An Oa~i~ ~A YQSt of flowQting or

by Betty Dwight and Joanne Eastman, 1

Rondebosch Common was declared a NationalMonument in 1961, thereby preserving,unintentionally, a small piece of Cape Flats

flora 'sand plain fynbos', of which so littleremains, in the southern suburbs of Cape Town.Standing in the middle of the Common,surrounded by busy roads, one can still feel asense of peace as the noise of the cars fade in thebackground. On closer inspection, with eyesturned to the ground, a wonderful miniature worldof flowers, insects, birds and butterflies opens up.It is truly an oasis of wildness within the city.

In January amongst the dry grass there are littlepatches of yellow Lobelia, Monopsis lutea. TheAfrican Monarch butterfly with its russet brownwings, tipped with black and white, fluttersaround the papery white Helichrysum flowers.Blue Aristea are flowering. This Aristea is tallerwith a strap-like stem compared to the Aristeaafricana seen in September. A few white Roellaprostrata straggle along the ground. The Psoraleapinnata shrubs with their pale mauve flowersappear bravely in the dry season.

Even in hot February there is something to find.The Struthiola shrublets are covered in smallcreamy, sometimes pale pink flowers. The restiosstand out amongst the yellow grass with theirgreen stems and dark brown flower heads. Thereare also many interesting seed-pods beginning toform. Grasshoppers, dragonflies and the CitrusSwallowtail butterflies are evident.

In March the large black ants are on the move,very busy carrying seeds to their nests.

The history of Rondebosch CommonA plaque on a stone at the south­west corner of RondeboschCommon reads:'The Rondebosch Common is part

of an area used as a campingground by General J W Janssen'sBatavian Troops in 1805 and by theBritish troops after 1806. In 1855grazing rights of the Common weregranted to the rector of St Paul'sChurch, Rondebosch, on thecondition that the public haveaccess to the area.'

In the early 1800s Napoleon ofFrance was determined to crush theBritish, who, fearing the loss of therefreshment station on the route tothe East, decided to occupy the

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Cape once again. In anticipation ofthis attack, in 1805 GeneralJanssens and his Batavian forcescamped on Rondebosch Common.Holland at this time was underFrench influence and known as theBatavian republic. In January 1806,6 700 British soldiers under thecommand of General David Bairdlanded at Losperds Bay in TableBay. The British soon overranGeneral Janssens' 2000 men, inwhat is now known as the Battle ofBlaauberg. From 1806, the Britishused the Common as their campsitefor many years.

In 1854 Governor GeorgeCathcart, granted the campground

land to the Anglican Church,provided that it remain open publicspace. The Bishop of Cape Townthen handed it to Rev Fry of StPaul's Anglican Church to admin­ister. Rev Fry lived at Charlie'sHope (today part of RustenburgHigh School) and grazed his owncattle on the Common or'pasturage' as well as chargingother farmers a fee to do likewise.

Under the administration of thechurch the common survived manyuses. From the early 1850s sandand stone was quarried. This left adeep depression which in winterused to fill with water, on whichthe local children used to sail their

Veld Er Flora December 2001

~nd(!bo!:ch Common.

of Rondebosch Common, Cape Town

A few grey skinks scuttle under the nearest plant.Of the ten species of oxalis on the Common,

the pale mauve Oxalis monophylla, is usually thefirst to be seen in April. It has a most unusual,almost heart shaped leaf. The tiny russet colouredTulbaghia alliacea can also be seen.

May is most exciting as the fruit of thekukumakranka pops up and seeds. Other oxalisspecies start flowering - the dainty leafed Oxalisglabra range in colour from white, to pale pinkand from deep pink to mauve. Bright pink Oxalispurpurea also flower quite widely over theCommon.

Come June and July, and hopefully the winterrains have set in, making rivulets of the Commonpaths. Tiny black squiggly tadpoles make anappearance in the pools, attracting egrets and aheron or two. The ground becomes carpeted inwhite and yellow Cotula, while the new leaves ofthe bulbs start to push up between them. Theshort-stemmed Babiana villosula, the yellow andcream Romulea and the thorny Asparaguscapensis with its tiny white flowers are in bloom.

August heralds the spring carpets of flowerswith the start of many different flowering bulbsand daisies. Galaxia fugacissima line the pathslike yellow confetti. The large pink Drosera cisti­flora catches the eye as it stands abo've many ofthe smaller flowers. The early pinky mauve andmauve Babiana distich a (which used to be calledB. plicata] are sprinkled along some of the pathswhile the different colours of the beautifulRomulea rosea resemble a Persian carpet.

