• Sand Fynbos is a special type of fynbos vegetation that grows on the coastal plain from the Olifants River mouth in the north to Muizenberg in the south.
• Sand Fynbos grows on deep sand formed by the weathering of quartzite rocks, such as those that form the high cliffs of Table Mountain. These sands have an acid pH and are very poor in nutrients.
• Mean Annual Precipitation for fynbos is about 540 mm. Most rain falls in winter but the amount varies from year to year and in different parts of Cape Town.
• Fynbos is “born to burn”. The plants and animals are adapted to survive fires that occur about ten to fifteen years apart.

The word Fynbos comes from the Dutch words “fijn bosch”, which literally means “fine bush”. The name probably refers to the fact that most fynbos shrubs have very fine leaves, which is a result of them growing in poor soils and in a region that experiences summer drought.

• Even though the soil is poor, Sand Fynbos is extremely rich in plant species and has many endemic species.
• Typical fynbos plants include:
  • Proteas
  • Ericas
  • Restios
  • Geophytes
• Many of the endemic Sand Fynbos plants are small shrubs that produce seeds that are dispersed by ants (e.g. pincushion protea).
• Some Sand Fynbos plants are able to live in poor soil because they have bacteria or fungi in their roots that help them to absorb nutrients.

• Very few large animals live in Sand Fynbos. This is because the plants grow in poor soil and are also poor in nutrition. Many of the plants have small, tough or unpleasant-tasting leaves to stop animals feeding on them.
• Most of the animals found in Fynbos are small, like insects, birds, skinks, snakes, frogs, mice and mongooses. Because the leaves of many fynbos plants are inedible, many of the small herbivores feed on bulbs, nectar, pollen or seeds.
• Burrowing animals like molerats & gerbils are common.

• Because Sand Fynbos grows on poor soils, not much of this vegetation has been replaced by agriculture.
• Most Sand Fynbos in the City of Cape Town has been destroyed by urban development.
• About 84 Sand Fynbos plants are threatened with extinction.
• A study in 2004 showed that Sand Fynbos is Critically Endangered: only 19% of original Sand Fynbos remains and only 0.1% is formally protected!