Paarl Mountain Nature Reserve Explori ng the pearls of Paarl The diversity and potential of Paarl Mountain Nature Reserve by Sue Milton, Conservation Ecology, University of Stellenbosch, Richard Dean, FitzPatrick Institute, University of Cape Town and Myke Scott, freelance plant collector

'Peerleberg' (Pearl Mountain) was the name given to the grazing and for watering their livestock. In 1838 the land was spectacular granite mountain in 1657 by Dutch settler granted to the magistrate's office as a commonage for inhab­ Abraham Grabbema who was sent to find what resources the itants of Paarl and the military base of Agter Paar!' The Cape interior had to offer to Van Riebeeck's newly estab­ mountain was included in the Municipal boundaries of Paarl lished supply station near Cape Town. The mountain has in 1840 and dams and roads were built between 1881 and been known by this name ever since. Thirty years later, in 1914. During this period the Perolds and other families 1687, a settlement was founded at the foot of the mountain camped on the mountain during their Christmas holidays. by Simon van der Stel who allocated farms to Free Burghers Their signatures are engraved in the rocks at Krismas Kamp, and in the following year to French Huguenots. Van der Stel an attractive grove of wild olives on the plateau with a mag­ named the area Drakenstein - not as we had long believed for nificent view over Bretagne Rock. the spectacular boulders (dragon stones) but after Hendrik Nature reserve status for the mountain was proposed in Adriaan van Rheede tot Drakenstein, Commissioner of the the 1950s but was opposed by farmers and others who made Dutch East India Company. The commissioner stayed in use of the mountain for camping, grazing and collection of Cape Town in 1685 and made notes on ostrich, lion and wild firewood, wildflowers, honeybush tea, thatching reeds and dogs that he saw there, but never visited Paarl Mountain. other natural resources. In 1963 Paarl Mountain was Had he done so he would doubtless have been fascinated, declared a National Monument, but it was not until 1970 because he was a botanist and co-author of Hartus that the whole mountain commonage (2900 hal was granted Malabaricus (the garden of Malabar) that describes all the to the Paarl Municipality by an act of Parliament for use as a therapeutic properties of the plants of Malabar. While in nature reserve. Of this area, 890 ha were leased to neigh­ Cape Town he inspired Van der Stel and others to study the bouring farm owners for flfty years (1970-2020) and 100 ha Cape plants. were transferred to the State for the Afrikaans Language Little is known of Khoikhoen use of the Paarl area, but they Monument. The remaining 1910 ha form the present Paarl had doubtless visited the mountain over tens of thousands of Mountain Nature Reserve. The first management plan for the years to graze their animals. The Seventeenth Century reserve was drawn up by Brian van Wilgen in 1974 when he French Huguenot and Dutch farmers used the mountain for was a student at the University of Stellenbosch.

ABOVE LEFT: Looking across the plateau of Paarl Mountain Nature Reserve. Photo: Sue Milton. RIGHT: The expolorer William Burchell visited Paarl in 1811 and, while walking to the foot of the mountain behind Paarl village, he noted the rooiels trees Cunonia capensis growing along the river. Photo: Myke Scott.

22 March 2005 Veld&Flora ABOVE LEFT: Grassy patches support a rich diversity of plants. RIGHT: Who planted the silver tree woodland on the southern slopes of Paarl mountain? We would love to hear from any reader who has information on the history and origins of this woodland. Photos: Sue Milton.

