Geissorhiza aspera (Blue Satinflower,
Satynblom, Blousysie) flowering in
mass on an urban open space in
Durbanville.
Northpine area. Over the years this
number has declined dramatically
and of the last four remaining
plants, only a single plant now survives in the wild, this due to mowing! Similarly the subpopulation of
Disa procera, which is restricted to
the coastal dune fynbos of Sedgefield continues to decline due to ongoing habitat degradation and competition from alien invasive plants.
The entire remaining subpopulation
occurs in the Garden Route National
Park, but ironically, it was in this
much protected area that individuals
of this species were mowed… not
once, but twice! “With the Extend-
ed Public Works programme, the
park constantly takes in casuals from
the surrounding communities to do
some of the labour. It is unfortunate
that on the day that grounds had to
be cleared in that particular area, the
casual team did not know the significance of the poles and had gone
ahead and mowed the whole area” (the response from the park’s
management). Although not yet en-
A deep-pink form of Oxalis purpurea (Grand Duchess Sorrel,
Bobbejaansuring, Joemapitsuring) flowering on an urban open
space in Stellenbosch.
dangered, Satyrium carneum is listed
as Near Threatened because available evidence indicates that the species nearly meets the IUCN criteria
for Vulnerable, and is therefore likely
to become at risk of extinction in the
near future. More than 40% of this
species’ habitat has been lost to urban and coastal development. Additional threats include competition
from alien invasive plants, crop cultivation and losses due to harvesting
for horticultural purposes. To aggravate matters, late in October of
2012, the Overberg Municipality
mowed a very large population of
Satyrium carneum that grew along a
stretch of public open space that
serves as a fire-break along the R43
past De Kelders in Gansbaai. In addition to these examples, to observe
the obvious effects of differential
management practices, one only has
to compare the green spaces inside
of hospitals, schools and other selfcontained entities, to those on the
outside. Invariably there is often
more diversity of colour and form
Lachenalia lutea (Common Dwarf Yellow Viooltjie) flowering on an urban open space in Durbanville.
Cotula turbinata (Button Daisy, Ganskos) flowering on an urban open
space in Stellenridge.
within these former entities.
Although the majority of plant species on our road verges and urban
open spaces are not currently under
threat, they potentially could be
largely because little conservation
effort is seemingly being applied to
such areas. Famous US environmental reporter Philip Shabecoff probably put it best when he said … “The
bulldozer and not the atomic bomb
may turn out to be the most destructive invention of the 20th century.”
No doubt he was referring to man’s
capacity to change green landscapes
rich in biodiversity to that of depauperate, concrete, manicured landscapes.
Glossary
Biodiversity Hotspot: Generally
speaking, this is a region with a significant amount of biodiversity that
is under severe threat from humans.
Still others define it as a region that
contains at least 1500 endemic species and where at least 70% of the
original habitat has been lost.
Ornithogalum thyrsoides (Chincherinchee, Star-ofBethlehem, Wonder-flower, Tjienk) flowering on a road
verge towards Struisbaai.