318 OUTLINE OF PLANT GEOGRAPHY 



The high veldt reminds one of our own western plains, but the 

 climate is much milder in winter. About Johannesburg one may 

 see orchards of oranges and other vegetation which show that 

 the cold is never severe, a great contrast to the arctic winters of 

 Wyoming and Montana. 



The writer's acquaintance with this region is confined to a brief 

 visit in the early spring (September) before the summer rains had 

 started the dormant vegetation, and the monotonous veldt was an 

 almost unbroken expanse of dead grass, with only here and there 

 an occasional low bush or stunted tree. 



In summer there is a vigorous growth of tall grasses which 

 furnished feed for the hosts of antelopes and other big game that 

 once roamed these great natural pastures, much like the buffalo and 

 antelopes of our western plains. 



According to Engler x the predominant grass is Antistheria 

 imberbis associated with species of Andropogon, Panicum and 

 several others. The bulbous plants, so abundant in the Cape 

 region and Natal, are much less common, but on the slopes of the 

 hills and in the moist depressions, are showy species of Crinum, 

 Gladiolus, Ornithogalum and others. Dicotyledonous herbs are 

 abundant and include representatives of many families. 2 While 

 many of these belong to wide-spread genera, like Lepidium, 

 Cassia, Indigofera, Polygala, Heliotropium, Lobelia, etc., a large 

 number represent genera unknown in the northern hemisphere. 



On the rocky slopes of the kopjes, one may see such conspicuous 

 plants as the flesr^-leaved Aloes and Euphorbias, stone-crops, and 

 the showy Mesembryanthemums. 



The most abundant trees of the veldt are the thorny Acacias, 

 especially the " Kameel-dorn " (Acacia giraffae) which grows 

 mainty along the stream-banks together with several other species 

 of small trees, among which is an olive (Olea chrysophylla) , sumacs, 

 a willow (Salix Capensis) and several others. 



While the high veldt is mostly a pastoral region, one may also 

 see orchards of oranges and peaches, the latter in full bloom in 

 September and presenting a beautiful sight, especially when, as 

 was often the case, they were associated with weeping willows 

 just bursting into leaf, a tree which is very often seen about the 

 farms in the neighborhood of Johannesburg and Pretoria. 



1 hoc. cit., p. 458. 2 Engler, loc. cit. 



