Included here is the coastal belt and escarpment mountains south of the Namib. It forms a wedge of rugged country between the Namid and Namaland zones stretching from the Richterveld northwards to the vicinity of Aus. The so-called Little Karoo lying between the Cape mountain ridges, the Langeberg, and the Swartberg ranges, is also included in this zone.

Western Cape Lichen Fields

One of the most spectacular veld types of this BioProvince is the magnificent lichen field of Alexander Bay in Namaqualand. This coastal, fog-drenched area composed of fine gypsum clay, has the highest cover, density and diversity of lichens in the world. It covers an area of some 50 ha and has 29 species such as Teloschistes capensi. There are also about 40 higher plants, which are mainly embedded succulents such as the endemic Euphorbia stepelioides (Euphorbiaceae), Fenestraria rhopalophyllum and Lythops herrei (Aizoaceae). In fact, most of the higher plants are endemic to northwestern Namaqualand.

References

Acocks, J. P. H.  1975. Memoirs of the botanical survey of South Africa. Veld types of South Africa.

Born, J., Linder, H. P. & Desmet, P. 2007. The Greater Cape Floristic Region. Journal of Biogeography, 34: 147-162.

Bews, J. W. 1971. The mountain and south-western flora of South Africa. In: World Vegetation Types.  Ed. S. R. Eyre. Macmillan.

Burk, A. A. 2004. Preliminary account of patterns of endemism in Namibia’s Sperrgebiet – the succulent Karoo. Journal of Biogeography, 31: 1613-1622.

Cowling, R. M, Richardson, D. M. & Pierce, S. M. 1997. Vegetation of Southern Africa. Cambridge University Press.

Desmet, P. G. & Cowling, R. M. 1999. Biodiversity, habitat and range-size aspects of a flora from a winter-rainfall desert in north-western Namaqualand, South Africa. Plant Ecology, 142: 23-33.

Goldblatt, P. 1978. An analysis of the flora of southern Africa: its characteristics, relationships, and origins. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 65: 369-436.

Goldblatt, P. & Manning, J. C. 2002. Plant diversity of the Cape Region of Southern Africa. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 89: 281-302. 

White, F. 1983. The Vegetation of Africa. UNESCO.

Wyk, A. E. van, Smith, G. F. 2001. Regions of Floristic Endemism in Southern Africa. A Review with Emphasis on Succulents. Umdaus Press.