Fynbos

Mountain fynbos on the Cape Peninsula
A 360 degree photograph of fynbos in the Groot Winterhoek section of the Cape Fold Mountains about 18 months after a fire. New plants can be seen in various stages of growth. The infertile white soil that fynbos tends to grow in can also be clearly seen

Fynbos (/ˈfeɪnbɒs/; Afrikaans pronunciation: [ˈfəinbɔs], lit. 'fine bush') is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. The area is predominantly coastal and mountainous, with a Mediterranean climate.

The fynbos ecoregion is within the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome. In fields related to biogeography, fynbos is known for its exceptional degree of biodiversity and endemism, consisting of about 80% (8,500 fynbos) species of the Cape floral kingdom, where nearly 6,000 of them are endemic.

The area continues to face severe human-caused threats, but due to the many economic uses of the fynbos, conservation efforts are being made to help restore it.

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