Explorers and collectors buchus are the earliest herbarium Paarl Mountain has long attracted records from Paarl Mountain. T.R. Sim the attentions of natural historians, yet and S. Garside made a large collection there are few published studies of its of mosses and liverworts between 1917 vegetation and fauna. We know from and 1919. Since then, knowledge of the travel accounts by Van der Stel in 1685 Paarl Mountain flora has grown slowly that there were black rhinoceros, ele­ with the help of at least 110 people, phant, lion and eland in the area in including such well-known botanists 1685. A century later when Thunberg, as Rudolf Marloth, General Jannie Sparrmann, Masson and Gordon were Smuts, Pole-Evans, Harry Bolus, exploring and collecting from 1770 to R.H.Compton, Elsie Esterhuisen, John 1785, there were still zebra, antelope Hutchinson, John Acocks and Chris and lion, but elephant and hippo had Burgers, who deposited Paarl been virtually shot out. On 24 January Mountain specimens in the national 1874, the English bird taxonomist herbaria. Our plant checklist for Paarl Captain G.E. Shelley, collected a vari­ Mountain Nature Reserve (710 species) ety of birds during a hot walk up the is based on 1657 records. mountain. His bag included Cape and The 1960s saw the start of a field scrub robins, boubou shrike, Cape herbarium in Paarl Mountain Nature canary and stone chat. On top of the Reserve. Major additions to the herbar­ plateau in fynbos he collected grass­ ium were made by volunteer Joan birds and a white necked raven that Isham between 1990 and 1998, by had come to examine his specimens. Barrie Low in 1999 and by our team in On his way down the mountain, he 2002. The herbarium, which is cooled off in a stream pool in the com­ arranged in systematic order, now con­ FROM TOP: The deep granite soils support dense, pany of pied kingfishers. tains 554 mounted plant specimens of tall and Impenetrable protea fynbos, strongly dom­ The vegetation of the Paarl area is 394 species. The collection is far from inated by a White-flowered form of the sugarbush Protea repens. Photo: Myke Scott. described in only the vaguest terms in complete as it represents only 55% of A FOREST patch in the shade of the mighty gran­ the eighteenth century as shrubby and the plant species known to occur in ite boulders. Photo: Sue Milton. grassy, but in 1801 John Barrow Paarl Mountain Nature Reserve! And THE LOWER slopes, where soils are clayey and climbed the mountain and commented there are undoubtedly many more conditions drier, support renosterveld shrubland, on the huge wild olives, the elegant plant species on the mountain for very rich in grasses. It is on these lower slopes that the botanical pearls of Paarl are found, heaths (ericas), and the abundance of which no record yet exists. because the lower slopes of most hillsides in the sugarbush Protea repens. In his own western Cape have been converted into vineyards words 'The mountain of Paarl furnishes Four biomes in one at the expense of the rich flora. Photo: Sue Milton. a fine field for the botanist. The plants Paarl Mountain Nature Reserve has BELOW: Tolbos Leucadendron rubrum also grows are varied and wonderfully luxuriant'. something for everyone. Apart from the on the deep granite soils. Photo: Sue Milton. William Burchell visited Paarl in 1811 botanical garden, picnic sites, walks, en route from Tulbagh to Stellenbosch. fishing, bird watching, rock-climbs and While walking to the foot of the moun­ spectacular views of the Western Cape tain behind Paarl village he noted in all directions, you can see four of the rooiels Cunonia capensis along the region's biomes, Karoo, Fynbos, Forest river, Erica pubescens, Cassine capen­ and Renosterveld Biomes, within a sis and the parasitic stokkiestee, kilometre of one another. Viscum capense, agurkie Cucumis Each of these major vegetation types prophetarum, bloublomsalie Salvia can be further divided into sub-types, africana and bokbietou Diosma capita­ depending on soil depth, moisture, tao Drege's 1830 collections oflegumes, slope and aspect. daisies, pelargoniums, grasses and The thin soils over granite boulders One may well ask why the various species flower at different times of the year, and perhaps it is because they need to please particular pollinators, or to have seeds available at the time of the year when seed dispersal will be most effective.

