Plants of the Fynbos Trivia Quiz

Answer: Shrubland

A shrubland is a region of plants featuring mostly small shrubs, with a few small trees, and grasses and herbaceous plants mixed in. The term fynbos is often said to mean fine bush in Afrikaans, but the plants are actually not usually fine-leaved, as that is not suitable for the environment. Because the summers are quite dry, plants here need to be adapted to survive during lengthy periods without rain, and this often means having sclerophyllous leaves.

This means that they are relatively small and thick, with a leathery surface, and often contain a lot of lignin, making them stiff. Locals often apply the term fynbos to any region that is neither grassland nor containing trees that are useful for timber.

Answer: The leaves are long and slender

Gracile is not a term that is unique to botanists - it means slender and graceful. The plant leaves are also generally ericoid, meaning like the erica (heather) plant. That is a rather vague term, which usually means that the leaves are sclerophyllous, and are spread out along the branches, more or less covering them.

Answer: King protea

Protea cynaroides is also called the giant protea and the king sugar bush, among other names. There are over 80 recognised varieties, with flower colors ranging from cream to dark red - but pink is considered the standard. Proteas survive well in the arid conditions in which they grow due to having a large taproot, which reaches deep underground to obtain moisture when there is little on the surface.

The springbok is South Africa's national animal, the real yellowwood its national tree, and the galjoen its national fish. The national cricket team is nicknamed the Proteas, while the rugby team is known as the Springboks.

Answer: Conebush

The Leucadendron genus, which has about 80 species, is endemic to South Africa, and feature prominently in the fynbos landscape. Their seeds form into woody clusters resembling the cones of a pine tree. About half of the known species of conebush have the seeds enclosed in fireproof cones, which only open to release the seeds after fire. For these, periodic natural fires during the dry season are an essential part of their life cycle. Meanwhile, new plants can be propagated from cuttings.

Answer: Silvertree

Those Latin classes might have come in handy to help you identify the Latin word for silver in the species name. Like all Leucadendrons, silvertree leaves have a silvery sheen, and the size of this species merits the designation of a tree. They once covered the slopes of Table Mountain, but were cleared for settlement, and now only grow naturally in a very small area.

The highly endangered population was extensively damaged by fire in 2006. Fortunately, this is one of the species whose cones need fire to open for seed dispersal, and that duly happened. Since the trees only live about 20 years, it is a good thing that fires tend to destroy a significant number of them every 15-20 years! The silvertree seeds are unusual because they have a sort of helicopter-wing structure on the top which assists in dispersal by the wind once the cone has opened.

Answer: Pincushion plants

While this whole plant rather resembles a pincushion, the name actually comes from the flowers, which have a globular cluster and brightly-colored styles that extend well out from the curved surface of the flower head, somewhat resembling pins stuck into a pincushion.

This species is called the pincushion tree, because it is the largest member of the genus, growing up to about 5m in height (and with a similar diameter). It has a thick bark, which protects it from the fires which frequently come through; the softer end parts burn, and then regrowth replaces them.

The flowers are bright yellow, with yellow-orange styles. This species of Leucospermum is endemic to the Cape Town region.

Answer: True

Part of the Restionaceae family, Elegia are not actually grasses from a taxonomical perspective, but to the layperson's eye they might easily be considered a grass. There are around 50 different species, all of them endemic to the Cape Province, and providing much of the low-level cover in the fynbos region. Elegia tectorum, also called thatching reed, is found in marshy areas, and was used by early settlers to thatch roofs, and to weave baskets.

Answer: Heath

If I had described the fynbos as heathland, instead of scrubland, in an earlier question, this would have been obvious. Erica abietina has four subspecies, each with flowers that are a shade of red or pink. The one pictured, with purple-pink flowers, is called wine-red heath; the others are red heath (with scarlet flowers), Constantiaberg heath (with pink flowers) and devil's heath (with bright pink flowers).

The genus Erica has more different species in the fynbos than does any other genus.

Answer: Gladiolus

There are around a hundred different gladiolus species to be found in the fynbos. Although they are often referred to as growing from bulbs, they actually have corms, which are swollen underground portions of the plant's stem in which food reserves are stored. Bulbs are technically a layered collection of leaf bases, each of which contains stored food. Plants that utilise underground storage organs such as bulbs and corms (and also tubers) are called geophytes.

Answer: Elytropappus rhinocerotis, or rhinoceros bush

All of these are typically found in the Renosterveld, but the one which is in the Asteraceae family is the renosterbos plant, also called the rhinoceros bush because its grey color resembles that of a rhinoceros. It is unclear whether the settlers named the Renosterveld region for these plants, or for the rhinoceros that grazed there.

The Renosterveld and the fynbos overlap to a great extent, and the border between them is not easily drawn, as it is based primarily on a decision as to which is the dominant plant type to be found. Many plants are common to the two regions, just in different abundance.