Plants of the Baviaanskloof, by Douglas Euston-Brown and Magriet Kruger

Plants of the Baviaanskloof by Douglas Euston-Brown and Magriet Kruger. Penguin Random House South Africa. Imprint: Struik Nature. Cape Town, South Africa 2023. ISBN 9781775847670 / ISBN 978-1-77-584767-0

To our knowledge, Plants of the Baviaanskloof by Douglas Euston-Brown and Magriet Kruger is the first botanical guide about plants of the Baviaanskloof to be presented in a field guide format.

Ernst van Jaarsveld  

It is the result of over two decades of dedicated study and record-keeping in the field, tracking our finds as we fell under the Baviaanskloofs spell. It is our aim that this field guide will stimulate your appreciation of the plants that are found here and the ecosystems in which they live. For studying plants in the field, we do recommend the use of a 10x magnification hand lens or loupe. As the world endures signs of global warming and the Baviaanskloof struggles through its umpteenth year of drought, this book feels even more significant and poignant as a record of flora found here. If our work has brought you just a little bit closer to enjoying, restoring or conserving the natural habitats found in this pristine and unique part of the natural world, then in our eyes it is a job well done. Lastly, it is our dream that Plants of the Baviaanskloof will be used by the farmers in Baviaanskloof as a management tool for conserving and restoring natural areas. Knowledge of what grows on the land can only enhance our collective stewardship of the area.

A variable climate

The mountainous terrain makes for a vastly variable climate in the Baviaanskloof. Droughts are common in the study area, and yet rainfall events (anything from 50-100 mm in 24 hours) can happen at any time of the year. Mean Annual Precipitation (MAP) is as low as 200 mm in the kloof, whereas at higher altitudes in the mountains, the MAP can reach up to 800 mm. There is no well-defined or predictable wet season here, although rainfall tends to be slightly higher in autumn or spring. The western part of the area can receive more winter rainfall than the eastern end, which in turn can receive more summer rainfall. Rain is also variable over space, and sometimes one part of the kloof will receive over 40 mm, while a mere 50 km away only a few millimetres will fall. The weather seems to follow ten-year cycles of dry periods followed by wetter spells that can last for a year to a few years. The mountain ranges lie parallel to the coastline, and the variation in the height and breadth of each range has a profound influence on the distribution of rainfall. A fair proportion of the annual rain, especially in the upper mountains, is derived from moisture-laden winds coming off the Indian Ocean. The Tsitsikamma Mountains just nortlrof Plettenberg Bay extend to about 20 km west of Humansdorp. Like the Kouga Mountains, the Tsitsikamma range is both wider and taller in the west, and tapers away towards the east. This configuration results in the western end of the Baviaanskloof Mountains being situated in a rain shadow. The northwestern parts of the Kouga Mountains are also relatively dry. The eastern parts of both the Kouga and Tsitsikamma are relatively low in stature, so moisture derived from the coast can make it through to the eastern end of the Baviaanskloof range (east of Scholtzberg Peak), resulting in much higher rainfall there than in the west. The Groot Winterhoek Mountains (Cockscomb Peak, elevation 1,758 m) and Mac Mountain (elevation 1,562 m) are not situated in the rain shadow of any major mountain ranges and so, on average, they also receive more rainfall than the western parts of the Baviaanskloof. In Baviaanskloof, the temperature regime is warm to temperate. [...]

This is an excerpt from Plants of the Baviaanskloof, by Douglas Euston-Brown and Magriet Kruger.

Title: Plants of the Baviaanskloof
Authors: Douglas Euston-Brown; Magriet Kruger
Contributor: Ernst J. van Jaarsveld
Publisher: Penguin Random House South Africa
Imprint: Struik Nature
Cape Town, South Africa 2023
ISBN 9781775847670 / ISBN 978-1-77-584767-0
Hardcover, dustjacket, 15 x 21 cm, 517 pages, throughout colour photographs and illustrations