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The Garden Magazine, June, 1923 
herbarium material of Cape plants was made in 1672 by Paul Herman 
on his way out to Ceylon to take up his post of chief medical officer of 
the Dutch East India Company. 
By whom the first living plants from the Cape were introduced into 
Europe is not known but it must have taken place soon after van 
Riebeck founded the fort if not before. Possibly some of the crew 
of the wrecked ship Haarlem took plants to Holland. At any rate 
Jacob Breyne in his “Centuria” published in 1678, tells us that H. 
de Beveringk had growing in his garden in Holland the plants we now 
know as Oxalis purpurea, Mesembryanthemton pugioniforme, and 
Ornithogalum tbyrsoides, the poisonous Chinkerchee of the Cape 
Dutch. 
Breyne, in the book just mentioned, deals with a fascicle of rare 
plants collected at the Cape by Wilhelm Rhyne in 1673 and received 
from India in 1677. A number of these are figured by Breyne and very 
accurate and beautiful are his illustrations—the first extant—of the 
lovely scarlet flowered Erica cerinthoides, the remarkable Brunia nodi¬ 
flora, the interesting Cape Almond (Brabejum stellatum), and the now 
well-known Lion’s-tail (Leonotis Leonurus). Quaint old James Petiver 
of London in his Ga^opbylacii Naturae II. 9, 10, tt. 81-90, dated 1709, 
figures “one hundred elegant plants growing about the Cape of Good 
Hope.” On plate 84 are pictures of eight kinds of Pelargonium. On 
other plates one recognizes such well-known plants as the Belladonna 
Lily (Amaryllis Belladonna), Haemanthus coccineus, various Aloes, 
Mesembryanthemums, Gasterias, Haworthias, and Stapelias. The 
bulbous, tuberous and succulent plants were most easily transported 
and quite a number of these were in cultivation in Holland and England 
by the middle of the 18th century. 
The first Cape Heaths (Erica concinna and E. marifolia) were not 
introduced until 1773 so evidently the raising of plants from seeds was 
found a more difficult Undertaking. The odd appearance of many 
and the beauty of their blossoms excited interest and curiosity among 
flower-lovers and an eager demand for them grew up. They were 
designated “Cape Plants,” a generic name still in vogue though a 
majority of the plants are less known to-dav than they were a century 
ago. Nevertheless, Cape Plants even to-day are an important unit 
and some rank among the indispensables. Our Nerines, Freesias, 
Gladiolus, Clivias, Streptocarpus, Zonal and Regal Pelargoniums are 
all derived from plants native to the Cape of Good Hope. Thus our 
debt to the southern tip of Africa is very considerable, yet it is com¬ 
paratively light to what it ought to be. The Cape teems with lovely 
plants suitable for California and the warmer states. The garden 
spirit has lagged so long in this country that hundreds of plants erst¬ 
while available have disappeared and must be re-sought to the utmost 
ends of the earth. The story of Cape Plants in cultivation is similar 
to that of Australian plants though happily, thanks to their bulbous 
character, a somewhat greater number have survived the neglect of 
well-nigh a century. 
The Cape flora is astounding in both quantity and variety. No 
accurate figures of the number of species indigenous there are available 
for the simple reason that its actual wealth has not yet been fully 
plumbed. Botanists from Linnaeus, in 1753, down to the present day 
have devoted much time to the naming of C^pe Plants, but the end 
is not yet. Many so-called “Floras” of the region have been pub¬ 
lished but a complete flora of the Cape of Good Hope is still a desider¬ 
atum. Quite recently a botanical survey of South Africa has been 
inaugurated but the task is huge and the workers few. This lack of 
anything like exact knowledge of the number of species of plants in¬ 
digenous in South Africa is not the fault of botanists. It is the extra¬ 
ordinary richness of the flora that so far has baffled the united efforts 
of those who have grappled with the problem of its specific classification. 
The seemingly infinite wealth of species in Australia and South Africa 
may cause the taxonomic botanist to despair but it delights the heart 
of the garden-lover. So, while the botanist figuratively groans beneath 
the burden, we can skip joyously from one new floral treasure to an¬ 
other—the gardens of America need never lack blossoms of beauty in 
endless form and variety. The world holds floral treasures beyond the 
dreams of avarice but it is for us to seek them out and learn how to 
use them wisely and well. 
B EFORE proceeding further with the story of the floral treasures 
of South Africa it is necessary for our proper understanding of 
the subject to describe as briefly as possible the more outstanding 
physiographical features of the country. The Cape of Good Hope is 
now a province of the Union of South Africa. It extends across the 
southern end of the African continent and has a total area of 276,966 
square miles, being slightly larger than the state of Texas. The most 
southern point is Cape Agulhas in latitude 34 0 , 50' south, and the 
northern boundary of about latitude 25 0 , 4' south, just beyond the 
town of Mafeking. 
