Cradle of Humankind in bloom – Garden cosmos

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.

Reminiscent of Easter holidays and family road trips, the purple- and pink-hued cosmos flower blooms in self-supporting bunches throughout the Cradle of Humankind.

A family member of the Mexican aster, cosmos flowers were brought to South Africa in contaminated horse feed during the Anglo-Boer War.

Today a variety of cosmos blooms – in an assortment of pink, purple and white flowers – remain a familiar roadside attraction in the Cradle.

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