The flora of Meadowridge/Bergvliet open spaces

Areas of botanical significance within Meadowridge and Bergvliet

by Stuart Hall

Apart from the largest and most important remnant patch of natural vegetation within the area, Meadowridge Common, there are a number of other less well documented open spaces which also contain an interestingly high number of indigenous plant species including a number not usually encountered within such an established suburb with the levels of disturbance present here. The natural vegetation cover found here originally was mostly Cape Flats Sand Fynbos found on light acidic sandy soil as well as Peninsula Granite Fynbos found on granite-derived clay.

While Meadowridge common (an example of lowland acid-sand plain fynbos: CFSF) contains around 120 species of indigenous plants growing wild, other open spaces nearby have as much as over 40 species in some cases, as noted in the plant species list. Each locality was named usually according to the roads on which it is situated. In some cases species were recorded with the date first noted in order to give some idea of when they are present if not perennial, as many plants still persisting in the area are able to do so because they are geophytes (bulbs) or at least somewhat dormant for part of the year.

Summer on Meadowridge Common

Although it doesn't look very colourful in summer, the Common is full of surprises.

You can find butterflies like this Painted Lady (Vanessa* cardui).

Or the beautiful blue pea-flowers of the Fountain Bush (Psoralea pinnata).

The Sweet Sprayflower or Heuningblommetjie (Struthiola dodecandra) flowers from November to March.

And there is always a pelargonium in bloom. This one is the Wild Storksbill (Pelargonium cucullatum subsp. cucullatum).

*Sometimes also called Cynthia cardui (see http://www.ispot.org.za/node/152867#comment-48640).

Spring walk on the Common

Join Olwen Gibson, experienced tour guide leader, and the Friends of Meadowridge Common on a guided walks on the Common to view our special spring flowers.

The walk will take place on Saturday 29 September 2012. Meet on the gravel road that leads off Faraday Way towards the soccer fields at 12h15.

The walks are free, but non-members will be asked for a donation towards the Friends of Meadowridge Common.

For more information about the walks, please phone Fiona Watson at 021 712 0696 or click here.

The Lost Fynbos of Tokai Park

This is the subject of a talk by Tony Rebelo of the Threatened Species Research Unit of the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) at Kirstenbosch. The restoration of Tokai represents one of our last opportunities to link ecological processes from the top of Table Mountain to the lowlands of the Cape Flats. It is also one of the last places where we still have a chance to rehabilitate a sustainable area of critically endangered Cape Flats Sand Fynbos.
Join the Friends of Meadowridge Common (custodians of a small remnant of Cape Flats Sand Fynbos) to hear Tony, an expert in this field and one of South Africa’s top scientists, explain why this is such an important project.

Date: Wednesday 12 September 2012
Venue: Meadowridge Library hall. Click here for map.
Time: 19h30.
Entrance fee: Free for Friends of Meadowridge Common. R10 for visitors.

Refreshments will be served afterwards.
For more information, please phone Fiona Watson at 021 712 0696.

A set of greeting cards will be on sale to raise funds for maintenance and upkeep of Meadowridge Common. The cards feature paintings by botanical artist, Olwen Gibson, of four flowers that occur on the common: Pelargonium triste, Pelargonium cucullatum, Salvia chamelaeagnea and Wachendorfia paniculata. A pack of four cards costs R50 but Friends of Meadowridge Common only pay R40. For more information, click here.

Photo: Paul and Liz Johnston, Anthony Hitchcock, Eric Harley and Tony Norton with the Erica verticillata plants that were successfully restored to the Prinskasteel wetland in Tokai, by Tony Rebelo. See article in Veld & Flora March 2012.

Spring flower walks on Meadowridge Common

Join Olwen Gibson, experienced tour guide leader, and the Friends of Meadowridge Common on two guided walks on the Common to view our special spring flowers.
The walks will take place on Saturday 15 September 2012 and Saturday 29 September 2012. Meet on the gravel road that leads off Faraday Way towards the soccer fields at 12h30. For a more detailed map, click here.
The walks are free, but non-members will be asked for a donation towards the Friends of Meadowridge Common.
For more information about the walks, please phone Fiona Watson at 021 712 0696.
Click here for more on what you might see on the Common in September.

Photo: Babiana ambigua.

Flowers of Meadowridge Common

The Friends of Meadowridge Common have published a set of four greeting cards to raise funds for the maintenance and rehabilitation of Meadowridge Common.
The cards feature paintings by botanical artist, Olwen Gibson, of four flowers that occur on the common: Pelargonium triste, Pelargonium cucullatum, Salvia chamelaeagnea and Wachendorfia paniculata. A pack of four cards costs R50 but Friends of Meadowridge Common only pay R40. Olwen Gibson is a member of the Botanical Artists Association of Southern Africa (BAASA) and is becoming quite well known for her meticulous and beautiful water colour paintings of our indigenous flora.
Your purchase will go towards the care of Meadowridge Common, which is a priceless remnant of the endangered vegetation type, Cape Flats Sand Fynbos. The Friends are a group of local residents who identified this precious remnant and made sure that it was added to the number of nature areas within the City of Cape Town’s biodiversity network.

If you would like to purchase a set of these cards, please phone Olwen Gibson at 021 712 1382 or email her at Meadowridgefriend@gmail.com.

The cards will be on sale before and after the talk on The lost fynbos of Tokai Park by Tony Rebelo which will be held in the Meadowridge Library on 12 September 2013 as well as before and after the spring walks that the Friends of Meadowridge Common will be hosting on Sat 15 and Sat 29 September.

AGM 2012

The AGM of the Friends of the Meadowridge Common was held on Monday 27 February and followed by an interesting talk by Ineke Moseley, a member of the team of photographers and botanists of the Friends of Silvermine who have photographed and documented the flora of Silvermine, entitled: “Flowers of the Southern Peninsula: rarities, endemics and pollination strategies”. Ineke and Corinne Merry gave a demonstration of their database of the flora of the Cape Peninsula, FloraDoc, which documents all the flora you are likely (and unlikely!) to come across on the Cape Peninsula - most of them accompanied by great photographs for easy identification. It is a great resource, and costs R150. For more information, click here.
One of the Friends of Meadowridge Common, Olwen Gibson, who is an accomplished botanical artist, exhibited a set of four beautiful paintings of flowers that occur on Meadowridge Common. These will soon be available as a set of four cards which will be available to Friends of Meadowridge Common at a special price. Email Meadowridgefriend@gmail.com for information about how to purchase a set of these lovely cards.