Quathlamba
“A mass of Spears. Named
thus by the Zulu warriors before the white man came. Today called the
Drakensberg, Mountains of the Dragon. Evocative names, both equally applicable
to South Africa’s mightiest mountain range with its spear-like peaks –
reminiscent of the saw-toothed spine of a gigantic dragon.”
“Listen to the streams as they gurgle from their cradles and you will hear
the story of the mountains. You will hear fascinating tales if only you listen!
Lie next to a stream and listen to the song of the mountains. The smiling faces
of the flowers, dancing in the wind. Venture into the remote valleys or stand
on a peak at sunrise or sunset, after snow has fallen, and you will hear a song
that you will never forget - the Song of the High Mountain".
DRAKENSBERG WILDERNESS
PHOTOS © WILLEM PELSER
“THE ABSOLUTE
SIMPLICITY, THAT’S WHAT I LOVE. WHEN YOU’RE HIKING THE WILDERNESS YOUR MIND IS
CLEAR AND FREE FROM ALL CONFUSIONS. YOU HAVE FOCUS. AND SUDDENLY THE LIGHT
BECOMES SHARPER, THE SOUNDS ARE RICHER AND YOU’RE FILLED WITH THE DEEP,
POWERFUL PRESENCE OF LIFE.”
UNKNOWN
DRAKENSBERG MOUNTAINS FIRES
Plant life in the Drakensberg is
affected not only by altitude, vegetation regions, and climate, but also by
fire. Grass fires are common in the Drakensberg, especially in the winter and
early spring months and they have a profound effect on the vegetation.
It must be remembered, first of all, that although grass fires are much more
common today than in the early days, they are not entirely man-made, and have
undoubtedly been known in the Drakensberg for thousands, if not millions, of
years. Fires are often started by lightning and by sparks from rocks rolling
down the mountain side. The vegetation has had to learn to adapt itself to
these periodic fires.
At the same time it must be admitted
that with the advent of man fires are much more frequent today than they were
in the olden days. Undoubtedly some of our mountain species are threatened by
these raging fires which sweep down, year after year, from the heights.
On a sloping piece of ground there
was not a single Erica to be seen. It would seem that the plant literally
disappears with frequent burning. When not burned for a number of years, the
slope will be covered with masses of Erica woodii
flowers, a great sheet of magenta-pink.
Erica cerinthoides provides
another interesting example. It is found sparsely throughout the Drakensberg,
but the plants never reach a height of more than 0,25 metres. In the Wild
Flower Garden in the Giant’s Castle Reserve, however, where the plants are
protected from fires, there are two bushes of this Erica which flower profusely
every year, and which have reached a height of over a metre. But you will
notice one interesting phenomenon. Those plants in the wild, which are subject
to periodic burning, bear larger flowers, and of a brighter red, than those
which are never burned.
Proteas, too, are
adversely affected by fires. Protea roupelliae grows in grasslands on the
slopes of the Little Berg, but it also grows in rocky outcrops and on the cave
sandstone plateau. Its thick bark protects it to some extent from the damage
caused by fires, but you will find that those trees growing in rocky outcrops,
where the grass cover is thin, are far finer specimens than those growing in
the grasslands, where the heat from the fire is so much more intense.
Magnificent stands of Protea roupelliae
can be found growing on massive outcrops of cave sandstone, where few fires
could ever reach them.
Protea multibracteata, with its
thick, corky bark, is able to withstand the effect of fires, but if the fire
comes late in the season, when the sap is flowing freely, the trees often have
burst stems, due to the fact that the sap vaporizes and, being confined, bursts
the stem.
This is not the
full story, however. Occasional fires do act as a regenerating factor, and you
will notice that in those areas of the Drakensberg which are subject to
occasional fires, the flush of early spring flowers is far finer than on
unburnt areas, where the grasses have grown coarser and the veld flowers are smothered.
The brave show of new flowers in the blackened veld of early spring, after a
fire, is a well-known sight in the Drakensberg.
Unquestionably, too, the
germination of some seeds is stimulated by fire. The silver wattle is a
well-known example of this. Protea subvestita
is another. The two other Protea tree-species, Protea roupelliae and Protea multibracteata, protect themselves
partly against fire by means of their thick bark. Protea subvestita lacks this,
and the trees protect themselves partly by growing much more thickly together
than in the case of the other two species. But the tree also ensures its
survival in much the same way that the wattle does. You will often see a lone
Protea subvestita blackened and
killed by the fire, but around it are literally hundreds of young plants
growing from seed stimulated by the very fire which killed the parent plant.
The heat of the fire causes the hard epidermis of the seed to crack, in this
way allowing moisture to reach the embryo and so start germination.
In the Drakensberg plants have
adopted many methods which enable them to survive fires. That is why you will
so often find Ericas growing in south-facing rock gullies, where the fires rage
less fiercely than on north-facing slopes. Bulbous plants are more easily able
to survive a fire than plants equipped with roots, especially shallow roots.
This is undoubtedly one reason why the Drakensberg is so rich in flowers from
the Liliaceae, Iridaceae, and Amaryllidaceae families, most of which have bulbs
or corms.
We may conclude then, that many plant
species in the Drakensberg are gravely endangered by mountain fires, that many
have adapted themselves to withstand the effects of fires, but that occasional fires are beneficial, acting
as a regenerating factor, clearing out the thickly-matted old grasses and dead
undergrowth, and stimulating seed germination.
Never, but never, start a fire anywhere
in the Drakensberg Wilderness when on a hiking trip!
The End.
Safe Hiking.
References
and Acknowledgements
From
the book – Mountain Splendour – RO Pearce
Photos: ©Willem
Pelser
Compiled by: Willem
Pelser
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}