246 AFRICA 



and dune formations, among^which are remarkable bush- 

 lands and shrubby heaths, recalling the Brazilian res- 

 thigas. Acacia cyclops, introduced from Australia, has 

 spread abundantly, and has materially altered the original 

 aspect of the landscape. Characteristic also of this 

 coast strip are the numerous representatives of the sedge- 

 like order of Restiaceac, which, together with myrtaceous 

 shrubs, form well-defined vegetation units on shifting 

 sands resting on clay or hard pan. The foot-hills support 

 the typical evergreen hard-leaf scrub : along with these 

 maquis occur hill heaths akin to the garigues, both of 

 which probably replace the destroyed woodlands. With 

 increased rainfall, cloud, and mists, the upper mountain 

 belt displays, in isolated areas, mountain swamps, rock 

 heaths and mountain brushes, the aspect of the whole 

 suggesting the bush of the coast strip rather than the 

 maquis. A pseudo-alpine low vegetation crowns the 

 wind-swept ridges. 



There seems to be no doubt that the Cape region once 

 possessed luxuriant forests of the Mediterranean type, and 

 that the same process of destruction which gave origin to 

 the European maquis largely also transformed these 

 forests into mere brushes. The Mediterranean cypress, the 

 cedars of the Atlas and Lebanon, find an equivalent in 

 the widdringtonia, so much like the Monterey cypress 

 of California, which had formerly a large area of dis- 

 tribution. The last few survivors of those stately and 

 useful trees are now left at about 2,700 feet, in inacces- 

 sible positions on the northern slopes of a remote moun- 

 tain range (Cedar Mountains). 



Knysna Forest. Almost the only natural timbered 

 tract left in South Africa occurs in a narrow and hilly 

 strip along the coast, from Mossel Bay to Algoa Bay. 

 The forests are regular, tall and dense formations 



