Cape of Good Hope, South Africa Photograph by Michele Thieme   South Africa Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, and Scrub   12,600 square miles (32,600 square kilometers) -- about twice the size of Hawaii Critical/Endangered

· Fifth Floral Kingdom
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Fifth Floral Kingdom

Located at the southwest tip of Africa lies the Cape Floral Kingdom, comprised of both the lowland and montane fynbos and renosterveld ecoregions. With about 8,500 different species of plants, 70% of which are found nowhere else on earth, it has been designated as one of the six plant kingdoms of the world. For its small size, it is one of the richest places in the world. Lowland fynos (known as sand plain fynbos) occurs on the deep acid sands of the west coast lowlands from 5 to 300 m.

Special Features

Fynbos is often described as a Mediterrean-climate shrubland. Although it is often considered destructive, fire is one of the most important features and driving forces affecting the survival and regeneration of fynbos. During dry months, fires frequently blaze. During these times, many plants have become dependant on fires to drop seed, regenerate, or resprout. For example, immediately following a fire, many species, such as fire-lilies, flower in an explosion of color out of the charred earth.

	The aurum frog can change color like a chameleon. In the daylight, or in the ivory colored arum flower, it can become almost white. At night, or when the African aurum flower is not in bloom, the frogs are dark brown with green spots. When light is speckled, the frogâs skin changes to match the sunlit and shaded patterns.

Wild Side

Fynbos is comprised of a variety of plant types, with lowland species being somewhat larger than montane species. Species include restios, sandveld thatching reed, ninepin heath, starface, baboonface, and proteas such as king protea, stink-leaf sugarbush and blushing bride. Renosterveld, comprised predominantly of small-leaved shrubs such as the rhinoceros bush, is a fire-prone shrubland that lies in areas with less rainfall than fynbos. Many of these species have become popular worldwide in the flower trade. The variety seems endless, and new species are being identified all the time. Many bulb species that we use in our gardens have original relatives from the fynbos. With approximately 1,400 species, fynbos has the richest flora of bulbous plants in the world. Notable genera are the iris Gladiolus, of which there are 96 species out of the worldâs 160, as well as lilies, orchids, geraniums and daisies.

A number of animal species have developed symbiotic relationships with plants, including many species of insects, such as the Protea monkey beetle which feeds on nectar, and arrow-poison flea beetle, which bushmen used to poison their arrows. Other species include the arum frog which waits at the base of the African arum lilyâs cone to catch insects with its sticky tongue, and the Cape sugarbird which is attracted to the abundance of nectar produced by proteas. Other species include geometric tortoise, orange-breasted sunbird, Protea canary, bontebok, and Cape golden mole.

Cause for Concern

For several centuries, people have lived in and developed the southern parts of South Africa. Natural vegetation has been destroyed to make room for agriculture and cities in the in the lowlands. In both lowland and montane fynbos, forestry, dam-building, alien species, and uncontrolled burning are also threats. Fire is often controlled so that it doesnât burn houses and other property, an activity that changes natural conditions that many species need to survive. And people have brought many species to the fynbos from other areas that compete with native inhabitants for food and habitat. The presence of alien plants has also changed natural communities and threatened many plant and animal species.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.