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Collection: Biodiversity Hotspot Cape Floristic Region, South Africa

Biodiversity Hotspot Cape Floristic Region, South Africa
Evergreen fire-dependent shrublands characterize the landscape of the Cape Floristic Region, one of the world's five Mediterranean hotspots. Home to the greatest non-tropical concentration of higher plant species in the world, the region is the only hotspot that encompasses an entire floral kingdom, and holds five of South Africa’s 12 endemic plant families and 160 endemic genera. The geometric tortoise, the Cape sugar-bird, and a number of antelope species are characteristic of the Cape Floristic hotspot.
Available online at: http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/hotspots/cape_floristic/Pages/default.aspx

Rock Hyrax (Procavia capensis), Cape point, South Africa The Rock Hyrax (Procavia capensis), or Cape Hyrax, is one of the four living species of the order Hyracoidea, and the only living species in the genus Procavia. Like all hyraxes, it is a medium-sized (~4 kg) terrestrial ...

By Peter Prokosch

Lesser Doublecollared Sunbird (Nectarinia chalybea), Botanical Garden, Cape Town, SA The sunbirds are the African counterparts of the hummingbirds of the Americas. They are only distantly related, but as hummingbirds largely feed on nectar. They are distributed with 132 different species throughout Afric...

By Peter Prokosch

Cape Grysbok (Raphicerus melanotis), Bettys Bay, South Africa A shy, solitary, nocturnal animal that is rarely seen. It is regarded as a problem animal in the Western Cape where they cause extensive damage to grape vines. Motorists travelling in the Grahamstown and Uitenhage areas ...

By Peter Prokosch

Red-veined Dropwing (Trithemis arteriosa), Cape Town, SA The most common slender red dragon fly species in South Africa

By Peter Prokosch

Acraea horta, Kirstenbos Botanical Garden, Cape Town, SA Acraea horta is probably the most common butterfly on the Cape Peninsula. They are usually associated with Wild Peach, Kiggelaria Africana and they has black caterpillars with tiny spikes.

By Peter Prokosch

African Monarch (Danaus chrysippus), Table Mountain National Park, SA Danaus chrysippus, known as the African Monarch, is a common butterfly which is widespread in Asia and Africa. The African Monarch is believed to be one of the first butterflies to be used in art. A 3500 year old Egypt...

By Peter Prokosch

By Peter Prokosch

Common Sugarbush (Protea repens), Silvermine, Table Mountain National Park, SA The Common Sugarbush is since 200 years the national flower of South Africa. It was one of the first species of the rich Protea family, which Carl Linnaeus (in 1753) found and described. The honey-rich species is importa...

By Peter Prokosch

By Peter Prokosch

Black and Yellow Garden Spider (Argiope australis), female, Silvermine, Table Mountain National Park, SA The Black and Yellow Garden Spider (Argiope australis) is a common spider found in in the fynbos and is a member of the orb-web group of spiders. The larger female has a yellow and black scalloped abdomen. These spider...

By Peter Prokosch

Bark spider (Caerostris spec.), Silvermine, Table Mountain National Park, SA Caerostris (bark spiders) Bark spiders are nocturnal orb-web spiders that construct a large orb web, up to 1.5 metres, stretching from one tree to the next. The abdomen is cryptically coloured and adorned with numerous ...

By Peter Prokosch

Cape Everlasting (Syncarpha speciosissima), Silvermine, Table Mountain National Park, SA The Syncarpha, the everlastings, is a plant genus of some 28 species, which are endemic to the fynbos of the Eastern and Western Cape of South Africa.

By Peter Prokosch

By Peter Prokosch

Finbush Landscape, Silvermine, Table Mountain National Park, SA The so called "finbush" habitats in the Cape provinces of South Africa host an extreme high diversity of plant and animal species. South Africa protects these landscapes in more than 20 national parks and other forms of ...

By Peter Prokosch

By Peter Prokosch

Red Crassula (Crassula coccinea), Table Mountain National Park, SA One of the most colorful succulent plants of rocky higher mountain slopes, within the high diverse flora an obvious attraction for the many visitors of the Table Mountain plateau of Cape Town.

By Peter Prokosch

By Peter Prokosch

Table Mountain Watsonia (Watsonia tabularis), Table Mountain National Park, SA The stunning Table Mountain Watsonia is endemic to the southwest of the Western Cape in South Africa. Its habitat is mainly rocky sandstone slopes.

By Peter Prokosch

Everlasting Vygie (Erepsia anceps), Silvermine, Table Mountain National Park, SA The tiny pink species of the family Mesembryanthemum still flowers in the South African autumn in the rocky slopes of the Table Mountain National Park.

By Peter Prokosch

Walking Trail through the finbos of Table Mountain National Park at Silvermine, SA "Finbos" is a high diversity shrub habitat, characteristic for South Africa is well protected in the Table Mountain and other national parks in the Cape Provinces.

By Peter Prokosch

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