ABSTRACT
Studies of African grass phytoliths have provided a useful tool for palaeoclimatic reconstructions, particularly in tropical latitudes and summer rainfall areas of the continent (e.g., Alexandre et al., 1997; Bremond et al., 2005, 2008; Barboni et al., 2007). South Africa and parts of Namibia, however, do not follow most of the taxonomic and biogeographic patterns of grasses commonly found elsewhere in Africa. The unique biogeographic and taxonomic patterns of graminoids in this region are the result of a winter rainfall season (Vogel et al., 1978), subtropical dry lands with winter, summer and bimodal rainfall seasons (Mulder and Ellis, 2000), and the presence of distinct flora irradiated from the Cape Floral Kingdom (Linder, 2003; Galley et al., 2007).
