Fynbos shrubland ecoregion

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Fynbos shrubland

RESOLVE 89

The Fynbos shrubland — the Cape Floristic Region of southwestern South Africa, one of the six globally-recognized floral kingdoms despite being the smallest in area. Sclerophyllous shrubland on nutrient-poor sandstone-derived soils with ~9,000 vascular plant species (~70% endemic), including Erica, Protea, Restio, Leucadendron, and Leucospermum genera that anchor the visible identity. Mediterranean climate with winter-wet, summer-dry seasonality; fire is essential to regeneration of most fynbos species.

Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 32.9°S, 19.2°E.

Climate snapshot for this ecoregion

°C

°F

Current zone range (2011–2040)

10a-13a

Plotwright

CHELSA-derived typical winter month at this ecoregion's bbox grid.

Projected (2041–2070)

10b-13a

Plotwright

Where the CHELSA models say the typical winter month is heading.

Average warming this ecoregion is on track for: +2.9°F by mid-century. SSP3-7.0 (current trajectory) · CHELSA v2.1 bio06 sampled across 10 of 10 points within this ecoregion's bounding box.

• The 2015-2018 Cape Town "Day Zero" drought was a visible inflection — climate models now project a substantial decline in winter rainfall in the southwestern Cape over the century.

• Invasive woody species (Australian Acacia, Pinus, Hakea) outcompete native fynbos in the absence of frequent ecologically-appropriate fire; long-running clearance programs (Working for Water) carry the load on management.

• Garden-relevant: fynbos species (Protea, Erica, Leucadendron, Restio) are widely grown in Mediterranean-climate gardens globally (coastal California, southern Australia, Mediterranean Europe) but need extremely lean, acidic, well-drained soils to perform.

At a glance

States / provinces

Western Cape, Eastern Cape

Dominant biome

Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands & Scrub

Realm

Afrotropic

Approximate area

20,727 sq mi

Elevation range

0 – 5,000 ft

Climate type

Mediterranean (Köppen Csb / Csa)

Conservation tier

Nature Could Recover (Dinerstein NNH 3)

About the mediterranean forests, woodlands & scrub biome

Regions of hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters supporting drought-adapted shrublands — chaparral, maquis, fynbos — and open woodlands. Fire is a natural shaping force, and these climates hold extraordinary plant diversity and endemism.

Catalog plants suited to this ecoregion

Computed from each plant's stated USDA zone range against this ecoregion's CHELSA-derived current zone range, with the CHELSA mid-century warming delta applied for the projection. Plants whose stated range falls outside both the current and projected zone end up dropped; the rest land in one of the three buckets below.

Climate-resilient picks · 79

These plants fit this ecoregion today AND remain in range under the mid-century SSP3-7.0 projection. Lead with these for a planting that holds up as the climate shifts.

Collections for this ecoregion

No curated collection's plants all fit this ecoregion's zone range. We surface a collection only when every member would grow here — partial fits get filtered out rather than mislead. As the catalog and the curated set both grow, this section will fill in.

Related ecoregions

Other mediterranean forests, woodlands & scrub ecoregions to explore:

Albany thickets Renosterveld shrubland Aegean and Western Turkey sclerophyllous and mixed forests Anatolian conifer and deciduous mixed forests California coastal sage and chaparral California interior chaparral and woodlands

Plotwright

Climate-aware plant planning — every plant checked against your zone now and in 2050.

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