Fynbos
VulcanSpirit
Richard & Alison Brunstrom
Sat 2 Jan 2016 19:00
| Botanists recognise six floral kingdoms globally. The smallest and surprisingly the richest, the Cape Floral Kingdom, occurs only in SA. It occupies just 90 000 square kilometres yet contains 8500 plant species, diversity surpassing even that of tropical rain forest. A chunk of this kingdom is heathland known as fynbos (Africaans, meaning fine-leaved bush) found around Cape Point. The VS crew have missed the best season (on our travels it is ever thus, it seems); spring has departed and summer is well advanced, but the remaining flowers are truly fantastic - all the more so for so often being so different to those found elsewhere. I won’t attempt to describe most of the few that I have space to show here; hopefully their beauty alone will speak eloquently for them. If you want to see more, come to SA (in the spring). This first one however is a protea, one of which is the national flower of SA. Fynbos in the background:     Above and below, the famous everlasting daisies  This is an Erica, a true heather:    |