We chat to plant ecologist Dr Pat Holmes about some principles behind ecosystem restoration and how we can play an active role in restoring South Africa’s many damaged ecosystems.
Coastal dunes can be particularly harsh environments. Throughout the year, they are exposed to blistering sun and strong, salt-laden winds that also carry highly abrasive sand grains.
Wetlands are ecosystems that contain quantities of water, usually providing a home for special vegetation communities and a wide variety of wildlife that depend on them for survival. Some wetlands flood throughout the year but others flood only during the wettest seasons.
If you need a botanical New Year resolution, get to know the South African Red List – a global first. What makes a favourite website?
The silent battle on our savannas between majestic trees and determined grasses has intrigued us for a long time – and meant that plenty of us have overlooked the non-grassy herbaceous plants
Highly skilled GIS professionals are in demand across a variety of sectors in South Africa including biodiversity conservation.
Also known as the Klein Karoo, South Africa’s Little Karoo region is a semiarid intermontane basin that is located between the Langeberg, Outeniqua and Tsitsikamma mountains to the south and the Swartberg mountains to the north.
A parasitic plant is defined as a plant that derives all of its nutrients from another plant through various different adaptations.
Famous the world over for its extraordinary biodiversity, the Succulent Karoo biome is home to the richest succulent flora on earth.
Like 16% of South Africa’s plant species, thousands of languages worldwide are endangered. Some experts predict that up to 90% of the world’s languages will vanish within the next century.
According to some scientists, bushveld is considered a primarily vernacular term used in South Africa and Namibia for the vegetation that comprises South Africa’s Savanna Biome.
The publication of The Field Guide to the Renosterveld of the Overberg, is a manifestation of this kind of effort; another clear milestone for a committed group of people who care deeply
With 60% of humanity’s ecological footprint being carbon, there is no hiding from the climate crisis, which is already impacting on the ecosystems and biodiversity of southern Africa.
Today South Africa’s botanical gardens hold an extraordinary and diverse range of plant collections, representing South Africa’s megadiverse flora across all its ecosystems.
As the climate crisis has escalated, an increasing global focus has been placed on forests due to their potential for climate change mitigation through carbon storage.
With their often spectacular flowers, Proteas are some of South Africa’s most well-known plants. There are currently 112 known species that have been described following the Protea genus being described by Linnaeus in 1735.
South Africa is a country that is world famous for its extraordinary biodiversity. Recognised as one of the earth’s 17 megadiverse nations which combined contain two thirds of the world’s plant diversity, South Africa sits in the top ten nations for plant species richness worldwide.
From the tiniest moss to the tallest of trees, the world is home to an extraordinary diversity of plants. In fact, there are currently more than 391 000 plant species currently known to science, of which 369 000 are flowering plants.
Jenny Potgieter from the Outramps Custodians of Rare and Endangered Wildflowers (CREW) group has chosen a selection of three Southern Cape long tubed Erica species to introduce you
The fynbos of South Africa’s Cape Floristic Region (CFR) is typified by three plant families: The Proteaceae, Restionaceae and Ericaceae.
South Africa is fortunate to have a multitude of excellent biodiversity resources which enable us to “love what we understand”. One of our key guides is the National Biodiversity Assessment (NBA)
South Africa’s grasslands covers one third of the country, and are home to an extraordinary range of biodiversity. With more than twenty years of involvement in various aspects of plant conservation
So what is a threatened species? How does a species become threatened with extinction? South Africa is currently home to around 20 000 known species of plants, constituting around 10% of all plant species found on Earth.
