Plants and Gardens of South Africa

South Africa has contributed significantly to world horticulture by providing such plants as Gladiolus, Kniphofia, Pelar- gonium, Freesia, Tritonia, Sparaxis, Gerbera, Strelitzia, Plum- bago, Tecomaria, Agapanthus, Streptocarpus, Nemesia and a host of others. Many are grown as natural species in botanic gardens, public parks and private gardens all over the world, while others, through the work of plant breeders, are now quite different from the species from which they were originally developed. Modem garden forms of Gladiolus and Pelargonium - the latter usually referred to as Geranium - are typical of the plant breeders’ skill. South Africa’s contribution to world botany and horticulture started centuries ago. It is still contributing and will continue to do so very largely through the activities of the National Bo- tanic Gardens of South Africa. Every year native species hith- erto never cultivated by man are introduced into the Gardens, propagated and increased until sufficient seed is nrc~lmPri tn make it available free of charge to botanic gardens, other scientific institutions and members of the Botanical Society of South Africa in all countries of the world. In 1953 seeds of 550 species were offered and this year the number has grown to about 1,500. Before I expand my theme let me briefly list some of the contributions which the National Botanic Gardens of South Africa have made to botanical science.

1. They are field laboratories for the study of South African plants. 2. At Kirstenbosch and the Natal Botanic Garden at Pieter- maritzburg they provide open air classrooms for instruction in nature study by full-time qualified teachers to classes of school children every school-day of the year. 3. Class material is supplied to universities, training colleges and schools. 4. Plant material for research purposes is sent on request not only to workers in South Africa but throughout the world. 220 221

There is no end to the type of research for which it is re- quired. Herbarium and live specimens are supplied for taxonomic studies on South Africa’s native flora. Material is also provided for chemical, cytogenetic, morphological, anatomical, physiological, pathological and medical investi- gations. 5. The National Botanic Gardens of South Africa publishes the Journal of South African Botany which includes contributions embodying the results of botanical research on any of the various branches of the science which have a bearing on the flora of South Africa. 6. Many species rare or even exterminated in their natural hab- itats are cultivated and thus preserved in botanic gardens. A threatened species such as Serruria florida, the Blushing Bride, is a good example. In the Franschhoek Mountains (the only place where it is known to occur naturally), its future existence is very precarious. Soon after Kirstenbosch was established seed was collected and sown. Now we have hundreds or thousands of plants and from these seed is dis- tributed to all parts of the world. The extermination of this species has therefore been prevented. 7. Although the long-term aim is to grow all the South African species in our botanic gardens, special attention is paid to the large scale propagation of the more showy and ornamen- tal types to encourage municipal parks and home gardeners to take a greater interest in South Africa’s natural flora and to use it in garden layouts. 8. Apart from their scientific and educational value, botanic gardens provide areas for recreation and relaxation. This aspect is of tremendous importance and will become more so in the future. If man is to advance in a world of hustle, bustle, cut-throat competition, noise, strife and uncertainty, he needs, and his body and spirit demand, peace, beauty and quietness. These he can find in a botanic garden. 9. These contributions collectively have been responsible in educating and encouraging the people of South Africa to take a greater practical and enlightened interest in the study, cultivation and conservation of the natural flora of their country. I trust that I have made it clear that botanic gardens are of value to science and to man. The need now is to ensure that all or as many as possible of the vast number of species native to South Africa should be cultivated in botanic gardens. The

