TuK Plant Formations ok thk Capk Provinch. 251 



C. THE MOUNTAIN REGION. 



I, Thk Rocky Hkath. 



Many succulents of kanoid form have invadecl the Cape Province 

 and found .suitable homes on clifts, rocky ledges, boulders, ikt:, where 

 their roots are not water-logged in winter, and where the dry summer 

 prevents other vegetation from conquering them. The number of such 

 plants is often under-estimated, but on the Cape Peninsula we find, 

 according to the list prepared by Bolus and Dod, over 130 species of 

 typical succulents, of which more than 60 are species of Mesemhrian- 

 themvDi. The number of .shrublets is also very considerable, some 

 being not found in other formations, e.g. Euryopa' pectinatus. Here 

 abound numerous .species of lichens ; cliffs, hundreds of feet high and 

 long, are often entirely covered with them. There is often hardly a 

 boulder or a pebble free from them, and as they bear different colours 

 they are an important factor in the appearance of the rocks, especially 

 after rainy or misty weather, when they ai*e much brighter, viz., 

 Phyt<:cia cptrata (silver grey), UmbiHcaria rvhiginosa (reddish brown) 

 and Xanthoria jyariethia (greenish yellow). 



Many heaths and other shrublets of ericoid habit are here at 

 home, as well as many orchids and other showy monocotyledons. 



II. Mountain Heath. 



This formation resembles the heath of the hills, but is much richer 

 in species of shrublets and much richer in Restionacete Many of the 

 most beautiful species of Erica are found in this formation ; every 

 district, almost every mountain range, contains some others. Some 

 of the most showy monocotyledons occur here, e.g. tall Watsonias, 

 Aristeas, Gladiolus, Disas, (fee, the most beautiful of all our orchids, 

 Disa 7iniflora, growing on the banks of streams and in the crevices of 

 damp cliffs. 



D. THE SUBALPINE SUMMITS. 



This formation, which begins to assert itself at an altitude of 5000- 

 6000 ft.*, is a dwarfed mountain heath of the rocky type, containing 

 numerous shrublets of Ericaceje, Rutaceje, Leguminosfe, Penaeaceae, 

 Thymekeacete and Compositse, everywhere surrounded by and mixed 

 with dwarf Restionacefe. Many of the shrublets are closely pressed 

 against each other, or hang over rocks, e.g. Diosma teretifoHa, Erica 

 tumida: even .some Proteas assume this habit, viz., P. saxicola. Plants 

 with ba.sal rosettes of leaves are numerous, and cushion-plants frequent, 

 e.g. Bryomorphe Zeyheri and Psammatropha qimdranynJarit'. 



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