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Plans are underway to house an indigenous university botanical garden on the University of the Free State’s (UFS) Qwaqwa Campus, to take advantage of the area’s rich and unique biodiversity. The campus’s positioning at the foot of the Maloti-Drakensberg mountains means it is strategically positioned to continuously create its own mix of plant species that thrive in mountain biodiversity areas.

The South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) endorsed this new university botanical garden as part of the Qwaqwa Campus’s identity, saying it will enable the showcasing of some of the Maloti-Drakensberg and the Eastern Free State’s botanical treasures. With 2 000 to 3 000 plant species in the Maloti-Drakensberg and Eastern Free State, the garden would be spoilt for choice regarding varieties to showcase.

“Colourful and rich displays of flowers that have centres of diversity and endemism in the region include species of the red-hot pokers (Kniphofia), several hundred species of flowering bulbs such as the Watsonia, Hesperantha and Dierama, high diversity of everlastings such as Helichrysum, a wide variety of succulents, and a fascinating array of dwarf heaths, [which] have a chance to find a new home on the campus”, said Prof Ralph Clark, Director of the Afromontane Research Unit (ARU) at the UFS.

Indigenous garden a benefit to UFS and local community

Prof Clark explained that the garden would showcase the region’s botanical treasures and be a valuable research and conservation hub. While serving as an “outside classroom” for students in different disciplines, it will also offer educational opportunities for visitors from within the university and the wider community, while conserving indigenous plants at risk in the Maloti-Drakensberg corridor.

“Grasses are also very diverse in the region, including a large variety of high-elevation endemic tussock grasses. There is also the option of a protea garden that could incorporate some very interesting proteas typical of the region. The micro-climate variability provided by the buildings on campus provides opportunities to showcase a wide spectrum of species from different micro-habitats in the region.”

On a recent campus visit, the ARU was joined by UFS Vice-Chancellor and Principal Prof Francis Petersen and a team from SANBI led by Christopher Willis, Chief Director: National Botanical Gardens. The visitors were also treated to a helicopter ride to the ARU alpine base on the Maloti-Drakensberg Mountains, where various biodiversity research projects are underway.

Willis said that while other universities also have botanical gardens, the indigenous garden concept envisaged by the UFS’s Qwaqwa Campus is unique in South Africa. “We will work with you and help you along the way. This university garden presents opportunities for long-term biodiversity research on campus and global collaborations with other university gardens.”

Phase one of the project involves ridding the campus of invasive species and demarcating areas for planting indigenous plants and shrubs.

“The project to establish an indigenous university botanical garden on our Qwaqwa Campus presents a valuable opportunity to enhance our collaboration with SANBI,” Prof Petersen said. “We look forward to future collaboration, knowledge, and expertise exchanges with them.”