| INDEX TO VOLUME I. |
THE FLOWERING PLANTS OF
SOUTH AFRICA.
A MAGAZINE CONTAINING HAND-COLOURED FIGURES WITH DESCRIPTIONS
OF THEFLOWERING PLANTS INDIGENOUS TO SOUTH AFRICA.
EDITED BY
I. B. POLE EVANS, C.M.G., M.A., D.Sc., F.L.S.,
Chief, Division of Botany and Plant Pathology, Department of Agriculture, Pretoria;
and Director of the Botanical Survey of the Union of South Africa.
VOL. I.
Will blossom into cities white and fair,
And pinnacles will pierce the desert air,
And sparkle in the sun.
R. C. Macfie’s “Ex Unitate Vires.”
LONDON:
L. REEVE & CO., Ltd.,
6, HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN.
SOUTH AFRICA:
THE SPECIALITY PRESS OF SOUTH AFRICA, Ltd.
P.O. BOX 3958,JOHANNESBURG; P.O. BOX 388, CAPETOWN.
1921
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[All rights reserved.]
TO
MRS. HENRY BURTON
OF
VOORSPOED, RETREAT, CAPE OF GOOD HOPE,
A GREAT ADMIRER OF HER COUNTRY’S PLANTS, TO WHOSE
ENTHUSIASM “THE FLOWERING PLANTS OF SOUTH AFRICA”
OWES ITS ORIGIN, THIS, THE FIRST VOLUME, IS GRATEFULLY
DEDICATED IN RECOGNITION OF THE SERVICES
RENDERED BY HER TO SOUTH AFRICAN BOTANY AND
HORTICULTURE.
Division of Botany, Pretoria,
August, 1921.
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FLOWERING PLANTS OF SOUTH AFRICA
PREFACE
The cultivation of South African plants in Europe dates back to earlytimes.
Indeed, it may safely be assumed that it was in vogue soon after theDutch settlement at the Cape, for Holland during the 16th and 17thcenturies held first place in European horticulture. Her cities evenvied with one another in the establishment of gardens of exotic plants,many of which came from the Cape.
These treasures created such interest and attracted such attention thatCape plants soon became the fashion and object of envy throughoutEurope. Collectors were specially despatched to these shores for thepurpose of hunting out and securing their botanical wealth.
Evidence also is not lacking that the cultivation of indigenous plantswas carried out at the Cape prior to 1700.
Be this as it may, little remains to-day in South Africa to do credit tothe past preservation and cultivation of our native flora.
In recent years, however, considerable interest has again sprung up inthis direction; in fact, it is rapidly becoming fas