ABOVE LEFT: The rare fireworks pincush­ ion Leucospermum grandiflorum can be seen in flower from August to October. RIGHT: The fluffy white seeds of kapok­ bos Eriocephalus and the shiny red flow­ ers of Erica can be seen together in September. Both are used by sunbirds ­ the kapok for lining nests and Erica flow­ ers as a nectar source. Photos Sue Milton.

have a vegetation similar to that of the there would have been marshes on the the botanical pearls of Paarl are found, Succulent Karoo. The succulents that mountain plateau. Remnants of these because the lower slopes of most hill­ flourish in boulder cracks and on shal­ can still be seen just above the dams, sides in the western Cape have been low soils at the edges of the great gran­ where dense stands of golden-leaved converted into vineyards at the expense ite domes and boulders that emerge sonskynbos Leucadendron salignum of the rich flora. from the mountain plateau include and white-flowered koffiebos Brunia The lower slopes of Table Mountain, aloes, crassulas, euphorbias, many and Berzelia and tall bracken thrive in Tygerberg Hills and Paarl Mountain are vygies and succulent species of daisies the boggy soil. unfortunately also recipients of inva­ and pelargoniums. Various types of forests and wood­ sive alien plants from gardens and The deep granite soils of the flat lands grow in the shade of mighty boul­ farms. Recently the Drakenstein plateau support remarkably dense, tall ders and follow the courses of streams Municipality embarked on a major and impenetrable protea fynbos, coming off the mountain. There are alien invasive plant clearing pro­ strongly dominated by a white-flowered patches of wild olive Olea europaea gramme to save the rare plants of the form of sugarbush Protea repens and subsp. africana, kliphout Heeria argen­ lower slopes of Paarl Mountain Nature by tolbos Leucadendron rubrum. These tea and taaibos Rhus associated with Reserve from inundation by wattle, shrubs grow so close together as to all the big boulders on the mountain. pine and lantana. exclude most other plants. Were it not Along the larger streams there are rib­ for the granite boulders and domes bons of tall forest similar to those you Where to wander? that emerge here and there, occasional will see in similar habitats at There is a network of roads and a few fires that knock back the proteas, and Jonkershoek and on Table Mountain. paths on the mountain plateau. the termites and rodents that maintain At the waterfall just above the Jan Driving or walking these routes will open patches 'for yellow daisies and pea Phillips road near the offices you can allow you to see all the habitats on the flowers, pink suurings (Oxalis) , red eri­ see maidenhair and filmy ferns - real mountain. As you enter the reserve you cas, blue aristeas and orange watso­ damp, dark forest specialists. drive through the rarest and most nias, the plateau vegetation would be The steep lower slopes, where soils species-rich habitat - the renosterveld. rather dull. On screes and boulder­ are clayey and conditions drier, sup­ Then the road winds up onto the strewn areas waboom Protea nitida is port fine-leaved renosterveld shrub­ plateau through the wetland habitats dominant, and on the southern slopes land, very rich in grasses, bulb plants around the two dams, and through along the stream leading to Victoria (orchids, irises, Aristea, lxia) and flow­ dense tolbos and sugarbush fynbos, Dam there is a woodland of tall silver ering shrubs such as yellow Athanasia through patches of waboom amongst trees Leucadendron argenteum. and Aspalathus, purple Polygala, pink boulders. If you are walking you could Before the Bethel, Nantes and Podalyria, blue Felicia and Lobostemon, take the steep and rather slippery road Victoria dams were built a century ago white kapokbos Eriocephalus and through the silver tree woodland and to improve the town water supply, buchu. It is on these lower slopes that into the olive forest on the south-east-

24 March 2005 Veld&Flora ABOVE LEFT: Carpenter bee on Pa/yga/a virgata. RIGHT: The perfumed flowers of Cyphia va/ubi/is attract moth pollinators at night Photos Sue Milton.

