FYNBOS DIVERSITY: STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

FYNBOS DIVERSITY: STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

You know me and my boasting: “Table Mountain has more plant species than Sweden!” “There are 175 times more heathers in fynbos than in Scotland!!” But a thought occurred to me and probably to you too: How? How come there is so much floral diversity in fynbos. And...
GOING UNDERGROUND: FYNBOS BULBS

GOING UNDERGROUND: FYNBOS BULBS

Imagine spending your life hiding under your bed waiting for the house to burn down. And when, after 20 or 30 years it eventually does, you miraculously emerge in clothes of dazzling colour. You cavort briefly, have as many offspring as conditions allow, and then...
THE SECRET TREASURE OF POISON COVE

THE SECRET TREASURE OF POISON COVE

Dark-keeled clouds greeted my arrival at Gifkommetjie in the Cape Point reserve; cold Atlantic rain began to wash over winter fynbos. The temperature fell, the sun disappeared and rain picked up the pace. But then again, no-one said finding the secret treasure of...
BIRDS & BEES: FYNBOS POLLINATION

BIRDS & BEES: FYNBOS POLLINATION

Forgive me for lowering the tone but at some stage we’re going to have to talk about it. You know, the birds and the bees – how fynbos …uhm … does it. And in plants, that means pollination. Pollination is the transfer of pollen from a flower’s male anther to the...
HIDE & SEEK: CAMOUFLAGE IN FYNBOS

HIDE & SEEK: CAMOUFLAGE IN FYNBOS

It’s not easy being a wild animal. There is always something that wants to eat you, lay eggs inside you or suck out your blood. And this is even if you are the one doing the eating, egg-laying and blood-sucking. Both hunters and the hunted need to blend into their...

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