Wild Flowers of the Southern Namib, by Antje Burke

Wild Flowers of the Southern Namib, by Antje Burke.

Wild Flowers of the Southern Namib, authored by Dr. Antje Burke, includes plants which occur in the area of Lüderitz, Aus, Rosh Pinah, Oranjemund, i.e. Sperrgebiet and surroundings, but also some plants of the Namib sand sea, northwards to Sossusvlei.

Antje Burke  

The southern Namib, one of the harshest environments in Namibia, is home to well over 1000 species of plants. The area, shown on the map opposite, is covered by Namib sands, the Sperrgebiet and extends eastwards to the rise of the escarpment at the Huib Hoch-Plateau. What makes the Namib such a harsh environment? Several wind corridors channel onshore winds along valleys, some of which - like the one at Pomona - produce persistently high wind speeds that continually pummel the landscape. The effect of these winds is compounded by extreme aridity. Rains, which do not necessarily fall every season, produce annual averages of 54 mm in the Rosh Pinah area and decrease to 20 mm in Luderitz. However, moderating these climatic extremes is the influence of fog along the coast. The south-western section of the southern Namib comprises the northernmost extent of the areas regularly receiving winter rainfall in southern Africa. Although winter rains can occasionally occur as far north as the Brandberg, this is rare. The remaining parts of Namibia receive summer rains. It is the variety of habitats, its position at the interface of the winter- and summer-rainfall areas in southern Africa and the coastal influence, that makes the southern Namib so rich in biodiversity. The southern Namib falls into the northernmost extension of the Succulent Karoo Biome of southern Africa. The Succulent Karoo is characterised by winter rainfall and a prevalence of succulent plants. Although there is some debate concerning this biome's northern border, recent works defined it as ranging just north of Luderitz. Adjoining the Succulent Karoo Biome to the north is the Desert Biome and to the east the Nama Karoo Biome. From north to south, the Namib Sand Sea is characterised by one massive dunefield of shifting sand, with a few inselbergs and koppies (isolated mountains or rocky outcrops) interrupting these mobile dunes. To the south, the central and eastern parts of the Sperrgebiet are dotted with inselbergs positioned in vast stretches of gravel plains, mobile and semi-stabilised dunes and sandy plains. A network of rivers and smaller drainage lines surround each inselberg. Two prominent complexes, the Klinghardt Mountains in the central Sperrgebiet and the Aurus Mountains in the south-east, are worth mentioning as areas of special biodiversity importance. The coastal strip of the Sperrgebiet is an interwoven mosaic of sandy beaches, rocky shores, coastal hummocks, small dune fields, low outcrops, sandy, gravel and gypsum plains, and salt pans. The Orange River valley is another important habitat consisting of a perennial river and surrounding mountain slopes that provide a foothold for plants. (...)

This is an excerpt from the guide: Wild Flowers of the Southern Namib, by Antje Burke.

Book title: Wild Flowers of the Southern Namib
Author: Antje Burke
Publisher: Namibia Scientific Society
3rd, revised edition. Windhoek, Namibia 2007
ISBN 9789991640723 / ISBN 978-99916-40-72-3 Namibia
ISBN 9783936858983 / ISBN 978-3-936858-98-3 Germany
Softcover, 15x21 cm, 111 pages, numerous colour photos and illustrations