Waxy Currantrhus
on 17th January 2010
Once a rare species, Waxy Currantrhus is now a dominant of the Renosterveld shale slopes of Lions Rump (or - better known as Signal Hill).
One of the theories is that the lack of Rhino and Grysbok/Steenbok is allowing these species of resprouters to dominate the local community and suppress the grasses and obligate reseeders. Various hair-brained schemes to control this have been proposed: Eland, Boerbokke, Nguni Cattle - all have their merits and demerits.
Although the area regularly burns, the fires are quickly put out and seldom cover a large area, so that most of the veld is about 15 years old. It has been argued that Renosterveld should burn shorter than Fynbos (the fuel grows much faster) and a 5-10 year cycle should be done, which may control the Waxy Currantrhus.