| Meadowridge Common | |
|---|---|
  Map of Cape Town | |
| Location | Cape Town, South Africa |
| Coordinates | 34°02′15″S18°27′10″E / 34.03752°S 18.45268°E Coordinates: 34°02′15″S18°27′10″E / 34.03752°S 18.45268°E [1] |
| Area | 8 ha (20 acres) |
Meadowridge Common is an 8-hectare (20-acre) reserve in the Meadowridge suburb of Cape Town, South Africa, which preserves a fragment of critically endangered Cape Flats Sand Fynbos vegetation. [2]
Meadowridge is a suburb in Cape Town, South Africa. It is the second garden city in Cape Town and was officially opened on 23 March 1955.
Cape Town is a legislative capital of South Africa, colloquially named the Mother City. It is the legislative capital of South Africa and primate city of the Western Cape province. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality.
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by 2,798 kilometres (1,739 mi) of coastline of Southern Africa stretching along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; and to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini (Swaziland); and it surrounds the enclaved country of Lesotho. South Africa is the largest country in Southern Africa and the 25th-largest country in the world by land area and, with over 57 million people, is the world's 24th-most populous nation. It is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World or the Eastern Hemisphere. About 80 percent of South Africans are of Bantu ancestry, divided among a variety of ethnic groups speaking different African languages, nine of which have official status. The remaining population consists of Africa's largest communities of European, Asian (Indian), and multiracial (Coloured) ancestry.
The preserve contains over a hundred plant species, including 4 that are endangered. The endangered Cape Rain Frog (Breviceps gibbosus) is one of the many small animals that have been seen here. In spring, the park becomes very colourful as the indigenous fynbos bursts into flower.
Fynbos is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. This area is predominantly winter rainfall coastal and mountainous areas with a Mediterranean climate. The fynbos ecoregion is within the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome. In fields related to biogeography, fynbos is known for its exceptional degree of biodiversity and endemism, consisting about 80% species of the Cape floral kingdom where nearly 6,000 of them are endemic. This land has faced severe threats and still does, but due to the many economic uses conservation efforts are being made to help restore it.
This small reserve is managed by the City of Cape Town, but faces considerable challenges. Not least of which are invasive alien plants such as Pine trees and Kikuyu grass. The reserve’s small size and isolation from other natural areas also make species extinction a much greater risk. [3] [4]
Pinus pinaster, the maritime pine or cluster pine, is a pine native to the Mediterranean region. It is a hard, fast growing pine containing small seeds with large wings.
