by Zoë Poulsen - Cape Town Botanist | Jul 28, 2016 | Botanic Gardens, Fynbos
Notes from a Cape Town Botanist was born on a bench on a cold spring day at London’s Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, inspired by the prominent botanist, conservationist and author Sara Oldfield, then Secretary General of Botanic Gardens Conservation International. The blog was started with an aim to communicate to the world in a way accessible to all about the international importance of South Africa’s Cape Floristic Region (CFR). It also reports on the conservation challenges the CFR faces and the vital work of those striving for a better understanding and to conserve it for the future.
by Zoë Poulsen - Cape Town Botanist | Jul 27, 2016 | Cape Floristic Region, Cape Peninsula, Fynbos
Are you a dynamic King Protea? Or a caring Protea compacta? Take our fynbos quiz, and find out more about fynbos – and yourself. And stand a chance to win a two night stay for two people at the Haarwegskloof Renosterveld Reserve, between Bredasdorp and Swellendam in the Overberg. All you need to do is complete the fun quiz, and share your fynbos flower on social media.
by Zoë Poulsen - Cape Town Botanist | May 9, 2016 | Cape Floristic Region, Cape Peninsula, Ethnobotany, Fynbos, Indigenous Foods, Research
It is well known that growing your own food is one of the greatest moves that we can make towards eating truly green and sustainably. It cuts the food miles and puts people in control of their own diet destiny in a world where often some of the most ‘sustainable’ and ‘ethical’ large scale supermarket brands still contain ingredients sprayed with vast numbers of chemicals and shipped across the globe, generating a huge carbon footprint. Many people have taken the initiative in the face of these challenges and gardens and allotments brim with lovingly tended carrots and cabbage destined for local dinner tables.
by Zoë Poulsen - Cape Town Botanist | Apr 21, 2016 | Tanqua Karoo, Travel
Since I begun my studies in Botany I have found myself using all sorts of weird and wonderful objects for the purpose for which they were not intended in the name of scientific research. I have processed seed collections using a toilet brush. A car floor mat is also an excellent and most useful tool for this. In this spirit about 18 months ago I was on the hunt for corner markers for vegetation survey plots that could be hammered successfully into concrete hard Renosterveld clay soils.
by Zoë Poulsen - Cape Town Botanist | Apr 14, 2016 | Cape Floristic Region, Cape Peninsula, Conservation, Ecology, Fire, Fynbos, Geophytes, Hiking, Mountains, Orchids, Plant Profiles, Research, Table Mountain
In March 2015 the Peninsula burnt. The biggest veld fire since 2000 raged across Table Mountain National Park. People lost homes and businesses. Bees Marais, one of the country’s top helicopter rescue pilots, tragically lost his life in the line of duty while fighting fire at Cape Point. The blaze and the acrid smoke cloyed the air all over Cape Town, turning the sky scarlet and orange as the sun went down each day.
