Global Regional Plant Guides

Cape Floristic & South African Montane Plant Survival Guide

A comprehensive survival plant guide for Cape Floristic & South African Montane, covering useful woody materials, land foods, aquatic foods, traditional-use plants and poisonous look-alikes.

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Cover of Cape Floristic & South African Montane Plant Survival Guide

Continent: Africa
USDA-equivalent zones: 8-11
Köppen climate: Csb / Cfb
Profiles: 20
Regional biome: Fynbos, renosterveld, afrotemperate forest and mountain stream

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Useful plants · 5 Land edibles · 5 Aquatic edibles · 3 Traditional-use · 3 Poisonous look-alikes · 4

Useful plants

Wood, fibre, shelter and craft

Wild olive

Olea europaea subsp. europaea var. sylvestris

Useful plants

Identify: Opposite narrow leathery leaves, silvery beneath; small white flowers; purple-black drupes.
Habitat: Mediterranean scrub, rocky slopes and dry woodland.
Season: Fruit autumn; wood year-round.
Field use: Dense hard wood for pegs, handles and friction-fire spindles; fruit becomes food only after controlled curing.
Caution: Raw fruit is intensely bitter; curing requires salt/water and hygiene. Do not improvise medicinal leaf extracts.
Look-alikes: Privet has broader leaves and clustered black berries.

handlesbow drill spindlefood fruit

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Wild raisins / Grewia

Grewia spp.

Useful plants

Stylized form diagram for Wild raisins / Grewia

Identify: Rough toothed leaves; small star-like flowers; lobed orange, red or brown drupes.
Habitat: African savanna, dry woodland and scrub.
Season: Fruit seasonal; stems year-round.
Field use: Ripe fruits of selected species are documented food; straight stems provide arrow shafts, bows, cordage bark and tool handles.
Caution: Species vary. Confirm fruit and leaf traits; thorny thickets can conceal snakes.
Look-alikes: Ziziphus has paired thorns and three-veined leaves.

food fruitarrow shaftbow woodcordage

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Paperbarks

Melaleuca spp.

Useful plants

Identify: Papery layered bark; narrow oil-dotted leaves; cream bottlebrush flower spikes and woody capsules.
Habitat: Australian wetlands, monsoon forest, swamp and coast.
Season: Year-round bark and wood.
Field use: Loose outer bark is excellent tinder, wrapping and temporary waterproofing; wood makes poles and fuel; some species yield tea-tree oils.
Caution: Do not ring-bark living trees. Essential oils are concentrated and not for drinking.
Look-alikes: Eucalypts have gumnuts and different bark; bottlebrush Callistemon forms are related.

tinderwrappolesfuelmedicine

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She-oaks / casuarinas

Casuarina / Allocasuarina spp.

Useful plants

Stylized form diagram for She-oaks / casuarinas

Identify: Fine jointed needle-like branchlets; tiny scale leaves at joints; woody cone-like fruits; furrowed bark.
Habitat: Australian coast, woodland, riverbanks and Pacific shores.
Season: Wood year-round; seeds seasonal.
Field use: Dense wood for spear shafts, clubs, handles, bows and excellent coals; fine dry branchlets are tinder.
Caution: Heavy limbs fall in wind. Do not confuse branchlets with edible Ephedra.
Look-alikes: Tamarisk has finer feathery twigs and pink flowers, not woody cones.

bow woodspearhandlesfueltinder

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African highland bamboo

Oldeania alpina / Oxytenanthera spp.

Useful plants

Stylized form diagram for African highland bamboo

Identify: Tall segmented culms in dense stands; narrow grass leaves; branching at nodes.
Habitat: African highlands or dry tropical woodland depending species.
Season: Culms year-round; shoots seasonal.
Field use: Shelter, containers, arrow shafts, bows, traps, friction-fire sets and cooked shoots of known species.
Caution: Shoots may contain cyanogenic compounds and require boiling; stands hide wildlife and unstable slopes.
Look-alikes: Reeds are thinner and wetland-rooted.

constructionarrow shaftbow drillcontainerfood shoot

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Land edibles

Terrestrial food species

Pigface

Carpobrotus rossii and related spp.

