Renosterveld use to cover most of the Cape Floristic Region, typically the lowlands between the mountains where the shale deposits and granite outcrops erode into clay soils. The Swartland region got its name from the vast stretches of Renosterveld that use to cover the rolling hills and flats appearing almost black in summer. 

 

The gentle slopes and high agricultural potential transformed the landscape reducing the Renosterveld to a few tiny fragments around rocky outcrops. Much of what remains is in a poor state due to overgrazing and incorrect application of fire, a major driving force in the ecological functioning of the vegetation type.

 

We are fortunate enough to have a nearly pristine fragment covering just over 450 ha on Dassenberg Mountain behind Cloof cellar. The immense diversity and density of bulbs in the mountain is astonishing!

 

The term Renosterveld is often associated with Renosterbos (Elytropappus rhinocerotus), a common shrub from the Daisy family found throughout the drier regions of the Cape including the Karoo and Namaqualand. Renosterbos is a pioneer plant and is typically first to establish on disturbed veld. For most veld types, the overwhelming presence of renosterbos is an indicator of poor veld management and loss of ecological functions.

 

Pristine Renosterveld however contains a multitude of fine leaved, medium-high shrub species. When natural, Renosterveld supports a vast array of birds, reptiles, insects, and small mammals.

 

Historically, vast herds of antelope used to migrate through the Renosterveld including elephant, black rhino, bontebok, eland, Cape mountain zebra, bluebuck (now extinct), Cape warthog (also extinct) and where preyed apon by predators such as the Cape lion (also now extinct) and leopard. Flocks of vultures would ride the thermals in search of carrion, but that's all in the past now...

 

By focusing conservation efforts on the multitude of plant species, you are automatically conserving the diversity of insects, reptiles, birds and mammals that rely on them as the base of their food chain.