A glimpse

Professor Brian Rycroft  who was Director of the National Botanical Gardens of South Africa when the Golden Jubilee of Kirstenbosch was celebrated in 1963, quoted from an eighteenth century letter by Linnaeus, the great Swedish natural scientist to Ryk Tulbagh who was then Governor of the Dutch Cape Colony: ”Certainly if I were at liberty to change my fortune for that of Alexander the Great, or Solomon, Croesus or Tulbagh, I should without hesitation prefer the latter.”

This indicates the value Linnaeus ascribed to the rich plant treasures of the Cape fynbos that were disclosed to him in small samples of specimens, drawings and letters over many years, as he never managed to visit and see the Cape and its plants for himself.

Kirstenbosch, the flagship of nature conservation ventures in South Africa, is still the place to experience the Cape Floristic Region plant diversity at its best.

Much has been written about the valiant efforts and contributions of many, starting with William Burchell early in the nineteenth century towards creating, sustaining and developing Kirstenbosch and the archipelago of satellite National Botanical Gardens existing across South Africa today.

They are today managed by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), focusing on collection, study, display and preservation of the botanical heritage for the benefit of all South Africa’s people. Each of the Gardens is concerned with the indigenous vegetation of its ecological, geographic and climatic region (Rycroft, 1975; http://sanbi.org).