Thursday, November 20 - Morrison Center

South Africa: Floral Wonderland
By Karen Marais, Cape Town, South Africa

South Africa is a country with immense botanical biodiverisy. It is the only country that contains a whole Floral Kingdom; one of only 6 in the world. This is the Cape Floristic Region, in the south-western part of the country. A common term for this vegetation type is “fynbos”, which means “shrubs with fine leaves”. I will present a short overview of the amazing plant diversity in and around Cape Town, with photo’s of some of the most beautiful and threatened species. Closing with what civil society volunteer groups are doing to assist with documentation and protection of these rare and endangered species.

Karen Marais (nee Friemelt) lives in Cape Town, South Africa. She is the champion of a CREW (Custodians of Rare and Endangered Wild Flowers) group. Karen was originally trained as a physical therapist, then did a honors degree in Ecological Informatics. She is an avid amateur botanist and has been volunteering in the botany field for the past 5 years.

Thursday, November 20, 2008
Denver Botanic Gardens – Morrison Center
6:30 – 8 p.m.