ern side of the mountain. You can walk black carpenter bees that jostle one edges, in the cool months. As the tem­ up the Paarl rock for an outstanding another for possession of bushes with peratures rise, the rosettes of heart­ view of the Cape lowlands or picnic in the most flowers. The brilliantly blue shaped leaves shrivel, and the plants the shade of ancient wild olives at his­ flowers of Aristea africana and the pur­ retreat below ground. torical Krismis Kamp. ple-blue Lobostemon flowers are offset Red flowers and flowers that produce by the white flowers of Agathosma and large volumes of nectar are attractive to Flowers for all seasons Adenandra (buchu) that are very con­ birds, particularly during cold weather The top ten plant families in Paarl spicuous in the renosterveld just above when insects are hard to find. The Mountain Nature Reserve as far as the Jan Phillips drive in spring. white-flowered form of the sugarbush species richness goes are Asteraceae Bright colour is not essential for suc­ Protea repens, that occurs in profusion (daisies) with 105 species, lridaceae cessful pollination. There are many on the mountain plateau, produces with fifty-eight, Fabaceae (legumes) white flowers in the flora of Paarl masses of flowers in May and June. with fifty, Poaceae (grasses) with forty­ Mountain Nature reserve like Although many birds will drink nectar four, Proteaceae with twenty-nine, Asparagus, Berzelia and Spiloxene. when they can get it, the Cape sugar Scrophulariaceae (snapdragons) with Some may attract their pollinators by bird and orange-breasted and mala­ twenty-two, Restionaceae and reflecting ultraviolet light, others, such chite sunbirds are real specialists, and Ericaceae with eighteen each and the as the sweet scented flowers of the common in Paarl Mountain Nature Oxalidaceae (surings) with seventeen. creeper Cyphia volubilis, use perfume Reserve. The pinks and reds of many There are different plants flowering in that guides moths to their flowers even proteas, the oranges and reds ofwatso­ Paarl Mountain Nature Reserve every on dark nights. The two small stemless nias, tubular ericas, aloes and wild month, but·spring (August-October) is proteas (P. acaulis and P. scabra) on dagga Leonotis certainly attract these definitely the best time to visit the Paarl Mountain bear inconspicuous birds which they depend upon for pol­ reserve to see the greatest variety of brownish-green flowers on the soil sur­ lination. The fluffy white seeds of flowers. One may well ask why the var­ face. These emit a nutty smell that kapokbos and the shiny red flowers of ious species flower at different times of attracts small mammals like mice and Erica can be seen together in the year, and perhaps it is because possibly shrews, which pollinate the September. Both are used by sunbirds they need to please particular pollina­ flowers while sipping the nutty nectar. - the kapok for lining nests and Erica tors, or to have seeds available at the One rare plant well worth seeing in flowers as a nectar source. time of the year when seed dispersal spring in the Paarl Mountain Nature will be most effective. Reserve is the fireworks pincushion Mystery of the silver trees Leucospermum grandiflorum. This The silver tree woodland on the The birds and the bees grows in wet habitats near the dams southern slopes of Paarl Mountain may In September, temperatures are and the best time to see the golden not be natural. Paarl Mountain is one warming up, insects emerge from their flowers is from August to October. No­ of only four localities (worldwide) where pupae and birds begin to breed. Many one knows what pollinates its impres­ the silver tree Leucadendron argentum plants time their flowering for spring sive golden flower but, as John grows, the other three being Table because this is the time of the year Manning has shown (in Veld & Flora Mountain, Tygerberg Hills and the when insect pollinators (such as flies, March 2004) for other pincushions, it Helderberg Nature Reserve. In the 1995 bees, wasps and butterflies) are most may well be a long-tongued horsefly! Protea Atlas, Tony Rebelo suggests that abundant. Yellow, white and purple Autumn is the time to see Oxalis the tree may have been planted in all flowers are known to be attractive to species; the 'suurings' or sorrel. Paarl the non-Peninsula sites. However, in insects and so it is not surprising that Mountain has many of these starry their botany textbook Edmonds & these colours are prevalent on the white, yellow, orange, pink and cerise­ Marloth (1897, p. 169) note that the mountain in spring and summer. In flowered plants the bulbs of which are silver tree occurs 'on the Cape early summer (September to November) popular food items for Cape golden Peninsula, (and) near Paarl and pink Podalyria, purple Polygala and moles and Cape francolins. They flower Stellenbosch', so if planted, the plant­ yellow Aspalathus flowers attract large in profusion, especially along the road ing took place in the 1800s, and may

