Durbanville Nature Reserve

Durbanville Nature Reserve with the racecourse and outlying suburbs in the background

Durbanville Nature Reserve is a 6 hectare piece of protected land, located next to the Durbanville Racecourse in Cape Town, South Africa.^[1]

This small triangular nature reserve is located on the border between two critically endangered vegetation types: Swartland Shale Renosterveld and Cape Flats Sand Fynbos. It was proclaimed in the 1960s after Aristea lugens, a rare species of plant, was discovered here. The invasive alien vegetation was then cleared and the indigenous landscape was restored. The park is now home to around 130 species of plant - three of which exist only in Cape Town and ten of which are threatened with extinction.^[2] It is also a natural habitat for wild animals such as the Angulate Tortoise, the Small Grey Mongoose and the endangered Cape Rain Frog.^[3]

See also

• Biodiversity of Cape Town
• List of nature reserves in Cape Town
• Cape Flats Sand Fynbos
• Swartland Shale Renosterveld

References

1. ^ "City of Cape Town Nature Reserves. Free Booklet". http://www.capetown.gov.za/en/EnvironmentalResourceManagement/publications/Documents/CCT_Nature_Reserves_book_2010-02.pdf. 
2. ^ "Flora of the Western Cape". http://www.calflora.net/southafrica/capeflora.html. 
3. ^ "Environmental resources and downloads. City of Cape Town. Environmental Resource Management Dept". http://www.capetown.gov.za/en/EnvironmentalResourceManagement/publications/Pages/BrochuresBooklets.aspx.