Restios and rocks

Dry fynbos of rocky Cederberg plateaus is often rich in restios, a basic component of the recognised fynbos species assortment.

Some Thamnochortus and Restio species do well in deeper soils or patches of seasonal wetland, others in a wide range of places like mountain tops and sandy plains. Small Elegia species may be prolific in seasonally moist, brackish vleis or permanent marshes, seeps and damp fynbos. Species of Staberoha, Willdenowia and more are common in well-drained fynbos.

Restio plants in nature range from 10 cm in height to over 3 m, always represented in any fynbos, where they may dominate. Beyond the fynbos range, restios occur in other parts of South Africa, such as the KwaZulu-Natal Drakensberg, on the African continent and in other parts of the world.

One local species, Ischyrolepis sieberi, is widespread on its own, growing from the Richtersveld to Gqeberha, while others are range-restricted. A third of all Restionaceae species grow in the Kogelberg in the Western Cape.

Human usage of restios featured bigtime in traditional hut housing in the past, later as roofing in modern housing as well. Today thatch roofs are popular on numerous game lodges of southern Africa.

And the ubiquitous broom for sweeping the yard and transporting the occasional witch past the full moon at midnight is not to be replaced by modern equivalents any time soon (Oettlè, et al, 2019; Dorrat-Haaksma and Linder, 2012).