Our floral kingdom
In South Africa, over one-third of all plant species belong to the Cape Floristic Region – even though it occupies less than 6% of the area of the country.
The biodiversity of the Cape Floristic Region
The world is divided into six floral kingdoms:
- Holarctic kingdom – North American west coast and Central Asia
- Paleotropical kingdom – Central Africa
- Neotropical kingdom – South America
- Australian kingdom
- Holantarctic kingdom – Tip of South America
- Capensis kingdom – Cape Floristic Region, and Western to Eastern Cape of South Africa
The other five floral kingdoms in the world cover huge areas, whereas the Cape Floristic Region is confined to a small part of one country. The Cape Floristic Region is the smallest and richest for its size of the six floral kingdoms. Its major vegetation types are fynbos, strandveld and renosterveld, and include smaller areas of succulent Karoo, wetlands and forest.
Take a look at our poster –
Cape Town’s Unique Biodiversity: Vegetation for more facts and a map of our main vegetation types.
Fast fact
Biodiversity refers to the rich variety of plants and animals on the earth.
With a staggering 1 300 species per 10 000 square kilometres, we have the highest concentration of plant species on the planet. To put it in perspective:
Table Mountain alone hosts as many plant species as the UK; all 1 500 species of them.
Fast fact
According to the World Wildlife Fund, the Western Cape is more botanically diverse than the richest tropical rainforest in South America. This includes the Amazon, which has 400 plant species per 10 000 square kilometres.
The Cape Floristic Region is:
- the smallest of the six floral kingdoms;
- the only floral kingdom to be found in one country only;
- home to more than 9 000 species (68% of which are endemic to the Cape Floristic Region); and
- home to highly endangered species – three-quarters of all plants listed in the South African Red Data Book belong to the Cape Floristic Region.
Remember
Our unique Cape Floristic Region is under threat and is a national conservation priority.
You can find a full list of threatened plant species in our
Biodiversity Fact Sheet – Threatened Species.
Threats to our local plants
The main threat to our natural environment is agriculture and urbanisation (the moving of people from the country to the city) through the destruction of natural areas as the city expands. Invasive alien plants and animals are also a major threat. As a port city, Cape Town is especially vulnerable to alien species being brought across on ships.
Fast fact
Invasive alien species are any 'foreign' plants or animals that establish and invade natural ecosystems causing harm to our local species and environments. Plant invaders are often introduced intentionally. Port Jackson, for example, was brought over from Australia to stabilise Cape sand dunes. Unfortunately, they thrived in our climate and spread quickly, destroying vast areas of indigenous plant life.
Uncontrolled invasive alien plants are a threat because they:
- can outgrow indigenous species and upset our local ecological balance;
- compete with local plants for nutrients, water and space;
- can cause genetic contamination by interbreeding;
- can be a fire risk if they burn and spread fire quickly;
- are dense and difficult to clear;
- can limit our land use and agriculture; and
- interfere with water supply and water security.
In response to the threat posed by invasive species and efforts to protect the City’s unique biodiversity and to promote ecosystem service delivery, the City runs invasive species projects that are aimed at managing and controlling
invasive terrestrial and aquatic plant species.
We encourage members of the public to contribute to our
Invasive Species Programme and help us locate where these invasive species occur.
Fast fact
Invasive alien species are causing billions of rands of damage to South Africa's economy every year and are the single biggest threat to the country's biodiversity.
Take note of some of Cape Town’s most unwanted invasive alien plants and trees:
- Black Wattle
- Port Jackson
- Pines
- Hakeas
- English Ivy
- Gums
- Australian bluebell creeper
- Madeira vine
- Ludwigia
- Water hyacinth
Managing invasive alien species
It can be difficult and expensive to bring invasive alien species under control once they have been in our soils for a long time and have seeded.
invasive ground cover infestation
The rapid-spreading English ivy poses a serious threat to the local environment. If left unmanaged, it can cause trees to collapse, increase wind damage in open areas and displace local plants. Ivy is dormant during winter, and this period provides a good opportunity to control or remove the plant.
Submit a service request to report overgrowth of ivy in public spaces, log sightings on the
iNaturalist app and website, and follow our tips to remove ivy safely at home.
As a resident, you can help us to manage invasive alien plant species:
- Know your invasive alien plant species.
- Remove invasive alien species in your own community, where possible.
- Plant only indigenous species in your garden.
- Never throw invasive alien species away as part of your waste.
- Immediately report any invasive alien species.
The City tries to find invasive plant species at an early stage and get rid of them before they grow. Read more about our Early Detection and Rapid Response (EDRR) Project or see what others have been doing in our special edition of
Enviroworks – Invasive Species.
It’s not always easy but we find the following methods work best:
- Mechanical – using machines like chainsaws to cut down invader plants
- Manual – removing seedlings by hand or cutting smaller plants down with hand tools
- Biological – using natural enemies like insects, mites or plant pathogens to kill off aliens
- Fire and burning – burning an area or burning stacks after an area has been cleared
- Herbicides – using chemical poisons
For more information on our approach, see our
Invasive Alien Species Strategy Action Plan.
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