Southern Africa
This collection is known for its superbloom that occurs in the spring, transforming the rocky slope into a riot of color produced by members of the iris, daisy and amaryllid families.
South Africa is positioned at a similar latitude to California (each lies about 34 degrees north and south of the Equator, respectively), so it’s no surprise that they share similar climates. Plants from the Cape region are well suited to conditions in California gardens and have become popular in horticulture, and many of them are of ethnobotanical importance. Both the Cape region and California are two of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, but the former region contains more than two-and-a-half times the number of species in one-third of the area!
Regions
The Garden’s Southern African Area includes plants primarily from the southern part of the continent, including South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Botswana, and Namibia. The plants of this region are famous for their diversity of flowers and forms, fostered by the wide range of microhabitats created by topography and climate. Many species are found nowhere else in the world.
Collection Highlights
The Garden’s collection is especially rich in Mediterranean-climate flora of the Cape region. We feature plants from karoo habitats (with spring bulbs and annuals, usually blooming in February through May) and the fynbos plant community (chaparral-like plants with proteas, ericas, and restios). The collection also includes plants of the Eastern Cape region, which does not have a Mediterranean climate.
Best Time to Visit
The Garden’s Southern African hill typically bursts into bloom in early spring (March–April). This ephemeral super bloom includes many annuals, bulbs and corms providing a spectacular show of color. In habitat these plants flower in early spring in response to the rainfall (and sometimes wildfire) they would receive on the western side of South Africa in the karoo and fynbos habitats.