The City’s Biodiversity Management staff recently discovered a colony of this beautiful red bulb Scarlet Afrikaner

The City’s Biodiversity Management staff recently discovered a colony of this beautiful red bulb Scarlet Afrikaner (Gladiolus priorii) on a limestone outcrop in the Macassar East Conservation Area.

The Scarlet Afrikaner (Gladiolus priorii) was thought to be absent from the False Bay coastline due to the lack of suitable rocky habitats. It has a fairly limited coastal distribution in sandstone and granite rocks from St Helena Bay to about Gansbaai. This discovery was a pleasant surprise for the team and appears to be the first time this species has been recorded in limestone.

Who knows what other exciting secrets the developing Macassar East Conservation Area will reveal?

The Macassar East Conservation area is a developing conservation area with much potential. The area stretches from the mouth of the Eerste River to the Macassar Beach Resort and boasts a very high quality Cape Flats Dune Strandveld, a remarkable stretch of coastline, and wonderful coastal dunes that provide spectacular vistas over False Bay. Visitors to any of our City Nature Reserves are reminded that the free iNaturalist app is a wonderful tool to record any nature sightings, and is a great way to learn the identity of any plants or animals that they see!

Source: City Of Cape Town