March 2005 Veld&Flora 25 have been motivated by the value of the serving the bulb plants and smaller wood. This is possible since Burchell shrubs in fynbos. If fynbos on fertile reported that in 1811 there were 'plan­ soils is protected from fire for fifteen tations' of silver trees near Wynberg at years or more, the bird-dispersed forest Witteborne, and that this farmstead shrubs start to take over, and the was named for the silver tree. It is curi­ attractive herbaceous plants are lost. ous that no Paarl specimens of this However it is not desirable to burn the species are represented in South whole mountain at one time because African herbaria. The authors would the birds and other animals in the veg­ love to hear from any reader who has etation would have no refuge. Burning information on the history and origins should take place at the natural fire of Paarl's silver tree woodland. season - the end of the dry summer ­ but unfortunately this is when fires are Management challenges hardest to control. Fire at regular inter­ Management of Paarl Mountain vals of ten to fifteen years is better than Nature Reserve faces all the usual chal­ no fire, but ideally burning should vary lenges of nature reserve management in frequency to give all the plant (such as balancing the budget), and species an opportunity to flourish others that have to do with the reserve somewhere at some time. Burning is a being a small island of natural habitat process that needs careful planning, in a sea of vineyards, crops and hous­ well-trained personnel and adequate ing developments. equipment to manage. Wide firebreaks Plants did not evolve in a vacuum must be maintained all around the but with rhinos, antelope, birds, dis­ reserve to prevent controlled fires from eases, wildfires and hunter-gatherers. spreading onto the surrounding farms. If completely protected from all distur­ This is necessary even though adjacent bance it is likely that many of the farms with natural vegetation will need smaller plant species would be over­ to develop a burning programme in shadowed by larger ones and eventual­ conjunction with Paarl Mountain so ly disappear. However, because Paarl that they too can preserve their valu­ Mountain Nature Reserve is now a able renosterveld. TOP: Material gathered by termites - part of the small island rather than part of a fyn­ process that maintains diversity. bos and renosterveld 'mainland' it is Invading species and genes ABOVE: Fire is an essential part of the fynbos. not feasible to return rhinos or herds of Control of invasive alien plants has BELOW: The sea of agricultural land around the antelope to the mountain. And since become an essential part of manage­ Paarl Mountain Nature Reserve. Photos: Sue Milton. human populations have grown greatly ment in protected areas allover the over the past 300 years, uncontrolled world because the plants we move gathering of plant resources is now around for horticulture and agriculture unthinkable. are moved further by wind, water, ants, Some of the processes that maintain birds and cars. We recorded forty-five diversity are being perpetuated. These species of alien plants m Paarl include the activities of small animals Mountain Nature Reserve - including such as rodents and termites. Termites hakea, wattle, pine, bugweed, lantana feed on dead leaves which they drag and Hypericum. Most of these are into their under ground nests. under control, but the reserve will Harvester termites digest the dead never be free of these invasive species leaves themselves with gut flora similar because they keep moving in. to those in the stomachs of cattle. In addition to invasive alien plants, Other kinds of termites grow fungi on the proteas of Paarl Mountain seem to leaf compost, and then feed on these be under threat from indigenous 'mushrooms' instead of the plant litter. invaders in the form of genes of proteas Both types of termites are important in introduced from other parts of the Control of invasive alien plants returning the minerals and organic country. Four species of Pratea (P. has become an essential part matter from the vegetation to the soil aurea, P. canaliculata, P. mundii, P. ner­ of management in protected and their activities cause patchiness in iifalia) from the southern Cape were the vegetation that enables plants of planted near the Afrikaans Language areas all over the world different kinds to co-exist. Rodents, Monument, around the staff houses in because the plants we move including rodent-moles, cut plants, the nature reserve and on the walls of around for horticulture and making openings in taller vegetation. Bethel and Nantes dams and these agriculture are moved further Their activities are similar to farming in have begun to spread and to hybridize by wind, water, ants, birds and that they 'cultivate' their preferred food with locally-indigenous Protea species, cars. plants, bulbs and grasses, in these particularly with P. laurifalia. There are open patches. now many hybrid plants near the The use of fire is essential for con- entrance of the reserve. Hybridization

