Grasslands

Yesterday, todayand tomorrowThe story of the Haenertsburg grasslands of Limpopo

by Cathy Dzerefos, Limpopo Branch, Botanical Society

The Pedi people refer to the Haenertsburg area (in LimpopoProvince) as 'Byadladi' meaning 'a place where there areplenty of root foods' or 'a place of plenty'. Gold diggers arrivedin 1887 and established Haenertsburg, but were disappoint­ed as mining,Proved unprofitable. During the gold rush thegrassland was used by fortune hunters to graze their horsesand cattle.

Although many left for richer gold reefs on theWitwatersrand, Haenertsburg was not entirely abandoned.Its proximity to the lowveld, cooler climate and absence ofmalaria made it an ideal base to stage military action againstChief Malaboch in the Blouberg, the Rain Queen Modjadji inDuiwelskloof and Chief Makgoba, to whom the name of thenearby Magoebaskloof alludes.

Felling of indigenous trees in the Woodbush forest to sup­ply the Witwatersrand and Polokwane was started by fivedeserters from the Thirteenth Light Infantry after theSekhukhune campaign of 1879. (One of these, James Smith,

18 March 2004 Veld&Flora

TOP: The quaint village of Haenertsburg, surrounded by grassland and plantations,lies in the foothills of the Wolkberg. Photo: Jane Moncreif.ABOVE RIGHT: Women undertake a round trip of 40 km to collect Athrixia phyli­coides for making tea and brooms. Photo: Cathy Dzerefos.ABOVE LEFT: The small mauve flowers and yellow disc florets of Athrixia phyli­coides. Photo: Sylvie Kohne.

undertook carpentry work for Sir Herbert Baker in the UnionBuildings.) Arthur Eastwood, the first Government ForestryOfficer arrived in 1903 with the task of halting indiscriminatefelling. Indigenous timber was used to construct wagons,carts, buildings, furniture and mine supports. By 1910 theTransvaal Department of Agriculture and Forestry estab­lished the first plantations near the Woodbush ForestStation. Eucalyptus and pine trees were planted in what waserroneously considered to be 'unimproved grassland'.Ironically, this was regarded as a forward thinking conserva­tion measure, providing an alternative to indigenous timber.

The rampant destruction of the grassland habitat forplantations led to the demise of associated flora and fauna.The little known Chlorophytum radula, was re-discovered120 years after the first collection by Rehmann - probably onthe same day he collected the one and only known specimenof Kniphojia crassifolia which is considered extinct. The onlyreason for the survival of C. radula is its preference for rocky

habitat that is unsuitable for timber.Eastwood's long tailed seps

(Tetradactylus eastwoodill, a smalllizard known only from two specimenscollected in open montane grassland atWoodbush over seventy-five years agois believed to be extinct. The fate ofAcontophiops lineatus (Woodbush leg­less skink) and Ajroedura pondoliamulitiporis (Methuen's day gecko) alsoseem uncertain. There is only oneknown nest in Limpopo of the criticallyendangered blue swallow (Hinmdo atro­caeru.lea). In 1905 C.H.B Grant collect­ed four blue swallows from theWoodbush area that are displayed inthe British Museum so it is assumedthat along with their grassland nestingsites these were more abundant in thepast.

The Haenertsburg grassland occurson a granite-based portion of theDrakensberg escarpment whichextends north from the Wolkberg and isgeologically distinct. Local botanistPieter Winter has drawn attention to anumber of noteworthy plants. Aloelettyae and Indigojera rehmannii areendemic to this high-rainfall, graniticarea. Granitic soils tend to be deeperand are favoured for planting crops orplantations. Wahlenbergia brachiata isendemic to the Wolkberg and theWoodbush range and Hemizygiarehmannii is endemic to the "Transvaal'escarpment. Mpumalanga tree enthu­siast and author Ernst Schmidt hasdiscovered a new tree species, closelyrelated to Gymnosporia grandifolia.This is also home to several distinctforms of more widespread species,such as Bersama transvaalensis, nowconsidered to be part of Bersama tyso­niana, and variant forms of Protea caj­fra and Protea simplex.

Many grassland plants have tradi­tional uses, for instance, the leaves ofAthrixia phylicoides are used to make'bos' tea and the remaining hard stemsfor hand-brooms. Unfortunately theroots are also harvested, which mayplace pressure on the remaining popu­lation particularly as human popula­tions expand while grassland areasdecrease. This aromatic shrub is usedfor coughs, sores and boils as well asan aphrodisiac.

The Haenertsburg grassland boasts alarge colony of Scilla natalensis (bluesquill), which has a conservation sta­tus of 'vulnerable'. The plant can live toat least twenty years, but bulbs lessthan four years old are harvested andsold for muthi. The blue squill is used

as a birthing aid, an enema, or to healtumours, boils, sores and fractures.Ground leaves are fed to a child who islate in walking.

Proximity to Haenertsburg villageand plantations has had negativerepercussions for the grassland asthere is a lot of mowing, ploughing andburning of fire breaks. Less than adecade ago the entire grassland next toHaenertsburg was burnt every winter.Today landowners and biologists arestarting to implement block and rota­tional burning to ensure that biodiver­sity is protected.

Sadly the grasslands have also beenused for dumping, and timber trucks,off-road vehicles, motorbikes and quadbikes have created destructive pathsand tracks. Uncontrolled grazing ofdomestic livestock and the mock 'hors­es and hounds' hunt has destroyed thepopulation of Aloe lettyae.

Birds and Vervet monkeys help tospread invasive exotic plants from gar­dens into the grassland and forestpatches. Rubus cuneifolius (Americanbramble) introduced for making jam,quickly colonizes paths and riverineareas becoming a hiker's nightmare.The attractive Lilium jormosanum (for­mosa lily) is also spreading and it isrumoured that prominent members ofthe community scattered the seeds intopristine grassland areas while hiking!Local road hawkers sell the lilies as cutflowers to passing traffic. The ex­Limpopo Branch secretary, Clare Bell,recently collected the light round seedsfor wedding confetti. (She firstmicrowaved the seeds to prevent themfrom germinating.)

The degradation of the Haenertsburggrassland is at last being challengedand rectified with funding from theBotanical Society and the NationalLotteries Board. This funding is beingused to involve the community andraise environmental awareness andappreciation. An EnvironmentalManagement Plan, including biodiver­sity protection and low impact recre­ational opportunities, will be devel­oped. Stevens Lumber Mill, SiliconSmelter and the Earthwatch Institutehave made further funding available tosearch for blue swallow nests.

At long last the grasslands inLimpopo are attracting funding andinterest and are being recognized asimportant ecosystems.

To visit the area, visit the sitewww.magoebaskloof.com or contactLizzie on 015 276 4972 for information.

TOP: The endemic Aloe lettyae flowers fromFebruary to April in the tall grass.Photo Sylvie Kohne.CENTRE: Indigofera rehmannii is endemic to theWoodbush range. Photo: Sylvie Kohne.BOTTOM: Scilla nalalensis. an important medicinalplant, has the ignominious reputation of creatingstrife in afamily or a community. Photo: Mike Strever.

AcknowledgementsPieter Winter (National Botanical Institute, Pretoria)is gratefully acknowledged for providing informa­tion on biodiversity and reviewing the article.

The authorCathy Dzerefos is a resident of Haenertsburg andaprivate Environmental Consultant. Her researchhas a strong emphasis on ecological and socio­economics of rural areas within the Savanna andGrassland Biomes. She is afounder member ofthe Limpopo Branch of the Botanical Society.

March 2004 Veld&Flora 19