Land-based edible plants

Identify: Ground-hugging succulent with triangular leaves, large daisy-like flowers and fleshy fig-like fruit.
Habitat: Australian and southern African coasts, dunes and salt spray zones.
Season: Fruit seasonal; leaves year-round.
Field use: Ripe fruit and selected leaf preparations are documented food; leaves provide moisture and have external traditional use.
Caution: Very salty or sour tissues can upset stomach. Avoid polluted beaches and hybrid plants.
Look-alikes: Other iceplants are smaller and may not share food traditions.

food fruitfood greenmedicine

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Common purslane

Portulaca oleracea

Land-based edible plants

Stylized form diagram for Common purslane

Identify: Low reddish succulent stems; smooth fleshy leaves; tiny yellow flowers; clear sap.
Habitat: Disturbed warm ground, gardens, river deposits and camp edges worldwide.
Season: Warm growing season.
Field use: Young leaves and stems are documented food and water-rich greens.
Caution: High oxalate content; avoid large amounts with kidney disease and avoid contaminated ground.
Look-alikes: Spurges often exude milky sap and are unsafe.

food green

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Wild roses

Rosa spp.

Land-based edible plants

Identify: Prickly stems; compound toothed leaves; five-petaled flowers; red to orange hips.
Habitat: Open woods, thickets, prairie, dunes and mountain slopes.
Season: Hips late summer through winter.
Field use: Fleshy hip walls are documented food after the irritating hairs and seeds are removed; good for simmering or drying.
Caution: Internal hairs irritate skin and mouth. Avoid sprayed or moldy fruit.
Look-alikes: Hawthorn has simple lobed leaves and woody thorns.

food fruitcordage

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Wild onions and garlic

Allium spp.

Land-based edible plants

Stylized form diagram for Wild onions and garlic

Identify: Narrow leaves or hollow stems; spherical flower heads; clear onion or garlic odor in leaf and bulb.
Habitat: Meadows, rocky slopes, open woodland and stream terraces.
Season: Spring through fall.
Field use: Leaves, flowers and bulbs of positively identified Allium are documented food and seasoning.
Caution: Every sampled part must smell of onion, but odor is not the only test. Avoid unknown bulbs.
Look-alikes: Death camas lacks onion odor and can be fatal.

food greenfood bulb

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Carob

Ceratonia siliqua

Land-based edible plants

Identify: Leathery paired leaflets; thick dark brown flattened pods with hard seeds.
Habitat: Mediterranean woodland, rocky slopes and dry farms.
Season: Pods late summer-fall; wood year-round.
Field use: Mature pods are documented sweet food after removing hard seeds; dense wood makes handles and fuel.
Caution: Moldy pods are unsafe; seeds are hard enough to damage teeth.
Look-alikes: Honey locust pods are longer and the tree has large branched thorns.

food podhandlesfuel

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Aquatic edibles

Water-margin food species

Waterblommetjie

Aponogeton distachyos

Water and wetland edible plants

Stylized form diagram for Waterblommetjie

Identify: Floating oval leaves; forked white flower spikes with dark anthers; submerged tuber.
Habitat: Seasonal ponds and slow freshwater in southwestern South Africa.
Season: Cool wet season.
Field use: Flower buds and tender stems are a documented cooked vegetable.
Caution: Only harvest in clean water and confirm the forked fragrant flower spike.
Look-alikes: Other pondweeds lack the distinctive two-branched white inflorescence.

food aquatic

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Cattails

Typha spp.

Water and wetland edible plants

Identify: Tall flat strap leaves; dense brown cylindrical female flower spike below a narrower male section.
Habitat: Marshes, pond edges, slow channels and wet ditches.
Season: Shoots spring; pollen early summer; rhizomes year-round where lawful.
Field use: Documented food parts include young inner shoots, pollen and processed rhizome starch. Leaves make mats, baskets and thatch; seed down can bulk tinder.
Caution: Water can concentrate sewage, metals and parasites. Raw rhizome requires correct processing; avoid contaminated marshes.
Look-alikes: Yellow flag iris has sword leaves and showy flowers but no brown cattail head.

food shootfood starchbasketrythatchtinder

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Glassworts

Salicornia spp.