26 March 2005 Veld&Flora may eventually lead to local extinction Mountain Nature Reserve is only partly ~ including old camping sites, graffiti of the original species on the mountain. developed. There is scope for develop­ and the dams provide a focus for dis­ ing new hiking routes and picnic or cussion of issues such as the European Releasing untapped potential camping sites. However, making recre­ colonization of the Western Cape, con­ Paarl Mountain Nature Reserve offers ation compatible with conservation flicts with indigenous people, and much for the nature-lover, angler, requires planning. Good access roads, changes in farming practices. The hiker and picnicker, but has potential paths and other facilities are essential herbarium and an associated environ­ to contribute even more to recreation, if the reserve is to be available for peo­ mental education centre could inspire tourism, conservation and education in ple to enjoy walking, birding, fishing a new generation of taxonomists, natu­ the Boland. To achieve long-term con­ and picnicking there. Certain sensitive ralists and resource managers. servation and the continued evolution habitats such as wetlands, riverbanks All conservation management deci­ of the fauna and flora that it protects, and lichen-covered granite domes sions are based on knowledge and Paarl Mountain Nature Reserve needs need to be protected from trampling understanding of how natural systems to develop corridors between Paarl and erosion, whereas with careful plan­ work. Questions include whether it may Mountain, across the lowlands to other ning, other sites can be developed for be feasible to harvest wildflowers or protected hills and mountains. Such picnic areas or bridges and paths. teas from the reserve, how roads are corridors might include green belts Paarl Mountain Nature Reserve has influencing streams, whether popula­ along rivers, hiking routes, and certain potential to be a prime outdoor class­ tions of rare plants are benefiting from types of farming enterprises such as room. There are opportunities to learn current burning management, how fast game farms. Extension of the reserve about geology, weather patterns, hybrid proteas are spreading in the and co-management that includes hydrology, and to use instruments to reserve and whether they are fertile. All restoration of the lower slopes of Paarl measure changes in altitude, tempera­ these questions, and more, need to be Mountain to conserve the species rich ture, slope and aspect. The marshes researched and answered to make renosterveld vegetation is a goal to aim and streams offer opportunities to do rational decisions that will ensure that for in future planning. water audits that assess water quality Paarl Mountain Nature Reserve is The recreational potential of Paarl and quantity. Historical artifacts viewed as a Pearl by future generations.

RIGHT: Healthy growth of fynbos two years after fire. Fires that vary in frequency over the years give all plants an opportunity to flourish. BELOW: Although fire is an essential element in fynbos management, uncontrolled fires can be dev­ astating. This wide firebreak needs regular maintenance. Photos: Sue Milton,

Furt~er reading Burchell, w,J. 1822. Travels in the interior of southern Africa, vol. 1. The Batchworth Press, London. Edmonds, H. & Marloth, R. 1897. Elementary botany for South Africa. Longmans, Green & Co, London. Manning, J. 2004. Needles and pins - the exciting discovery of a new pollination system in the ribbon pincushion, Leucospermum tottum. Veld & Flora 90(1), 10-12. Milton, S.J. 2003. Vegetation of Paarl Mountain Nature Reserve. Unpublished Report, Drakenstein Municipality, Paarl Mountain Nature Reserve. Information pamphlet. Rebelo, T. 1995. Sasol Proteas - a field guide to the proteas of southern Africa. Fernwood Press, Cape Town. Rookmaaker, L.C. 1989. The zoological exploration of southern Africa 1650-1790. Balkema, Rotterdam. Skead, C.J. 1980. Historical mammal incidence in the Cape Province, vol. 1. Kaffrarian Museum, King William's Town. Websites to visit http://home.zonnet.nllkoster262/lage.htm http://www.sahistory.org.za/pages/chronology/main-chronology.html http://www.lysator.liu.se/runeberg/nfcc/0054.html

March 2005 Veld&Flora 27