The Andesite Mountain Bushveld is a type of sub-tropical woodland ecoregion of Southern Africa. It is part of the Bushveld biome, which straddles the Tropic of Capricorn and constitutes the southern part of the Zambezian region.
One of the endemic plant species found in this region is Ceropegia decidua subspecies pretoriensis, a succulent vine with tubular flowers that attract flies for pollination. [1] [2] This subspecies is classified as vulnerable by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) due to its small population size, restricted distribution and potential threats from urban expansion, erosion and alien plant invasion. [3] It is associated with ridges and quartzitic rocky outcrops in pockets of soil among rocks in direct sunshine or shaded areas.
Veld, also spelled veldt, is a type of wide open rural landscape in Southern Africa. Particularly, it is a flat area covered in grass or low scrub, especially in the countries of South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Botswana. A certain sub-tropical woodland ecoregion of Southern Africa has been officially defined as the Bushveld by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Trees are not abundant—frost, fire and grazing animals allow grass to grow but prevent the build-up of dense foliage.
Ceropegia is a genus of plants within the family Apocynaceae, native to Africa, southern Asia, and Australia. It was named by Carl Linnaeus, who first described this genus in his Genera plantarum, which appeared in 1737. Linnaeus referred to the description and picture of a plant in the Horti Malabarici as the plant for which the genus was created. In 1753 he named this species as Ceropegia candelabrum. Linnaeus did not explain the etymology but later explanations stated that the name Ceropegia was from the Greek word keropegion κηροπηγɩον. This means candelabrum in Latin, which has a broader range than the modern word - "a candlestick, a branched candlestick, a chandelier, candelabrum, or also lamp-stand, light-stand, sometimes of exquisite workmanship".
The Cape bushbuck, also known as imbabala is a common, medium-sized bushland-dwelling, and a widespread species of antelope in sub-Saharan Africa. It is found in a wide range of habitats, such as rain forests, montane forests, forest-savanna mosaic, savanna, bushveld, and woodland. Its stands around 90 cm (35 in) at the shoulder and weigh from 45 to 80 kg. They are generally solitary, territorial browsers.
The Bushveld is a sub-tropical woodland ecoregion of Southern Africa. The ecoregion straddles the Tropic of Capricorn and constitutes the southern part of the Zambezian region. It encompasses most of Limpopo and a small part of North West in South Africa, the Central and North-East Districts of Botswana and the Matabeleland South and part of Matabeleland North provinces of Zimbabwe. The Kruger National Park has a number of 'Bushveld' camps, but these are strictly speaking in the lowveld, as these terms are sometimes used interchangeably. Although their limits are somewhat blurred, lowveld is generally restricted to the more easterly parts of South Africa and Zimbabwe.
The bushpig is a member of the pig family that inhabits forests, woodland, riverine vegetation and cultivated areas in East and Southern Africa. Probably introduced populations are also present in Madagascar. There have also been unverified reports of their presence on the Comoro island of Mayotte. Bushpigs are mainly nocturnal. There are several subspecies.
Ceropegia woodii is a flowering plant in the dogbane family Apocynaceae, native to South Africa, Eswatini and Zimbabwe. It is sometimes treated as a subspecies of the related Ceropegia linearis, as C. linearis subsp. woodii. Common names include chain of hearts, collar of hearts, string of hearts, rosary vine, hearts-on-a-string, and sweetheart vine.
Ceropegia stapeliiformis is a flowering plant in the genus Ceropegia (Apocynaceae), native to South Africa and Eswatini. Common names include serpent ceropegia, snake creeper, and slangkambro.
Protea welwitschii is a species of shrub or small tree which belongs to the genus Protea, and which occurs in bushveld and different types of grassland.
The wildlife of South Africa consists of the flora and fauna of this country in southern Africa. The country has a range of different habitat types and an ecologically rich and diverse wildlife, vascular plants being particularly abundant, many of them endemic to the country. There are few forested areas, much savanna grassland, semi-arid Karoo vegetation and the fynbos of the Cape Floristic Region. Famed for its national parks and big game, 297 species of mammal have been recorded in South Africa, as well as 849 species of bird and over 20,000 species of vascular plants.
