See the Acknowledgements for the original contributors of these Enviro Facts. Only five other floral kingdoms are recognised, and these cover huge areas such as the whole of Australia and most of the northern hemisphere. Conservation of the Cape Floral Kingdom, with its distinctive fynbos vegetation, is a national conservation priority demanding urgent action. Additionally, it contains proteas , ericas and members of seven plant families found nowhere else in the world.
True grasses are also relatively rare.
Most of the plants have small, thin leaves, typically defined as ericoid leaves . The word fynbos comes from the Dutch for fine-leaved plants. Fynbos plants include the King Protea , South Africa's national flower, the beautiful Red Disa , symbol of the Cape Province and the popular garden plants, pelargoniums , commonly known as geraniums. Many of these are threatened with extinction. The richness of the fynbos is well demonstrated by its ericas or heaths, of which there are over 600 different species.