The Cape Floral Kingdom, encompassing 78, 555km2 of South Africa, is the smallest, yet richest, of the six floral kingdoms in the world. Although it occupies less than five percent of the area of South Africa, it’s home to over 40% of its plants.
Eighty percent of the Cape Floral Kingdom consists of oediterranean-type vegetation broadly termed “fynbos” – Afrikaans for “fine leaf”.
The dominant plant families of the fynbos include erica, protea, restio and a great assortment of bulbs. They thrive on the predominantly rocky and sandy, nutrient-poor soil – similar to our own coastal and hillside regions.
Some of the wild species don’t make great garden subjects, but many of the hybrids and cultivars derived from them are just as tough and very beautiful.
Ericas (heaths)More than 600 different species of Erica can be found in the fynbos. But unlike the frost-hardy European species, South African ericas are generally intolerant of prolonged or heavy frosts.
The majority flower in late winter to spring and require well-composted and moist but well-drained soil in full sun. Growth habits range from low-mounding ground covers to medium-sized shrubs.
A few of my favourite South African ericas include: Erica cerinthoides and E. mammosa ‘Coccinea’ (upright growers with showy, scarlet coloured, tubular flowers), Erica melanthera, E vagans ‘ors DF Maxwell’ and E. ventricosa ‘Globosa’ (low mounding shrubs), E ‘Gengold’ (bright yellow tubular flowers), and E sessilflora ‘Ice Green’ with unusual green tubular flowers.
ProteasStunning proteas are synonymous with South African flora. All 100 or so protea species are indigenous to the country and the spectacular King protea (Protea cynaroides) is South Africa’s national flower.
Hundreds of other plants come under the protea family including Leucadendron, Leucospermum and my favourite, but lesser known and not as tough, Serruria.
In a nutshell, proteas require an open sunny situation with free-draining and slightly acidic gravelly soil. Never fertilise proteaceous plants! They are highly intolerant of chemical fertilisers rich in phosphates, quickly turning up their toes if they catch even a whiff of phosphate.
Restios (Cape reeds)Fynbos is characterised as having a five percent or more coverage of restios, or Cape Reeds.
Commonly grown Cape Reeds in New Zealand include finely textured 1m high plume rush (Restio tetraphyllus), 1.5m high, bamboo-like fountain rush (Elegia capensis), 1.5m high E equisetacea. All prefer a sunny in sandy soil, which is either constantly moist or flooded seasonally. **
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Daisies and Bulbs The daisy family, also known as the madeliefie or sonneblom-familie in Afrikaans, may not be as physically dominant as other plant families, but has by far the greatest number of species with over 1000 different types found in the fynbos.
Those familiar to New Zealand gardeners include gazanias, euryops, arctotis, felicia, dimorphotheca and gerbera. oany of the 1400 bulbous species of the fynbos are also grown here, but probably rather more mollycoddled than they need to be!
Babiana, freesia, gladiolus, sparaxis, lachenalia and watsonia generally require a frost-free climate, but don’t need any great fuss – simply plenty of sun and well-drained soil. In the wild they grow amongst other plants, so a little shelter would also be greatly appreciated – but you’ll have to wait until next autumn to buy these South African beauties!
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