SOME NOTES ON A COLLECTING TRIP TO 

 FKENCM HOEK.* 



By Edwin Percy I'iiillips, M.A., D.Sc, F.L.S. 



(Read July y, iyi8.) 



In October, 1913, accompanied by the Herbarium Assistant, 

 Mr. VV. Foley, the writer paid a visit to French Hoek for the 

 purpose of collecting and studying the local flora. During that 

 time our headquarters were at Air. Kriel's farm, " Keer Weder," 

 from where daily excursions were made to the surrounding 

 mountains and valleys. The results embodied in this short paper 

 have been recorded, as will I hope similar results from other 

 localities, with a view to a futm-e paper on the flora of a more 

 or less continuous mountain system extending from French Hoek 

 to the Matzekammer, a distance of over 150 miles. 



My thanks are due to Mrs. F. Bolus, who kindly looked 

 through some of the Ericacecc and Orcludacea: \ to Mr. E. Kensit 

 for naming the species of Aspalathiis; and to the Director of 

 Kew for comparing some of the species with the Kew material. 



GEOLOGYf AND TOPOGRAPHY. 



The village of French Hoek lies in the French Fioek \'alley 

 at an altitude of 836 ft., and is surrounded on the North-East, 

 East, and South-West by a high chain of mountains roughly in 

 the form of a horse-shoe. The highest peaks in this range are on 

 the south-west, where they rise to over. 3,000 ft. above the sea- 

 level. On the west are a number of low hills, which separate the 

 French Hoek Valley from the Berg River Valley. The summit 

 of the mountains (above, say, 1,500 ft.) is made up of more or less 

 vertical walls of Table Mountain Sandstone, resting on MaJmes- 

 bury Beds, which form the gentle slo])es. On the west the slopes 

 are composed of granite, with a capping of Table Mountain 

 Sandstone. The valley is covered with Recent Deposits, resulting 

 from the disintegration of the surrounding hills and mountains. 



Ecology. 



There is a marked difference in the character of the vegeta- 

 tion as the mountains are ascended. The slopes are covered with 

 bush and shrub, the two principal species being Cliff ortia rusci- 

 folia and Passerina fiUforniis. As the Table Mountain Sand- 

 stone is reached, the bush dsappears, and the summit is clothed 

 with species of Restiacea, among which numerous Orchidacea 

 and bulbous monocotyledons are found, which are comparatively 

 rare on the lower slopes. The Sandstone formation also carries 



* The data for this paper were gathered when on a collecting trip for 

 the Soutli African Museum, Capetown. 



t I'or a detailed account of the g<^ology. sec " Annual Re])ort of tlie 

 Geological Conmiisiiion," Capetown (,1<^>*^C -^9- 