The Cape starling, also known as red-shouldered glossy-starling or Cape glossy starling, is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae. It is found in Southern Africa, where it lives in woodlands, bushveld and in suburbs.
Ceropegia decidua is a species of plant in the family Apocynaceae. It is found in South Africa and Eswatini.
The Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany Hotspot (MPA) is a biodiversity hotspot, a biogeographic region with significant levels of biodiversity, in Southern Africa. It is situated near the south-eastern coast of Africa, occupying an area between the Great Escarpment and the Indian Ocean. The area is named after Maputaland, Pondoland and Albany. It stretches from the Albany Centre of Plant Endemism in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, through the Pondoland Centre of Plant Endemism and KwaZulu-Natal Province, the eastern side of Eswatini and into southern Mozambique and Mpumalanga. The Maputaland Centre of Plant Endemism is contained in northern KwaZulu-Natal and southern Mozambique.
Ceropegia linearis is a species of flowering plant in the family Apocynaceae, native to Southern Africa.
Boscia foetida, commonly known as the stink shepherd's tree and the smelly shepherd's bush, is an evergreen shrub or tree that is native to the warmer and drier parts southern Africa. It is found in semi-desert and arid bushveld, and in the west it occurs commonly in areas which are otherwise sparsely wooded. It is known for the particularly unpleasant smell of its flowers which appear during early spring, to which its specific name foetida alludes. Its freshly cut wood likewise has an unpleasant smell, and has traditional medicinal and magical uses, for instance as a protection against lightning. In central Botswana the village of Mopipi is named after this species.
The Magaliesberg Biosphere Reserve is located in South Africa between the cities of Pretoria and Johannesburg to the east and Rustenburg to the west. The reserve lies at the interface of two great African biomes — the Central Grassland Plateaux and the sub-Saharan savannah — and the remnants of a third biome, the Afro‐montane forest. The rich biodiversity includes floral species such as Aloe peglerae and Frithia pulchra, and faunal species such as the forest shrew, sable antelope and 443 bird species representing 46.6% of total bird species in the southern African sub-region.
Mapesu Private Game Reserve is a game reserve in Limpopo Province, South Africa. The reserve adjoins the Mapungubwe National Park and World Heritage Site, with which it shares a 12.5 km Northern border. The main entrance gate to the reserve is located approximately 7 km east of Mapungubwe's entrance gate. It was established in 2014 and covers an area of over 7,200 hectares. The reserve protects various bird, mammal and tree species and is slated to become part of the Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Conservation Area in phase 2 as part of the proposed Limpopo Valley Game Reserve.
The Zambezian region is a large biogeographical region in Africa. The Zambezian region includes woodlands, savannas, grasslands, and thickets, extending from east to west in a broad belt across the continent. The Zambezian region lies south of the rainforests of the Guineo-Congolian region. The Zambezian region is bounded by deserts and xeric shrublands on the southwest, the Highveld grasslands of South Africa to the south, and the subtropical Maputaland forests on the southeast.
Tonteldoos is a village in the province of Limpopo, South Africa. It is located southeast of Roossenekal and 20 km northwest of Dullstroom, between the Steenkampsberg and Mapochsberg mountains. It is part of the Mapoch land seized by poor settlers in 1883 after the Mapoch War against King Nyabêla. Each veteran of the war was granted 8 morgens of the land, while the rest is reserved for communal pasture.
Aloe pretoriensis, is a species of Aloe found discontinuously in northern South Africa, eastern Zimbabwe and eastern Eswatini. It occurs in rocky grassland at generally higher altitudes. It is not threatened, but human induced declines have occurred in the Bankenveld region of Gauteng. It flowers in winter and is pollinated by insects and birds. The pointy flowers are carried on elongated racemes on a decidedly tall and branched peduncle. They have a tight rosette of erect, pale green leaves, which are quite thin compared to other Aloe species. Drying leaf tips turn reddish.
Diospyros lycioides, commonly called the bushveld bluebush, is a species of African Diospyros, trees and shrubs in the family Ebenaceae. It is native to central and southern Africa, except the winter-rainfall area. It grows in Australia and is known as a weed there. Many parts of the plant are used: the wood, the roots and stems for toothbrushes, the fruits for alcoholic drinks, and the roots and bark in traditional medicine.