Meadowridge Common Veld and Flora Sept 07

8/14/2019 Meadowridge Common Veld and Flora Sept 07

1/4September 2007 Veld&Flora142

Meadowridge CommonAn update on the wildflowers of this precious remnant of

Cape Towns lowland fynbos

by Fiona Watson, Botanical Officer,

Friends of Meadowridge Common

Lowland fynbos

Since my article The wildflowers ofMeadowridge Common appeared in the

March 2001 issue ofVeld & Flora, my

species list of flora on the Common has

increased from ninety to 120. We have

identified some Red Data species, andmade some interesting observations on

the flowering of the kukumakranka,

Gethyllis afra, and on the effects of

early and late winter rains and a fire on

the flora of this precious lowland fynbos

remnant.

Red Data Species

Meadowridge has three Red Data

Book species: Moraea elsiae, Diastella

proteoides and Lampranthus reptans.

These have been registered with CREW(the Custodian of Rare and Endangered

Wildflowers) who lent me their GPS to

provide them with their exact positions.

They are being monitored regularly for

any changes.

Moraea elsiae which was consid-

ered rare or possibly extinct by Peter

Goldblatt in his book The moraeas of

South Africa is particularly threatened.

There are five plants on the Common.

For the first time since I started observ-

ing them seven years ago, two of the

plants set seed after flowering between

5 November and 5 December in 2006.

I had cross-pollinated two flowers, and

having observed a bee on one of the

plants, assume bees are the pollinator

of the others. At the end of December I

harvested six seeds which I handed over

to Graham Duncan of Kirstenbosch. It

would be wonderful if they are viable

and germinate so that more of the

plants can be propagated.

Diastella proteoides was originally

represented by three plants on theCommon, but one was mowed down by

City Council employees who acted out-

side their instructions for the day. The

good news is that plants have also been

found on Kenilworth Racecourse, close

enough physically for a DNA match.

We hope to introduce more plants from

this source. Meanwhile we endeavour to

keep the established plants as clear as

possible of invading sorrel (Rumex) spe-cies, Cynodon dactylon (kweek grass)

and Pelargonium capitatum.

Our five clusters of Lampranthus

reptans appear stressed during sum-

mer, their leaves turning reddish, but

they soon revert to green and grow

actively when the winter rains come.

Their golden yellow flowers form attrac-

tive carpets in the spring. One of the

clusters was dug up by some teenage

boys collecting soil to make bicycle

ramps on a path, but they were soon

confronted by me and some others and

persuaded to cease such activities.

ABOVE: Ursinia anthemoides.

BELOW: Diastella proteoides.

BOTTOM LEFT: Moraea elsiae.

BOTTOM RIGHT: Lampranthus reptans.Photos: Fiona Watson.


2/4September 2007 Veld&Flora 143

Kukumakrankas under pressure?

Gethyllis afra, which grows on the

Common, is a beautiful white kuku-

makranka with a red median strip

under each of its 3 cm long outer peri-

anth lobes. The three inner lobes are

thinner and without any markings. I

observed a large bee visiting a flower to

collect pollen, and wondered if it was the

pollinator. I have been recording weath-

er patterns in relation to its flowering

and submitted some data in 2006 to

the South African National Biodiversity

Institute (SANBI). My data* (shown on

the graph opposite) over the two years

supports Chris Daniels observations on

kukumakrankas in his article, Are the

days of the kukumakranka numbered?

in the March 2007 issue of Veld &

Florawhere he wrote that passing cold

fronts accompanied by a definite drop

in atmospheric pressure, irrespective ofwhether there are showers or not, have

a definite effect on the production of

flowers during the flowering season.

ABOVE LEFT: A bee collecting pollen from thekukumakranka, Gethyllis afra .

BELOW LEFT: Gethyllis afra leaves.

