The newly released book, Bulbs of the Fynbos, provides an innovative guide which appeals to wildflower lovers, nature enthusiasts, hikers, students and gardeners.
Authors of this fynbos bulb book, John Manning and Dee Snijman, are two leading botanists and the contents of their 330-page book equips flower enthusiasts to confidently identify fynbos bulb families, important genera and more than a quarter of the region’s species.
Bulbs of the Fynbos features 345 of the region’s more common, showy and unusual species, representing the full diversity found there.
Arranged in groups and subgroups for easy identification, this guide details diagnostic features, flowering times, habitats and distributions of each species, and colour photographs which showcase the variety of these beautiful plants.
This informative, well-illustrated introduction explores the biology, structure and conservation status of fynbos bulbs, and explains the botanical features that are necessary for their identification
We know that bulbous plants produce the most striking floral displays and are among the crowning glories of the Cape fynbos.
Bulbs grow throughout the world except in the coldest, driest climates.
The authors say that plants with bulbs or other subterranean storage organs occur widely around the world.
They are found in semi-arid regions with a Mediterranean climate with mild, wet winters and warm dry summers.
There are five of such temperate regions around the world.
However, the richest concentration of bulbous plants on earth is found in the Cape Floristic Region of SA.
The Cape Floristic Region covers about 90,000 square kilometres across the southwestern and eastern corners of SA from the Table Mountain National Park (Cape Peninsula) to the Swartberg Mountains and Baviaanskloof in the Eastern Cape.
There are more than 1,200 bulb species occurring naturally here making the Cape Floristic Region the undisputed capital of the world.
Bulbs of the Fynbos features 345 of the region’s more common, showy and unusual species.
Of the 1,200 species defined in this guide, there are 13 plant families.
Eighty percent of the fynbos bulb family are found in the iris (60%) and the hyacinth and amaryllis families.
The smallest families contribute a handful of species to this total.
Examples of the iris family may be found in the Sparaxis tricolour and the hyacinth (Ornithogalum thyrsoides known as the common Chincherinchee grown by farmers as a popular cut flower).
Long ago, bulbs were an important part of the Stone Age hunter-gatherers’ diet in the fynbos region.
In the early 17th century, bulbs were introduced to European gardeners, igniting a passion for them.
The ancestors of our garden gladioli, freesias, amaryllis, harlequin flowers and chincherinchees were first collected as wild bulbs in the Cape fynbos region.
Bulbs have the ability to survive periods of hostile conditions and to respond swiftly when they are favourable for growth.
This means that they can complete their entire annual growth cycle in a single window of opportunity.
Environmental conditions that are hostile to bulbs are seasonal drought, freezing cold and waterlogging, which they are able to survive.
They respond quickly when conditions are favourable for their growth.
Flowering of fynbos bulbs takes place mainly in late winter and early spring.
- John Manning is an internationally acclaimed botanist at the South African Nation Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). A prolific writer, illustrator and photographer, he has authored and co-authored numerous scientific papers, magazine articles and books on South African flora. These include Field Guide to Fynbos, Pocket Guide to Fynbos, Ericas of the Fynbos and Proteas of the Fynbos.
- Dee Snijman, senior research associate at SANBI, has authored and co-authored numerous scientific publications on the flora of Southern Africa’s Greater Cape Floristic Region. She was awarded the International Bulb Society’s Herbert Medal in 1997 for her significant contributions to the understanding of the Amaryllis family in Southern Africa.
Reference: Bulbs of the Fynbos by John Manning and Dee Snijman
ISBN: 9781779890276 ePub: 9781779890283 | RRP: R420.00
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