The article ‘Disas of the fynbos’ in Veld & Flora 97(1), 6-7 states that ‘All orchids in the Western Cape are terrestrial ...’ Perhaps it depends where one draws the geographical boundaries, (and how one defines fynbos), but in my garden here in Knysna there are three endemic tree orchids, Mysticidium capense, Cyrtorchis arcuata and Angraecum c.f. chamaeanthus.
I would be surprised if they don`t occur further west.
Incidentally, in the same article, one wants to avoid simplistic translations from Afrikaans, e.g. `fyn = fine`. In the fynbos context I would prefer `delicate`. On my bumper sticker `Fynbos/Fyn mense` in the second sense I prefer `refined`, as I`m sure was intended. One of our classic mistranslations refers to Pterocelastrus which are most often called Candlewoods in English, but `kersie` can be both candle and cherry. I am reasonably sure the tree was named (like so many others) for its wood, which is similar to the European Cherry Wood.
Chris Gow, via email
Disas of the Fynbos
You are quite correct; there are at least four epiphytic orchid genera that occur within the Western Cape, but mostly in forests. Jim Holmes was mainly concerned with the fynbos, and the editor should have amended the article to read ‘All orchids in the Western Cape’s fynbos ...’ Apologies.
ReplyDeleteAs to the fijn or fyn of the fynbos, it seems that there are many differing opinions about its original meaning. Alice Notten of Kirstenbosch hazards an educated guess that it was originally meant in a derogatory sense by the early Dutch settlers as it wasn’t particularly useful for grazing and neither did it harbour many trees.