Some of the most spectacular macro photo’s that a photographer can take are of flowers. Apart from the brightness of the colours and the variety of form, there is a huge level of detail in even a simple bloom.
The correct term for flowering plants is angiospermae, and it might surprise “not-plant” people that they are a relatively new addition to the planet, appearing only around 134 million years ago. So dinosaurs never frolicked in the daisies. With 9% of all the known species of plants on Earth found in South Africa, our country is more than blessed with flora.
Unique to South Africa is the Cape Floristic Region, one of six floral kingdoms of the world. This region is a relic of the super-continent of Gondwanaland which broke up around 180 million years ago. The Cape Floristic Region aka Cape Floral Kingdom is around 90 000km2 in area, but it contains over one third of all the species of plants in Africa. Even though this is the smallest of the Floral Kingdoms, it is the only one contained entirely within a single country. 68 percent of these plant species are found nowhere else. The fynbos biome of the Western Cape makes up a huge part of this diversity.