Cradle of Humankind in bloom – False olive

Featuring several hundred plant species, including wild flowers and grasses, towering succulents, rare blooms and many medicinal buds, the Cradle of Humankind represents one of the most diverse plant communities in the world.

The landscape is dominated by rocky Highveld grassland, vegetation made up of rocky slopes, grassy outcrops, and plains of shale and dolomite. Here fire plays an important role in maintaining the balance of trees and grass.

The false olive shrub, or bastard olive, is endemic to South Africa and thrives in the harshest of environments.

This plant, which decorates and fragrances the surrounds of the Sterkfontein Caves, is frost-resistant and tolerant of drought, sporting honey-scented flowers in spring and summer.

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