Its physical structure is peculiar and exercises a strong influence on 
both the climate and the flora. There are four distinct zones, three 
of which are elevated plateaux. Each is separated by steep escarp¬ 
ments rising a considerable height above them. The first of these, the 
coastal plateau or belt is of very irregular width varying from about 
two to thirty miles, is very broken in character, and has an elevation 
of from sea-level to about 600 feet; in many places the coast-line is bold 
and the bases of the mountains are washed by the sea. No part of the 
world’s surface supports a richer flora than this coastal belt—here 
luxuriate the wonderful Proteas and their relatives, also the lovely 
Cape Heaths in hundreds of species. On its western flank are splendid 
rain-forests forming a beit about one hundred miles long and ten miles 
in width and the only large area of forest in the Cape Province. North 
of the coastal region the ground rises more or less abruptly to the Little 
Karroo, a narrow plateau from fifteen to twenty miles wide with an 
elevation of from 1,500 to 2,000 feet. The climate here is much drier 
and there are no forests, yet the flora is varied and rich. Many shrubs 
grow here, with Aloes and succulent Euphorbias, tuberous and bulbous 
plants aplenty; and in parts Mesembryanthemum dominates extensive 
areas. 
The next or central plateau is known as the Great Karroo and has 
an elevation of from 2,000 to 3,000 feet and extends east and west for 
some three hundred fifty miles. It is a country of shallow soils and 
rock-strewn surfaces with a low rainfall, and for practical purposes is 
desert. It is devoid of trees except along the river courses, where 
water flows intermittently. What vegetation there is is largely com¬ 
posed of succulents and small shrubs specially adapted to dry conditions. 
Still further inland is the fourth zone, the Northern Karroo, or Plains, 
the most extensive of all, with an elevation of from 4,000 to 6,000 feet 
in the eastern portions. This region enjoys a moderate rainfall and 
affords excellent grazing and pasturage for all kinds of stock. There 
are no forests, but low trees of Acacia occur scattered through the 
grasslands together with shrubs in variety and numerous kinds of 
bulbous plants. 
The mountain-ranges of the Cape Province are steeply eroded and 
difficult to cross though the peaks are not high; the highest is under 
8,000 feet and a majority under 6,000 feet. Table Mountain is 
3,582 feet with almost sheer precipices guarding its flat summit. 
The geological record of South Africa is obscure. Owing to the 
want of fossils in the rocks older than the Devonian there is no means 
of determining the base of the Palaeozoic system and a local nomen¬ 
clature has of necessity been invoked. Sandstones and shales of un¬ 
certain age, and known as the Table Mountain series, are a prominent 
feature throughout much of the Cape. The Karroo is a vast shallow 
basin filled with sedimentary deposits which are generally regarded as 
of fresh-water and glacial origin. Marine deposits are confined to the 
coastal regions and are of minor importance. Granites, characteristic 
of so much of Africa, only crop out here and there, as at Cape Town for 
example, and limestone rocks are rare. 
The whole of the Cape Province is largely high level country and its 
surface configuration has been chiefly determined by the erosive forces 
exercised by sun, wind, and rain. None of the rivers are navigable for 
any distance and in many water is found only at certain times in the 
year. A majority of the rivers are steeply graded and the mouths of 
all are obstructed by sand-bars. All are liable to sudden freshets which 
sweep down with tremendous force bringing with them great quantities 
of debris and speedily rendering the fords impassable. Sun and storm 
have in truth lain a heavy hand on the unforested lands of South Africa 
and the landscape everywhere tells the story plainly. Yet, although 
erosion has played such an enormous part, the strong ocean currents 
sweeping the unbroken line of coast have prevented the retention of 
great sedimentary deposits which in most parts of the world have gone 
to form fertile plains and deltas at the river mouths. 
South Africa is a land of sunshine but the climate generally is cooler 
than that usually found in similar latitudes in the northern Hemisphere. 
This is due mainly to the vast ocean to the south of the subcontinent. 
At Cape Town the maximum is 8o°F. and the minimum 47°F., giving 
a mean average of 63°F. In the interior the climate is naturally less 
equable than near the coast. At Cape Town in the west the rainfall is 
a winter one and averages about forty inches. In the east the rainfall 
is a summer one and at Port Elizabeth (Algoa Bay) averages about 
twenty-five inches. On parts of the Karroo it is as little as five inches 
or even less but on the Northern Plains it averages from five to twenty 
inches. Hailstorms are frequent during the winter months but snow 
save on the higher mountains is of rare occurrence. Temperature, 
winds and the regularity or otherwise of the precipitation of moisture 
