Cape granite flax was considered extinct, and the only evidence of its existence was scans of herbarium sheets dating back to the 1830s. Gigi Laidler was told to go and find one. In the wild. No pressure, then.
Gigi Laidler, a staff member at CREW, has this to say about the project, “One of the first things I learnt when I joined the CREW team is that ‘special’ doesn’t always mean big or showy when it comes to threatened species. There is much reward to be found in the small and seemingly uninteresting plants.
On my very first outing with the team, I was instructed to seek and find Granite Cape Flax Polycarena silenoides – a tall order for a small plant found only on Lion’s Head granites and presumed to be extinct. The only visual material I had to work with were scans of herbarium sheets dating back to the 1830s and descriptions gleaned from sources like Cape Plants and other Cape Floras. According to the Red List website, the status is Critically Endangered, possibly extinct and “Known from the slopes of Lion’s Head – three collections were made before 1940. We suspect this species may be extinct due to alien grass invasions and incorrect fire management.”
Of course, we didn’t find our plant on our first search in October, but undaunted, if I subsequently heard of anyone going anywhere near Signal Hill/Lion’s Head, I beseeched them to look out for a small plant in granitic areas.
Then one Sunday, I set off in search of this elusive target on a mild, overcast morning, with the odd hint of impending bad weather threatening to disrupt our botanising fun. Eventually, we reached our main target area on the lower road on the western side below Lion’s Head, where the granites start. We split the group with those feeling nimble and fleet-of-foot exploring the more bouldery section while the more “cautious” of us would simply scramble our way up the steep slope to the path, where we would rendezvous before returning to our vehicles.
I opted for the more direct scramble up the slope, and I didn’t get very far when an insignificant little weed-like plant about 8 or 9cm high caught my eye. Closer inspection confirmed all the “boxes” for the identifying features appeared to be “ticked”, – so I hazarded a guess that we had finally found our plant and proceeded to take many pictures. I will admit that the prospect of rediscovering a presumed extinct species is exhilarating, so Sunday night was a bit restless for me!
On Monday morning, my find was indeed confirmed as being the long-lost Polycarena silenoides – a little plant that can be easily overlooked and dismissed as being something common. Granite Cape flax, as it is commonly known, was probably obscured by mature vegetation on previous searches, and we are fortunate that after the fire, it is now visible in the burnt area, where there is not too much competition from other larger plants.
This population of Polycarena silenoides will now need to be more fully assessed and monitored so that its Red List status can be revised, and more can be learnt about its life form and responses to fire and other threats.
It is encouraging to know that perseverance pays off, and small can be exciting too. So let’s keep looking for those elusive threatened plants, and who knows how many other long-lost species are waiting to be rediscovered.”
The Cape Floristic Region Custodians of Rare and Endangered Wildflowers (CREW) team is a citizen science programme that uses volunteers passionate about plants, many of which are also members of the Botanical Society of South Africa. CREW data feeds into IUCN Red Listing data with the SANBI Threatened Species Programme and is a way for the general public to make a meaningful contribution to conserving our unique natural heritage. This is plant conservation in action.
DID YOU KNOW that African Parks offers safari camps (lodges and campsites) where 100% of tourism revenue goes to conservation and local communities? 
ANDY STENT AND SZERDI NAGY are a married photographic team intent on exploring and discovering as much of our incredible world as they can. Their passion for travel was sparked when they travelled to Nepal in 2010 and since then they have used their wedding photography business to fund their adventures. They love exploring Africa in their trusty Land Rover, Murray, and having the chance to meet and interact with people from all over the world. They also have a quest to find the most beautiful campsite on the planet.
STEPHEN TOWNLEY BASSET was born in Cape Town, graduating from the University of Cape Town with a Bachelor of Social Science degree. He is the third generation in his family to be involved in the location and documentation of rock art in Southern Africa and is today a specialist in the field. His primary interests lie in the accurate, full-colour documentation of the art and research into pigments, paints and implements used by early hunter-gatherers of the region. Stephen consults with farmers and landowners on the conservation and management of sites. He is regularly involved in rehabilitating rock art sites and removing graffiti from vandalised sites.
AYO OBUSEH was born in Nigeria, West Africa. He became a professional photographer after several years of working internationally as a soldier and an epidemiologist. His African background brings a particular style to his photos. He likes the rural elements as well as the frontal perspectives. Typically Ayo shoots glamorous photographs of families, wild animals in their natural habitat and serene, picturesque environments. His photographs of lakes and ancient structures beneath vibrant skies blast off the screen and page with explosive colours. As part of his photographic portfolio, one may also find sepia-infused works that resonate with an essence of nostalgia. Follow Ayo on 
Richard Bullock with the Xhosa initiates he filmed and wrote about.
