Cape Floristic Region
Cape Floristic Region is a biodiversity hotspot at the southern tip of South Africa. It is the smallest of the world’s six floral kingdoms and contains the Cape Floristic Province. The region is incredibly rich in plant life, with over 9,000 vascular species and about 69% of them found nowhere else on Earth. Much of this diversity comes from fynbos, a fire-prone shrubland adapted to nutrient-poor soils.
The area has big economic and ecological value. Fynbos products like wildflowers and eco-tourism bring in about R77 million per year. It is the greatest concentration of non-tropical plant life and is unique for covering an entire floral kingdom. The region lies mostly in South Africa, spanning the Western and Eastern Cape and reaching into KwaZulu-Natal.
Besides fynbos, other vegetation includes sandveld (coastal scrub on sandy soils), renosterveld (grassy shrubland on richer soils), and small pockets of Afromontane forests.
Many plant families are native or endemic to the region, including Grubbiaceae, Roridulaceae, Bruniaceae, Penaeaceae, Greyiaceae, Geissolomataceae, Retziaceae, and Stilbaceae. Rooibos tea also comes from this region.
The World Wildlife Fund divides the area into three ecoregions: Lowland fynbos and renosterveld, Montane fynbos and renosterveld, and Albany thickets. It is a Global 200 conservation priority and is recognized as a biodiversity hotspot. The region faces rapid extinction risk from habitat loss, land degradation, and invasive species.
In 2004, eight protected areas were designated as the Cape Floral Region Protected Areas World Heritage Site, with extensions added in 2015. The eight areas are Table Mountain National Park, Cederberg Wilderness Area, Groot Winterhoek Wilderness Area, Boland Mountain Complex, De Hoop Nature Reserve, Boosmansbos Wilderness Area, Swartberg Complex, and Baviaanskloof Mega Reserve.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 07:26 (CET).