Fynbos

[3] The area continues to face severe human-caused threats, but due to the many economic uses of the fynbos, conservation efforts are being made to help restore it.

Elsewhere he speaks of the term as "...applied by the inhabitants of the Cape to any sort of small woodland growth that does not include timber trees"; in the current vernacular, this still is the effective sense of the word.

The most conspicuous components of the flora are evergreen sclerophyllous plants, many with ericoid leaves and gracile habit, as opposed to timber forest.

Several plant families are conspicuous in fynbos; the Proteaceae are prominent, with genera such as Protea, Leucospermum (the "pincushions"), and Leucadendron (the silver tree and "cone bushes").

Proteas are represented by many species and are prominent in the landscape, generally with large striking flowers, many of which are pollinated by birds, and others by small mammals.

They are popularly called heaths and are generally smaller plants bearing many small, tubular or globular flowers and ericoid leaves.

Depending on the locality and the aspects under discussion, several other families have equal claim to being characteristic, including Asteraceae, Rutaceae, and Iridaceae.

The flora of the lowlands contains a high number of endemic species, and tends to favour larger plants than those growing on the hillier areas.

The Montane Fynbos and Renosterveld is the area above 300 m (980 ft), a total of 45,000 km2 (17,000 sq mi) of the Cape Fold Mountains.

Because the higher and wetter areas are more protected and contain important water sources, the original flora is more intact than in the lowlands; but agriculture and global warming are still threats.

The wildlife includes a number of endemic bees, beetles, horseflies, and ants, and birds such as Cape sugarbirds and the orange-breasted sunbird.

[9][10][11] The fynbos is the region of South Africa most affected by invasive alien species which collectively cover around 10% of the entire country.

[12][14] Since then, over 100,000 hectares of land have been cleared of invasive species while providing jobs to around 20,000 people per year, most of which are women and unskilled workers.

[13] Systematic monitoring of WfW's progress is lacking but there is anecdotal evidence that endemic silver peas have returned to Table Mountain after being thought extinct.