Water and wetland edible plants

Identify: Leafless-looking jointed succulent stems; green turning red; tiny flowers embedded in segments.
Habitat: Salt marshes, saline lake margins and tidal flats worldwide.
Season: Young shoots spring-summer.
Field use: Tender tips are documented cooked greens and salt seasoning.
Caution: Very salty; use small portions and avoid sewage-contaminated marshes.
Look-alikes: Other succulent chenopods differ in branching and fruit; none should be eaten from polluted sites.

food green

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Traditional-use

Documented traditional medicine

African aloes

Aloe spp.

Medicinal and traditional-use plants

Identify: Fleshy rosette leaves with toothed margins and spikes of tubular red, orange or yellow flowers.
Habitat: African drylands, rocky slopes and fynbos.
Season: Leaves year-round; flowers seasonal.
Field use: Clear inner gel of a few correctly identified species has documented external soothing use; dry stalks are tinder.
Caution: Yellow latex under the rind is a strong laxative and can be dangerous. Species vary; do not eat aloe in the field.
Look-alikes: Agaves are New World plants with fibrous leaves and different flowers.

medicinetinder

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African wormwood

Artemisia afra

Medicinal and traditional-use plants

Stylized form diagram for African wormwood

Identify: Gray-green aromatic finely divided leaves; small inconspicuous flower heads; woody base.
Habitat: African highlands, grassland and disturbed mountain slopes.
Season: Growing season.
Field use: Widely documented traditional aromatic and respiratory use; dry stems support tinder.
Caution: No survival dosing. Concentrated oils and teas can be toxic, especially in pregnancy or seizure disorders.
Look-alikes: Other Artemisia species and unrelated gray shrubs resemble it.

medicinetinder

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Pepper-bark tree

Warburgia salutaris

Medicinal and traditional-use plants

Stylized form diagram for Pepper-bark tree

Identify: Aromatic glossy leaves with pale undersides; rough bark; small green flowers and berries.
Habitat: Southern and East African forest margins.
Season: Leaves year-round.
Field use: Documented traditional medicinal plant and useful aromatic wood.
Caution: Critically overharvested in parts of its range. Do not strip bark or self-dose.
Look-alikes: Other aromatic trees require flower and bark confirmation.

medicinetools

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Poisonous look-alikes

Do not eat — verify before harvest

Tree euphorbias

Euphorbia spp.

Poisonous plants

Stylized form diagram for Tree euphorbias

Identify: Candelabra or shrub form; milky latex; paired spines in many species; tiny flowers in specialized cups.
Habitat: African drylands, tropical scrub and disturbed ground.
Season: Year-round.
Field use: No food use; dry dead wood is not recommended for cooking fires.
Caution: Latex can cause severe burns, blindness and vomiting; smoke is irritating.
Look-alikes: Cacti lack milky latex and are native to the Americas.

poison

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Flame lily

Gloriosa superba

Poisonous plants

Identify: Climbing herb with tendril-like leaf tips and red-yellow reflexed flame-shaped flowers; underground tubers.
Habitat: African and Asian tropical grassland, thicket and forest edge.
Season: Wet season.
Field use: No food or medicine use.
Caution: All parts, especially tubers and seeds, contain colchicine-type toxins and can be fatal.
Look-alikes: Edible yams twine differently and have inconspicuous flowers.

poison

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Castor bean

Ricinus communis

Poisonous plants

Identify: Large star-shaped palmately lobed leaves; spiny capsules; glossy mottled seeds.
Habitat: Warm disturbed ground, riverbanks and tropical/subtropical waste areas.
Season: Growing season; seeds seasonal.
Field use: No survival food or medicine use. Oil extraction is industrial, not a field process.
Caution: Chewed seeds can release ricin and cause severe or fatal poisoning.
Look-alikes: Jatropha has similar lobed leaves but different fruit; it is also toxic.

poison

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Oleander

Nerium oleander

Poisonous plants

Identify: Evergreen shrub with narrow leathery leaves in pairs or whorls and pink, white or red five-petaled flowers.
Habitat: Mediterranean and arid-region waterways, wadis and planted settlements.
Season: Year-round foliage.
Field use: No use.
Caution: All parts contain potent cardiac glycosides; smoke, skewers and contaminated water can be dangerous.
Look-alikes: Yellow oleander has different fruit but similar cardiac toxicity.

poison

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