| Lampranthus tenuifolius | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Aizoaceae |
| Genus: | Lampranthus |
| Species: | L. tenuifolius |
| Binomial name | |
| Lampranthus tenuifolius | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
| |
Lampranthus tenuifolius, the narrow-leaf brightfig, is a critically endangered species of succulent plant that is endemic to the Cape Flats Dune Strandveld around Cape Town, South Africa. [2] [3]
This tiny species of brightfig is normally not more than 10–15 cm in height. It produces bright pink and violet flowers.
This plant is naturally restricted to the coastal dune Strandveld vegetation of the Cape Flats, Cape Town. Here it grows in mildly alkaline or neutral sands.
In the last few decades, Lampranthus tenuifolius has lost most of its natural habitat and over 80% of its subpopulations, to farming and the urban sprawl of Cape Town. It is currently classified as Critically Endangered by the IUCN
Two tiny and fragmented patches of this plant remain, totalling roughly 100 plants. This tiny population is still decreasing - now mainly due to invasive alien plants and coastal developments. [4]
The Rondevlei Nature Reserve is located in Grassy Park, Zeekoevlei and Lavenderhill, suburbs of Cape Town, South Africa. The bird sanctuary covers approximately 290 hectares of mostly permanent wetland and consists of a single large brackish lagoon. The nature reserve is among the most important wetlands for birds in South Africa despite being situated directly alongside the Zeekoevlei. A number of islands on the vlei act as vital breeding sites. Rondevlei is home to about 230 bird species, a variety of small mammals and reptiles like caracal, porcupine, Cape fox, grysbuck, steenbuck and mongoose, as well as a hippopotamus population which was re-introduced in 1981 as a means to control an alien grass species from South America, which had covered the shoreline and was threatening to engulf the vlei itself. It boasts unusual and threatened ecosystems like strandveld, sand plains fynbos, Cape lowland wetland vegetation and indigenous coastal fynbos vegetation with unique plants found nowhere else in the world.
The Cape Floral Region is a floristic region located near the southern tip of South Africa. It is the only floristic region of the Cape Floristic Kingdom, and includes only one floristic province, known as the Cape Floristic Province.
Lampranthus is a genus of succulent plants in the family Aizoaceae, indigenous to southern Africa.
The geometric tortoise is a critically endangered species of tortoise and one of three members of the genus Psammobates. It is found in a very small section in the South-Western Cape of South Africa.
The western leopard toad is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. The species is endemic to the low-lying areas of the Cape Peninsula, the Cape Flats and the Agulhas flats of the Western Cape, South Africa.
The Milnerton Racecourse Nature Reserve is a lowland conservation area located in the City of Cape Town, South Africa.
The Biodiversity of Cape Town is the variety and variability of life within the geographical extent of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality, excluding the Prince Edward Islands. The terrestrial vegetation is particularly diverse and much of it is endemic to the city and its vicinity. Terrestrial and freshwater animal life is heavily impacted by urban development and habitat degradation. Marine life of the waters immediately adjacent to the city along the Cape Peninsula and in False Bay is also diverse, and while also impacted by human activity, the habitats are relatively intact.
Cape Flats Dune Strandveld is an endangered vegetation type. This is a unique type of Cape Strandveld that is endemic to the coastal areas around Cape Town, including the Cape Flats.
Cape Flats Sand Fynbos (CFSF), previously known as Sand Plain Fynbos, is a critically endangered vegetation type that occurs only within the city of Cape Town. Less than 1% of this unique lowland fynbos vegetation is conserved.
Peninsula Granite Fynbos is an endangered Fynbos vegetation type which is endemic to the city of Cape Town and occurs nowhere else. It is a unique type of tall, dense and diverse scrubland, scattered with trees. It can be found all along the belt of granite that encircles Table Mountain.
Zandvlei Estuary Nature Reserve is a 300-hectare (740-acre) nature reserve and recreational area located in Muizenberg near Cape Town, South Africa.
Edith Stephens Wetland Park is a nature reserve for wetlands and fynbos, located in the city of Cape Town, South Africa.
Witzands Aquifer Nature Reserve is a 3,000-hectare (7,400-acre) protected natural area in Cape Town, South Africa, located on the city's northern outskirts. This reserve protects an important part of Cape Town's natural and cultural heritage, including the Atlantis Aquifer. It is adjacent to the Koeberg Nature Reserve.
Wolfgat Nature Reserve is a coastal nature reserve in Mitchells Plain on False Bay in the Western Cape, South Africa.
Blaauwberg Nature Reserve was proclaimed a local and provincial nature reserve in 2007. The reserve has views down fynbos slopes, across the city, to seven kilometres of rocky and sandy coastline and the ocean and beyond. The reserve presents itself as one of the few viewpoints in the world from where you can see two proclaimed world heritage sites, namely Table Mountain and Robben Island.
Macassar Dunes Conservation Area is a 1,116-hectare (2,760-acre) coastal nature reserve in Macassar, within the City of Cape Town, South Africa.
Babiana nana is a species of geophyte of 6–15 cm (2.4–5.9 in) high that is assigned to the family Iridaceae. It has leaves that consist of a sheath and a blade that are at an angle with each other. The leaf blades are oval to almost line-shaped and have a left and right surface, rather than an upper and lower surface. The leaf blades are moderately pleated and covered in dense, soft hairs. The inflorescence contains two to six blue to violet or pale pink flowers adorned with white markings on the lower lip, and with three stamens crowding under the upper lip. Flowering occurs from late August to the end of September. The flowers emit a smell reminiscent of roses or violets.
Piaranthus is a succulent plant genus in the subfamily Asclepiadoideae, in the family Apocynaceae.
Gasteria acinacifolia is succulent plant native to the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.
