ABSTRACT
The mountain ranges in South Africa extend in a wide arc from the Cape Fold Mountains in the west to the Drakensberg and other ranges in the east and northeast. These mountains form a boundary between the coastal zone to the south and east and the high inland plateau, having a marked influence on the climate of both the coastal and inland regions. This chapter considers the Cape Fold Mountains, their altitudinal and phytogeographical zonation, and focuses on the Drakensberg and Maloti Mountains and the high altitude zone of these ranges. The Cape Fold Mountains fall within one of the worlds ‘hottest hotspots’ of plant diversity, the Cape Floristic Region. The sclerophyllous, shrubby vegetation with a herbaceous understory is commonly referred to as ‘fynbos’. The climate envelope developed for the ‘Alpine Community’ covers a large part of the present alpine belt.
