The Afro-alpine Region

Abstract

At the outset it is desirable to examine in their southern African context some of the key terms used in this chapter: they are afro-alpine, austro-afro-alpine, alpine and subalpine. Firstly, the term afro-alpine should be considered. Hauman (1955) was apparently the first to assign the flora of the high mountains of tropical Africa to the Afro-alpine Region. Following Hauman, Monod (1957) in his chorological map of Africa recognized an Afro-alpine Region occurring as scattered islands in the Sudano-Angolan Region (=Sudano-Zambezian Region of Lebrun 1947). Although the Sudano-Angolan Region extends into southern Africa, Monod did not indicate an Afro-alpine Region for southern Africa: the region is restricted to tropical East Africa. In 1965 Hedberg indicated the presence of an afro-alpine flora in South Africa, but this was limited to 16 afro-alpine species, which have extended southwards from the mountains of tropical East Africa. In other words, this was not acceptance of a local southern African Afro-alpine Region. In 1965 White produced a chorological map again with no Afro-alpine Region indicated for southern Africa. White’s subsequent map (1971) based on the works of Lebrun (1947), Monod (1957) and White (1965) shows no Afro-alpine Region for Africa at all despite the inclusion of the region in the legend to the map. From the above, it is clear that chorologists have not recognized an Afro-alpine Region in southern Africa, although they may have tacitly accepted its presence there.

All photographs are by the author unless otherwise stated.