223 garden at Kirstenbosch was established in 1913 with this as one of its main objects, and we must admit that it has achieved considerable success in that about a quarter of the nearly 20,000 species native to South Africa are at present grown there. However, experiencing a Mediterranean type of climate with heavy winter rain and summer drought it is not suitable for many of the plants of the semi-arid regions, the Highveld, the Lowveld or the sub-tropical coastal areas. The Karoo Bo- tanic Garden was established at Worcester for the flora of the drier parts of South Africa and for succulent plants generally, some of which are not confined to the semi-deserts. Worcester, incidentally, has an annual rainfall of approximately 130 mm. (5 ins.) compared with 1,500 (60 ins.) at Kirstenbosch. This development helped considerably to increase the number of South African species in cultivation. Some time later the Botanical Research Institute created its Pretoria National Botanic Garden to function largely as an ad- junct to the National Herbarium - a living herbarium we might call it. Under the control of the National Botanic Gardens of South Africa there are now 7 gardens; in the South Western Cape, Kirstenbosch at Cape Town and the Karoo Botanic Gar- den at Worcester have already been mentioned. In the Harold Porter Botanic Garden at Betty’s Bay, situated in the richest floral area of South Africa, the Caledon Division, only plants indigenous to the winter rainfall region are cultivated. The Tinie Versfeld Wild Flower Reserve in the Darling area, as yet undeveloped to any extent, is concerned with the natural flora of the Sandveld and Swartland region of the Cape, whereas the Edith Stephens Cape Flats Wild Flower Reserve is devoted to the cultivation and preservation of the fast disappearing vege- tation native to the Cape Flats. It was not until 1967 that the National Botanic Gardens of South Africa extended its activities outside the Cape Province. This was the first phase of a programme of establishing botanic gardens in the main ecological regions of South Africa. The purpose of this programme is twofold; firstly to provide sites where eventually the entire South African flora can be culti-

Above left: Babiana villosa right: Gladiolus carneus

Below left: Gladiolus recurvus right: Streptocarpus rexii All from Curtis’s Botanical Magazine. Vol. 16. London, 1803. Except Streptocarpus rexii. From The Botanical Register. Vol. 14. Lon- don, 1828. 224

vated, and secondly to make botanic gardens accessible to as many people in the country as possible. Each Garden has a very special, definite and specific policy to cater for the natural flora of a selected ecological, geographic or climatic area. The Orange Free State Botanic Garden near Bloemfontein, as its name implies, is concerned only with the indigenous vege- tation of the Orange Free State, whereas the Drakensberg and Eastern Free State Botanic Garden at Harrismith was established to accommodate the species of the entire Drakensberg range occurring more than 1,500 mm. (5,000 feet) above sea lev- el and of the Eastern Orange Free State within a radius of 160 km. (100 miles) of Harrismith. The last two additions were the Lowveld Botanic Garden at Nelspruit in the Eastern Transvaal and the Natal Botanic Garden in Pietermaritzburg. In the former case the broad grouping by Acocks of Tropical Bush and Savannah Types forms the basis of selecting the ecological region and in the latter case the Garden serves the Province of Natal. This programme of the expansion of the National Botanic Gardens of South Africa has been carefully considered and it is felt that with the establishment of additional branch Gardens for the Eastern Cape, Natal sub-tropical coast, the Highveld and possibly South West Africa, the main geographical, ecological, climatic and population regions of South Africa will " be adequately covered. To provide the maximum contribution to science it is considered that the various Botanic Gardens should, as far as possible, be situated near large educational centres or near areas of dense population. The eagerness and horticultural knowledge with which people are growing Proteas, Heaths and other plants are largely due to the example set by Kirstenbosch over a long period of time. Gardeners are now anxious to cultivate other types of native plants throughout South Africa. Proteas and Heaths may be very popular but they will not thrive everywhere. Since starting the Regional Botanic Gardens outside the Western Cape, many local species never cultivated before have been collected and grown in these Gardens. I make bold to predict that within the next few years such species will be grown and cherished in many home gardens as a result of the public being able to learn their names and to ob- serve their horticultural potential in the Botanic Gardens. It is a natural and obvious consequence. These species were prob- 225 ably evolved locally, they are adapted to the local climatic and soil conditions and with the help of man by watering to re- lieve drought and weeding to remove competition they will as- sume their rightful place as most desirable and "easy" horticultural subjects. What is more, seed will be made available to scientific institutions and members of the Botanical Society of South Africa free of charge. When all the gardens which I have mentioned have been established and developed, a complex will have been created which will be quite unique. I know of no other country in the world which is developing its botanic gardens on a similar principle and for this reason we can be justly proud of our endeavor to contribute to science and the advancement of man. H. BRIAN RYCROFT Director, National Botanic Gardens of South Africa and Harold Pearson Professor of Botany, University of Cape Town