BELOW: Gethyllis afra flowers after a drop inatmospheric pressure, regardless of rain.Photos: Fiona Watson


3/4September 2007 Veld&Flora144

ABOVE: Oxalis obtusa. Photo: Fiona Watson

Fire on the Common

Fire is necessary approximately every

fifteen years for the healthy growth of

fynbos, and we tried hard and long

to organize a controlled burn for the

Common. Authorities, however, were

unsupportive since the Common is

situated in an urban area. But on 10

December 2003, a fire occurred on one

section of the Common, possibly started

by vagrants and extinguished by the

Fire Brigade. It was not the areas we

had envisaged for a fire, or the favoured

time of April but nevertheless it proved

to be a blessing. The displays ofOxalis

obtusaand Ursinia anthemoidesin late

winter were stunning. A new plant of

Aspalathus callosaappeared near where

another had died two years previous-

ly, and Struthiola ciliata flourished asdid Trachyandra ciliata. Leucadendron

salignum and Pelargonium cucullatum

re-sprouted. Asparagus capensis and

Asparagus rubicundus showed no ill

effects, but we did lose one plant of

ing in June, August and September.

The effects on our bulbous plants

was minimal in most species on the

Common, with magnificent displays

of Sparaxis bulbifera and species of

Asphodelaceae, Hemerocallidaceae,

Colchicaceae and Iridaceae doing well

in both years. Our seepage area in

spring 2006 was, however, already dry

and there was therefore no Holothrix

villosa, Disa bracteata or Triglochin

bulbosa present. A pleasant, yet still

worrying appearance, however was

that of only one plant of Pterygodium

catholicum. Once present in signifi-

cant numbers, it had been absent for

several years. Its oil-seeking bee pol-

linator is apparently also decreasing in

numbers. Is it approaching extinction?

There was a significant differencein the emergence of dicotyledons

depending on seed for their annual

appearances. Those flowering late in

the year were reduced in numbers or

even absent. In the dry seepage area,

Aspalathus retroflexa subsp. bicolor.

Another fortunately re-appeared in

2007. The damp-loving Geissorhiza

aspera lost their sheltering shrubs

and did not re-appear. The number of

Wahlenbergia capensis, which flowers

in October and November, was much

reduced the following year.

After the fire, the invasive Eragrostis

curvula, which had been smothering

the area, started to re-sprout. Three of

us set about removing it, taking care to

re-plant any bulbs found tangled in its

roots. This proved to be a very success-

ful venture in clearing the area, and the

few remaining grass plants and seed-

lings are removed on an ongoing basis.

Effects of early or late winter rains

In 2005 the winter rains contin-ued well into spring with most fall-

ing in June and August, and some

in September. In 2006, they peak-

ed earlier with the highest figure in

May and much less than 2005 fall-


4/4September 2007 Veld&Flora 145

BELOW: Fiona Watson withAmaryllis bel-ladonna (March lillies) on MeadowridgeCommon. Photo: Sybil Morris.

Monopsis debilis and Drosera trinerva

failed to flower. Elsewhere there were

very few Wahlenbergia capensis or W.

hispidula. Erica subdivaricata flowered

earlier than usual in October but then

again at its normal time of January. I

hope the seed of those absent species is

still viable in the soil and will germinate

again in 2007.

Meadowridge Common, as a small

remnant of the Cape Sand Plain Fynbos,

needs protection. Its legal status at

present in terms of the Cape Town

Metropolitan Open Spaces (MOSS) is

designated Non-negotiable and High

value for two parts of the Common,

and the Bergvliet/Meadowridge Local

Structural Plan recommends that both

areas be designated Non-negotiable.

We are in the process of applying

for Provincial Heritage Status on the

grounds of botanical value even thoughit seems to have no archaeological sig-

nificance, which counts against us.

An encouraging development is the

deployment of a Cape Town Nature

Conservation Reserve Manager to

work with the Friends of Meadowridge

Common in its management and reha-

bilitation. We have been allocated these

services for one day each week.

* For a list of the figures on which the

graph is based, please contact the editor [email protected].

ABOVE:Aspalathus retroflexa subsp.bicolorflowers from October toDecember.Photo: Fiona Watson

RIGHT: Fiona Watson with Amaryllisbelladonna (March lilies) onMeadowridge Common.Photo: Sybil Morris

BELOW LEFT: Sparaxis bulbifera pro-vides magnificent spring displays.Photo: Fiona Watson

BELOW RIGHT:Erica subdivaricata.Photo: Fiona Watson

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Meadowridge Common Veld and Flora Sept 07