A Unique Floral Region
BY AWAKE! WRITER IN SOUTH AFRICA
AFTER classifying a batch of flowers from Africa, 18th-century botanist Carolus Linnaeus described their place of origin as “that paradise on earth, the Cape of Good Hope, which the Beneficent Creator has enriched with His choicest wonders.”
These so-called choicest wonders are found in an area that covers the southern tip of Africa. Dutch settlers named the dominant vegetation in the area fijnbosch, meaning “fine bush” or “fine woods.” Since the word fijn means “small,” this was possibly a reference to the small size of the leaves and plants as well as to the slender timber growing in the area. In time, the word fijnbosch became “fynbos.” Fynbos leaves may be small and hardy, but the flowers come in stunning sizes, colors, and shapes.
The Fynbos region is located in a floral kingdom that is very different from others in the world—the Cape Floral kingdom.* Although this kingdom covers a relatively small area, it is home to a staggering variety of plant species—one source says more than 8,550—two thirds of which are not found anywhere else in the world.
On Table Mountain alone, 1,470 plant species have been counted! “This,” remarks the journal New Scientist, “is more than are found in the whole of the British Isles.” Fynbos, though, has influenced other parts of the world as well. How so?
Amazing Variety
If you happen to have a geranium sitting on your windowsill, chances are that you are caring for the offspring of a Fynbos native. Of the 250 species that grow naturally on earth, more than two thirds are found in the Fynbos region.
In addition, a third of the 1,800 flowers belonging to the family Iridaceae grow here, including more than 72 gladioli found nowhere else on earth. As for daisies and vygies, the southern tip of Africa boasts 1,646 species.* These include everlastings, which retain their brightness and are used for years in dried-flower arrangements.
The most remarkable feature of the Fynbos, however, is the flowering plant called erica, or heath. Believe it or not, the Fynbos has 625 species of erica, out of a world total of 740!
Sugar-Bush and Sugarbird
Linnaeus examined one group of Fynbos flowers that had a strange variety of shapes. He named them Protea (a member of the Proteaceae family), after the Greek god Proteus, who was believed to change into different bodies. Altogether, 328 different proteas originate from the Fynbos region. What a thrill it is to hike in the Cape mountains and chance upon the large king protea! Its majestic flower is sometimes bigger than a human face.
Another common protea is the sugar-bush. The flowers on this tree are like cups, and they contain a generous supply of nectar. Early settlers used to shake the flowers over a container to collect the nectar, which they later boiled into syrup.
The Cape sugarbird—a creature found only in the Fynbos region—also appreciates the nectar of proteas. With its long beak and long tongue, the sugarbird siphons off the nectar that the plant provides and returns the favor by transporting pollen from one flower to another—an efficient fertilization service. Moreover, the sugarbird feeds on insects attracted to the large flowers. Thus, the bird and the flower need each other to survive.
Other Pivotal Partnerships
Some protea flowers lie close to the ground, hidden beneath other vegetation. Mice are attracted to a yeastlike smell given off by these proteas. Pressing their heads into the flowers, the mice drink the nectar and then visit other proteas, transferring pollen that has collected on their furry faces. Thus field mice and proteas form a partnership for survival.
A similar partnership exists between erica flowers and the colorful orange-breasted sunbird, found only in the Fynbos region. Because they are shaped like bent tubes, the flowers are a perfect match for the sunbird’s beak. When the bird inserts its beak to suck the nectar, its head collects pollen. Throughout the year ericas in bloom satisfy the sunbird’s needs, and the plants benefit from the bird’s pollination services. What a delight it is to walk along a hillside and watch this amazing interaction!
Many other living creatures are vital to the Fynbos. For example, a butterfly called the Table Mountain beauty is the exclusive pollinator of 15 species of red flowers. One of these flowers is the famous disa, which graces Table Mountain.
Then there are certain mole rats that feed on bulbous roots of plants belonging to the orchid, lily, and iris families. Cape mole rats carry root segments to their burrows and store them. Portions are dropped along the way or are left uneaten in the burrow, and these often take root and grow.
Hundreds of Fynbos plants produce fleshy, oily attachments to their seeds that spread a smell that ants cannot resist. After grabbing hold of these “handles,” ants drag the seeds underground. After that, the ants eat the soft attachments but not the hard seeds. In that way, the buried seeds, protected from birds and mice, can later germinate.
Then there are flies equipped with a long tube, or proboscis, extending from their mouth. These flies are perfect pollinators of Fynbos plants that have long tubular flowers. One fly has a proboscis measuring almost three inches. Indeed, partnerships are crucial to the survival of the Fynbos!
A Precarious Partnership
“It is a pity,” states environmentalist T.F.J. van Rensburg in the book An Introduction to Fynbos, “that Man, having been placed in charge of Creation, is in many cases responsible for the destruction of certain natural areas.” Indeed, tremendous devastation has occurred in a relatively short time, as Dr. Piet van Wyk explains: “In the 300 or so years since colonisation, the low-lying fynbos veld has been fragmented and transformed to such an extent by man that only 31 percent of the original . . . fynbos growth still remains. Thirty-nine fynbos species are already extinct, while the status of a further 1 033 has changed from threatened to critically rare.”
Man’s actions also threaten the crucial partnership existing between the Fynbos animals and plants. “Ecologists,” notes the book Table Mountain—A Natural Wonder, “are only beginning to understand the intricate animal/plant relationships that exist in the fynbos. If a plant dies out, will its pollinator (rodent, butterfly or beetle) become extinct too?” And what about the Fynbos birds? According to South African biologist C. J. Skead, the survival of sugarbirds is in danger because of their “close association with Protea species.”
Such disturbing reports about the Fynbos region are a reason for concern. Even so, for those who, like Linnaeus, believe in “the Beneficent Creator,” there is also reason for hope. For one can rest assured that the earth will flourish and flower as never before when Jehovah God fulfills his promise to ‘make all things new.’—Revelation 21:5.
[Footnotes]
The earth is divided into six floral kingdoms. These kingdoms are recognized by plant geographers for their distinctive plant life. The area around South Africa’s Cape forms one of these six kingdoms.
Daisies belong to the family Asteraceae, and vygies is the local name for mesems, from the Mesembryanthemum family.
[Maps on page 16]
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Fynbos Region (shown in green)
Table Mountain
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Mountain High Maps® Copyright © 1997 Digital Wisdom, Inc.
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The painted lady, one of 72 gladioli found no place else on earth
[Credit Line]
Una Coetzee (www.agulhasfynbos.co.za)
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Some proteas are larger than a human face
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Nigel Dennis
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On Table Mountain alone, 1,470 different plant species have been recorded
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Strawberry everlasting flower
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Nigel Dennis
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One of many daisy species found in the Fynbos
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Kirstenbosch, Cape Town
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The Table Mountain beauty is the exclusive pollinator of 15 species of red flowers
[Credit Line]
Colin Paterson-Jones
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Pincushion protea
[Credit Line]
National Parks Board of South Africa
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A unique partnership exists between erica flowers and the sunbird
[Credit Line]
Colin Paterson-Jones
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Proteas and the Cape sugarbird are special friends
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Kirstenbosch, Cape Town
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A Watsonia
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Kirstenbosch, Cape Town
[Picture Credit Line on page 18]
National Parks Board of South Africa