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boats. It was later (in the 1950s)filled with rubble and grassed withKikuyu, as a field for the RosebankSchool. In the 1860s BishopsSchool played rugby on theCom,JIlon. Rondebosch Boys Schoolalso used it for a variety of gamesand as a venue for athletics.Villagers Football Club playedrugby here from 1876 - theirclubhouse was roughly where theScout hall is today. Between 1891and 1937 the Common was used bythe Cape Golf Club, and evidenceof their nine-hole golf course canstill be seen on aerial photographs.All the while dairy cattle continuedto graze on the Common. In 1890

Veld &' Flora December 2001

the church sold the area that isnow Park Estate, and in 1909 thechurch transferred the remainder ofthe Common to the municipality ofRondebosch. From the 1930s soccerand cricket was played on theCommon by people from all overCape Town. The old cricket pitchestoo can still be identified. DuringWorld War II troop manoeuvresoccasionally took place and asearchlight was put up. After the1950s large areas on the edges ofthe Common were taken to widenthe surrounding roads.

Today the indigenous flora of theCommon is threatened by invasionfrom alien plant species, especially

Eragrostis and Kikuyu grasseswhich are very difficult toeradicate. Annual weeds havespread in the disturbed area.Dumping of builder's rubble andgarden refuse is becoming increas­ingly more prevalent, bringingunwanted weeds and gardenspecies. Fires also occur too often,before vegetation is able to regen­erate or set seed. Nevertheless,despite all this disturbance, morethan 200 plant species still remainon this land today.

Please note that evening primrose,in the ilJustration above is not indigenous.

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September and October bring numerous newflowers, while some of the earlier arrivals havedisappeared. Hundreds of the striking dark­centred blue Felicia heterophylla mingle with theyellow Ursinia daisies. The yellow star-shapedSpiloxene capensis flowered profusely last yearafter the fire, while the exquisite dark-centredwhite variety is becoming more difficult to find.The sticky red bristles on the leaves of the delicatelittle white Drosera trinervia shine in the morningsun. Other flowers to be seen are Triglochinbulbosa, Baeometra uniflora with its unusual darkyellow petals with brown underside, shrublets ofpink Nylandtia spinosa (which used to be calledMundia spinosa), the upright Satyrium odorum,Disa bracteata (formerly Monadenia bracteata) andHolothrix villosa. Mauve Babiana distich a, theperfumed Wurmbea spicata, the small Pharna­ceum incanum and the red seeds of Aizoonsarmentosum are also present. The small whiteEustegia minuta creeps over the ground promptedby the recent fire. As you walk along the centre ofthe Common, the large orange gazanias brightenthe veld while the miniature blue Aristea africanagrow on the bare koffie-klip The bright purple ofthe small Geissorhiza aspera is easily spotted andthe white Sparaxis bulbifera is everywhere to beseen.

November brings the drier weather and thegrasses give the Common a hue of Naples yellow.However, hidden from the hurried passers-by,many species still flower - the most special beingthe ixias. First to bloom is the yellow Ixia panic­ulata, followed by the pinky mauve, white, yellowand blue Ixia monodelpha. Other flowers to be

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180

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found are Wahlenbergia capensis, Cyanellahyacinthoides, mauve Roella ciliata, blueMicmnthus junceus which stands up like cats'tails in amongst the grass, Falkia repens, the tallyellow Momea mmosissima and the bright blueHeliophila,

In December up comes the very beautifulkukumakranka - GethylIis afm, the emblem of theFriends of Rondebosch Common, 0)

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The Friends of Rondebosch CommonThe Friends of Rondebosch Common are interested in thebiological, natural and cultural history of the Common andwish to spread this knowledge to others. The Friends areaffiliated to the Wildlife and Environment Society of SouthAfrica and also liaise with the Unicity in the conservationand management of the Common. They also have regularconducted spring walks and a newsletter. After retiring in1972, one of the authors of this article, Betty Dwight, (neeBowker), started to paint the flowers, insects and birds onthe Common, ending up with a series of eighty water-colourpaintings. Betty has allowed the Friends to print some ofher work as notelets to raise funds for their activities.The Friends may be contacted at PO Box 41, Rondebosch,7701 or e-mail rondebosch-common@mweb.co.za.

Further readingBranch, Margo, 1999, Explore the Cope flora, Cambridge University

Press.Maytham Kidd, Mary 1983 Cape Peninsula: South African wild flower

guide 3, The Botanical Society of South Africa.Simon, Richard. 2000. A History of the Church and the Common.

Unpublished.Stellenbosch: Three centuries. 1979. Stellenbosch Town Council.The management plan of Rondebosch Common. 1993. Cape Town City

Council.Welsh, Frank. 2000. A History of South Africa. Harper Collins.

Veld 8- Flora December 2001 181