habitat_narrative
Terrestrial
The only known population is found in bontveld vegetation (or Coega Bontveld following Mucina and Rutherford 2006) and occurs northeast of Port Elizabeth on limestone (Nanaga formation) and calcareous paleodunes (Cenozoic Algoa Group). The species ranges in altitude from sea level to 400 m at the now extinct Grahamstown localities. The area receives bimodal rainfall with maxima in March and October. It occurs in a semi-arid landscape with precipitation ranging from 400 mm per annum inland to 550 mm per annum closer to the coast. The mean maximum and minimum monthly temperatures are 32.1°C and 3.4°C and frost is rare, occurring on average only three days per year (see Mucina and Rutherford 2006). It should be noted that the extirpated populations occurred in habitats not associated with this vegetation type.