegetation types
/ref>
Robertson Karoo is a semi-arid vegetation type
Vegetation classification is the process of classifying and mapping the vegetation over an area of the earth's surface. Vegetation classification is often performed by state based agencies as part of land use, resource management, resource and envi ...
, restricted to sections of the Breede River Valley
Breede River Valley is a region of Western Cape Province, South Africa known for being the largest fruit and wine producing valley in the Western Cape, as well as South Africa's leading race-horse breeding area. It is part of the Boland borderin ...
, Western Cape
The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...
Province, 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 ...
. It is a subtype of Succulent Karoo (geographically an extension of the "Little Karoo") and is characterised by the dominance of succulent plant species, and by several endemic plants and animals.
Location and extent
This vegetation type occurs in several large patches within theBreede River Valley
Breede River Valley is a region of Western Cape Province, South Africa known for being the largest fruit and wine producing valley in the Western Cape, as well as South Africa's leading race-horse breeding area. It is part of the Boland borderin ...
, in the Western Cape
The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...
Province of 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 ...
. It occurs in the area between Worcester in the north-west, Ashton in the east, and the Riviersonderend mountains in the south.
Landscape and climate
Robertson Karoo typically consists of low hills and flats covered in small succulent vegetation, usually growing on rocky shale-based soils. The climate is semi-arid due to the region lying in the rainshadow of the large mountain ranges to the south-west, but the rainfall does tend to occur mainly in winter.
This vegetation type has a large number of endemic species and several endemic genera.
Some associated plant species
*''Aloe microstigma
''Aloe'' (; also written ''Aloë'') is a genus containing over 650 species of flowering succulent plants.WFO (2022): Aloe L. Published on the Internet;http://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-4000001341. Accessed on: 06 Nov 2022 The most wid ...
''
*'' Haworthia pumila''
* ''Haworthia reticulata
''Haworthia reticulata'' is a species of succulent plant native to the southwestern Cape Provinces of South Africa. The species has several varieties, including var. ''hurlingii'' which is the smallest at up to wide.
It can generally be disting ...
''
*'' Cotyledon orbiculata''
*''Gasteria disticha
''Gasteria disticha'' is succulent plant native to the Western Cape, South Africa.
Description
This species of ''Gasteria'' has its strap-shaped leaves in two opposite rows (distichous), from whence its Latin species name comes.
In its vegeta ...
''
*'' Astroloba rubriflora''
*'' Conophytum ficiforme''
*'' Euphorbia burmannii''
*''Euphorbia mauritanica
''Euphorbia mauritanica'', commonly known as yellow milk bush or golden spurge, is a species of plant in the family Euphorbiaceae native to Africa.
Distribution
''Euphorbia mauritanica'' is found in most of Southern Africa. It occurs extensiv ...
var. corallothamnus'' (dominant on the typical raised "heuweltjies")
*''Crassula rupestris
''Crassula rupestris'', called buttons on a string, is a species of ''Crassula'' native to the Cape Provinces of South Africa. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit
The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-est ...
''
*'' Ruschia caroli''
*''Euclea undulata
''Euclea'', from the Greek '' eukleia'' meaning "glory and fame", denotes a group of flowering plants in the Ebenaceae or ebony family. They were described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1774. The genus includes evergreen trees and shrubs, native t ...
''
*''Helichrysum hamulosum
The genus ''Helichrysum'' consists of an estimated 600 species of flowering plants in the sunflower family (Asteraceae). The type species is '' Helichrysum orientale''. They often go by the names everlasting, immortelle, and strawflower. The nam ...
''
*''Stapelia paniculata
''Stapelia'' is a genus of low-growing, spineless, stem succulent plants, predominantly from South Africa with a few from other parts of Africa. Several Asian and Latin American species were formerly included but they have all now been transfe ...
subsp. scitula''
*''Eriocephalus africanus
''Eriocephalus africanus'' is a bushy shrublet indigenous to South Africa. It has a wide distribution in the Western and Eastern Cape, and in Namaqualand. The plant has several common names in various languages. It is known as the Kapokbossie ...
''
*''Eriospermum bayeri
''Eriospermum bayeri'' is a species of geophytic plant of the genus ''Eriospermum'', indigenous to the Western Cape Province, South Africa.
Description
This species has a single, erect, slender, lanceolate-attenuate, petiolate leaf (100mm x 25mm ...
''
*''Eriospermum bowieanum
''Eriospermum bowieanum'' is a species of geophytic plant of the genus ''Eriospermum'', endemic to the Robertson Karoo region of the Western Cape Province, South Africa.
Habitat
This species is endemic to the Robertson Karoo region. Its habita ...
''
*''Stayneria
''Stayneria'' (or 'white-flowered mesemb') is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Aizoaceae. It contains a single species, ''Stayneria neilii''. It is in the subfamily Ruschioideae and the tribe Ruschieae.
It is native to the Cap ...
'' spp. (endemic genus)
*'' Brianhuntleya'' spp. (endemic genus)
*'' Drosanthemum'' spp.
*''Pelargonium
''Pelargonium'' () is a genus of flowering plants that includes about 280 species of perennials, succulents, and shrubs, commonly called geraniums, pelargoniums, or storksbills. '' Geranium'' is also the botanical name and common name of a separ ...
'' spp.
Some associated animal species
*''Aloeides lutescens
''Aloeides lutescens'', the Worcester copper, is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is endemic to South Africa, where it is known from sandy flats along the Breede River in the Worcester area and the Robertson Karoo in the West C ...
'' (endemic)
*''Bradypodion gutturale
The Robertson dwarf chameleon, also known as the Little Karoo dwarf chameleon, (''Bradypodion gutturale'') is a chameleon in the genus ''Bradypodion''. It is found in the dry Fynbos and Renosterveld shrub vegetation, in the centre of the Wester ...
'' (endemic)
/ref>
See also
*Karoo
The Karoo ( ; from the Afrikaans borrowing of the South Khoekhoe !Orakobab or Khoemana word ''ǃ’Aukarob'' "Hardveld") is a semi-desert natural region of South Africa. No exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo is available, so its ext ...
* Karoo Desert National Botanical Garden
The Karoo Desert National Botanical Garden is a botanical garden focused on succulents and other plants of arid regions, that lies at the foot of the Hex River Mountains range, in the town of Worcester, South Africa.
History
It was originally s ...
References
{{Biodiversity of South Africa, bioveg Karoo Flora of South Africa Physiographic provinces Geography of the Western Cape