Fynbos

Fynbos is one of the earth’s hot spots because of its exceptional biodiversity. It’s little wonder that Fynbos which literally means ‘fine bush’ has been touted for its unique type of vegetation that accounts for more than 80 percent of the plant species in the Cape Floral Kingdom. And, more than two-thirds of these plant species are not found growing naturally anywhere else in the world (like Mimetes pictured above). Many of these amazing plants have been used for their decorative and gardening purposes, medicinal purposes and even their magical powers. Despite the growing interest in fynbos, it remains a mystery to many people. Some species can be found growing right under their noses and they don’t even realize it.

Fynbos is composed of approximately 100 families with the three largest and most well-known families being: the ericas, proteas and restos. With that in mind, there are plenty more families to get to know – Here are just a few of our favorites:

Agapanthus means ‘Flower of Love’ and is derived from the Greek agape’ meaning ‘love’ and anthos meaning ‘flower’. They are also known as the ‘lily of the Nile’ and the ‘African lily’ even though they are not a lily. Did you know in the world of magic the agapanthus is a highly respected plant? The roots can be used to make a love charm and their magical powers even ward off thunder. And agapanthus can serve as a fire-break if you plant it close enough to the house.

Egyptians called the aloe vera plant “plant of immortality,” 6,000 years ago. Cleopatra applied the moist middle of the spiky plant to her body as part of her beauty regimen. Greeks used it to cure everything from baldness to insomnia and the Native Americans called it the “Wand of the Heaven.”

Leonotis leonurus is also known as wild dagga and lion's tail. Wild dagga flowers and leaves were smoked by the Hottentot tribe of southern Africa because of its euphoric effect. In traditional healing, wild dagga is used to treat fevers, headaches, coughs, and skin rashes. It's also used as a charm to keep snakes at bay and has been used to treat snake bites.

Tulbaghia Violacea or wild garlic is also called Society Garlic because Dutch settlers thought it was a more polite spice to use for flavoring dishes than true garlic particularly for social events. And the Zulu used both the flowers and the leaves to make hot seasoning with meat and potatoes. Tulbaghia is a disinfectant, and the bulb has been used to treat coughs and colds.

What is Fynbos?

Fynbos - pronounced fain-boss - is the vegetation that is found growing naturally on the the mountains and coastal plains of south-western tip of South Africa. It is unique to this area. The name comes from the Dutch fijn and bosch meaning fine bush referring to the very small leaves and flowers of many of the species. Fynbos makes up 80% of the Cape Floristic Region (often called the Cape Floral Kingdom).

Fynbos is characterized by the presence of four main plant groups: Restios, proteas, heaths and geophytes, as well as seven plant families that only occur in fynbos.

Restios

Protea

Silver Tree

Leucadendron and Mimetes

Heaths

Bruniaceae

What's so special about fynbos?

Fynbos is amazingly diverse and exceptionally rich in species, and it occupies a relatively tiny area of land. Over 7,000 species occur in 41,000 km, and 80% of them occur nowhere else on Earth.

The Cape Peninsula alone has 2,600 species - that's more than the total number of species in the British Isles - crammed into an area smaller than London.

Compare species diversity with other heathland communities in Australia and the California, and with the rest of South Africa:

• Cape Floristic region - 94 species per 1,000 km
• Australia - 14 species per 1,000 km
• California - 12 species per 1,000 km
• The rest of S. Africa - 8 species per 1,000 km

When you walk through fynbos you can discover a new species with every step.

The Allure of FYNBOS

Fynbos is one of the earth’s hot spots because of its exceptional biodiversity. It’s little wonder that Fynbos which literally means ‘fine bush’ has been touted for its unique type of vegetation that accounts for more than 80 percent of the plant species in the Cape Floral Kingdom. And, more than two-thirds of these plant species are not found growing naturally anywhere else in the world. Many of these amazing plants have been used for their decorative and gardening purposes, medicinal purposes and even their magical powers. Despite the growing interest in fynbos, it still remains a mystery to many people. Some species can be found growing right under their noses and they don’t even realize it.
 
Fynbos is composed of approximately 100 families with the three largest and most well known families being: the ericas, proteas and restos. With that in mind, there are plenty more families to get to know – Here are just a few of our favorites:

Agapanthus means ‘Flower of Love’ and is derived from the Greek agape’ meaning ‘love’ and anthos meaning ‘flower’. They are also known as the ‘lily of the Nile’ and the ‘African lily’ even though they are not a lily. Did you know in the world of magic the agapanthus is a highly respected plant? The roots can be used to make a love charm and their magical powers even ward off thunder. And, agapanthus can serve as a fire-break if you plant it close enough to the house.

Egyptians called the aloe vera plant “plant of immortality,” 6,000 years ago. Cleopatra applied the moist middle of the spiky plant to her body as part of her beauty regimen. Greeks used it to cure everything from baldness to insomnia and the Native Americans called it the “Wand of the Heaven.”

Leonotis leonurus is also known as wild dagga and lion's tail. Wild dagga flowers and leaves were smoked by the Hottentot tribe of southern Africa because of its euphoric effect. In traditional healing, wild dagga is used to treat fevers, headaches, coughs and skin rashes. It's also used as a charm to keep snakes at bay, and has been used to treat snake bites.

Tulbaghia Violacea or wild garlic is also called Society Garlic because Dutch settlers thought it was a more polite spice to use for flavoring dishes than true garlic particularly for social events. And, the Zulu used both the flowers and the leaves to make hot seasoning with meat and potatoes. Tulbaghia is a disinfectant, and the bulb has been used to treat cough and colds.

Fynbos: A Treasured Natural Heritage

In the early 1600’s when Dutch settlers first landed on the shores of South Africa they hoped to find wood to use for building ships, but instead what they found was short flowering shrubs. “What are we supposed to do with this?  There is nothing here but fine bush”.  This is the tale of how ‘fynbos’ got its name.

Fynbos is derived from the Dutch word fijnbosch meaning fine leaf bush. It is the name given to the special vegetation growing in the Cape that accounts for more than 80 percent of the plant species in this region of South Africa. 

These shrubby bushes were obviously not suitable for building ships, but they exhibited such an amazing diversity and rareness that this region was eventually declared one the six floral kingdoms of the world!  Although by far the world’s smallest Floral Kingdom, it is the most diverse with more than triple the floral species of the Amazon Jungle.  Within this 55900 mile area there are over 100 different fynbos plant families and approximately 9000 different species.  In addition, nearly 70% of these plant species are not found growing naturally anywhere else on the planet. 

Fynbos plants can be grouped into four major families:

1. Protea shrubs with large leaves

2. Flowering shrubs like heathers and erickas

3. Restoids or wiry grassy like plants

4. Geophytes or bulbous flowers and herbs

Another amazing and inspiring thing about fynbos is how it flourishes in such harsh and poor conditions.  It endures sweltering droughts, heavy winter downpours, fierce windstorms, nutrient-poor soils and wildfires and yet these cruel conditions are the nuts and bolts of its survival.

Fynbos’ fragile beauty and awesome diversity is truly a treasured natural heritage!