What is Renosterveld?
Renosterveld is the most threatened Fynbos type in the indigenous Fynbos region biome of the Western Cape where only 1% – 5% of it remains in tiny disjointed unsustainable pockets in farmlands and urban spaces.
Through raising awareness, we would like to increase the size and diversity within these isolated pockets and also try to link them into sustainable corridors.
Where does Renosterveld grow?
Renosterveld is one of the vegetation types within the fynbos biome, in the Western Cape of South Africa.
It is usually found in the undulating foothills or ‘heuweltjies’ of the mountains, in clay soils that are usually more fertile than the tops of the mountains or the sandy plains at the lower altitudes.
The soil....
These soils of the middle altitudes, also referred to as lowlands, are regarded as fertile and therefore ideal for most of the agriculture such as vineyards, other fruits, and grains in the Western Cape.
Renosterveld vegetation types are then further identified by the soil type present and the plant species that particular soil type supports. The soils are usually clay based weathered rock of shale or granite.
Plant Species
Plant species of the Renosterveld are characterised by grasslands and low shrublands with the Asteraceae or daisy family dominant, annual flowers and flowering bulbs provide stunning displays in springtime. Few tree species are supported.
Where does the name "Renosterveld" come from?
The Renosterbos (“rhinoceros bush – Elytropappus rhinocerotis), which is a common species of shrub found in the Fynbos Biome of South Africa , has a dull grey/green colour similar to the colour of a rhino’s hide – perhaps this is the origin of it name. No one knows for sure.
Reasons why Renosterveld is unique and important
The fertile meadows and heuweltjies support very high biodiversity.
From microbes and fungi that facilitate water and nutrient uptake in higher plants; refugia for the tiniest of invertebrates to the biggest of mammals.
The variety of plant species that makes all this interdependence possible also provide the area with year-round excitement in the natural world.
Flowering time
in the Renosterveld is longer than other fynbos biomes, starting in early autumn with the Renosterbos itself, many grasses, and early bulbs, ending in late summer with the yellow daisies of the senecio family. Springtime is bulb and annual daisy time transforming the green meadows into a sea of colour, blue, white, yellow, pink and all the shades in-between.
Renosterveld flowers attract a wide variety of pollinators like bees, flies, beetles and sunbirds.to their areas all year round and therefore become essential for pollination of crops and fruit trees within the agricultural areas as well.
Many of the plant species are short or even flat growing and to really appreciate them one must go into the shrublands, grasses and meadows.
Slow Down & Look
Indigenous tribes used Renosterveld
The original inhabitants of the Western Cape, the San and Khoi, used Renosterveld plants for food, medicine and grazing.
Many Renosterveld trees and shrubs produce berries, which attract fruit-eating birds (e.g. bulbuls, Cape white-eyes) and other animals (e.g. geometric tortoises, chacma baboons).
Renosterveld is also our heritage and there for us to
discover a world within a world
when we
slow down and look.