Scottish born in 1939, DR GEORGE HUGHES became a game ranger in South Africa’s Giants Castle in 1961 before leaving to study Zoology at the University of Natal in 1965. He pursued a higher degree in Zoology, studying sea turtles throughout the South Western Indian Ocean and finished his PhD in 1974, rejoining the Natal Parks Board as Senior Scientist. In 1975 Dr Hughes was appointed a senior manager becoming Chief Executive Officer of the Natal Parks Board, and in 1998 CEO of the Board’s successor Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife. During his career, he has remained active in sea turtle research and has visited many parts of the world as a conservation expert. He has accompanied or led official South African delegations to conservation conferences with objectives as diverse as Sustainable Use, CITES and Conservation Economics.
Biologist and conservationist JOHN (JO) ANDERSON moved to East Africa in 1995 shortly after graduating from Oxford University. He has since conducted wildlife research and environmental work throughout East Africa, guided Mount Kilimanjaro climbs more than 50 times, and led specialist travel groups on safaris in Tanzania, and Kenya. Rwanda, Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, Uganda, and Zambia. Jo is a founding partner in Carbon Tanzania, which recently became the first organization in Tanzania to develop a community-led forest-based carbon offset project, working with the hunter-gatherer Hadza people of Northern Tanzania. He lives with his wife and two children in Arusha, Northern Tanzania.
Mammal Specialist ALESSANDRA SORESINA has worked on several wildlife projects around the world. In Saadani Game Reserve in Southern Tanzania, she was involved in a mammal monitoring project which led to Saadani being upgraded to a National Park. In 2001 she set up the lion project in Tarangire National Park, northern Tanzania, and for over 5 years, Alessandra has concentrated her efforts on lion–human interactions. During this time, she has greatly contributed to what is known about lions in and around the Tarangire ecosystem. One of her major goals was implementing the radio-tracking program in Tarangire, allowing conservationists and national park management to understand lion movements in the Tarangire ecosystem fully. After setting up a snow leopard project in the Himalayas with the Università degli Studi di Siena, she is now involved in mammal monitoring projects in Mozambique, Tanzania, Gabon and Botswana which are essential to the implementation of new protected areas.
Bird Specialist MARC BAKER is the owner and director of Ecological Initiatives Ltd, a Tanzanian company that supports forestry and wildlife conservation in Tanzania. Based in Arusha, Marc has worked in conservation and ecotourism since 1998. Initially, as an ornithologist for the United Nations Development Program – Global Environmental Fund cross-border biodiversity project from 1998 – 2000, conducting a range of biodiversity surveys in Tanzania and Kenya. As a wildlife specialist, Marc works on various ecological issues, such as wildlife management, out-of-protected area tourism viability and carbon forestry for Danida (Danish Development Agency), Care International, the Wildlife Division of Tanzania and the Tanzania bird atlas.
Adventure sports specialist GIAN SCHAUCHERMANN holds a degree in ecology and fisheries management. Gian has worked on Rubondo Island in Lake Victoria and built bushcamps in Tarangire and Serengeti National Parks. He also spent a great deal of time in the remote areas of Loliondo, where he guided walking safaris and captured some of the finest wild dog photographs. Gian has formal training and certification as a walking safari guide, is a member of the Interpretive Guides Society, and has a pure love of adventure. In his free time, Gian can be found building canoes in his backyard, climbing volcanoes, or adventuring across Tanzania on his motorbike or paramotor.
LORI ROBINSON sold her California home and most of her belongings in 2009 for a simpler, more nomadic life. As a lover of the wild, Lori strives to live more connected to the rhythms of nature. She rotates between California, New Mexico, Wyoming and Africa, writing about wildlife and wild places and working on her memoir. She designs and leads safaris to Africa and is a contributor to Africa Geographic, Travelers Tales and Conscious Lifestyle Magazine, and the founder of 
RAISA MIRZA grew up between Bangladesh and Montreal, Canada, spending most of her time reading National Geographic magazines and dreaming of wild, open spaces. She works in the intersection of community development, food security and behaviour change communications. Through her photography, she aims to portray the diversity of the world’s people and wild spaces while changing people’s perceptions of the developing world. You can find more of her work on her 
JANE EDGE is a former environmental journalist who cut her teeth reporting on the elephant and rhino poaching crisis in the 1980s. She subsequently became a director of Phinda Resource Reserve, communications director of CC Africa (now &Beyond), and manager of Nedbank’s green affinity programme in partnership with WWF SA. She was the marketing and philanthropy director for African Parks before leaving in late 2014 to establish her consultancy, Afrothropic. She has also served on the board of Fair Trade Tourism, where she was acting general manager for a period.
LAILA BAHAA-EL-DIN first escaped to Africa in 2007 after completing her degree in zoology at the University of Nottingham. She has since found it almost impossible to leave and has worked on research projects in eastern, southern, and central Africa. Laila’s work has thus far concentrated on the predators of land (cats) and sky (raptors). The golden cat project, funded by the global wild cat conservation group Panthera, is part of Laila’s PhD research with the University of KwaZulu-Natal and the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) at the University of Oxford.
