Forest Life

Platbos is home to numerous mammal, bird, reptile and invertebrate animal species who rely on the forest for food and shelter. Most of the trees bear edible fruits and seeds, and in addtion, the forest canopy provides much needed protection and fodder for visiting buck species since the surrounding natural environment is increasingly giving way to agriculture, alien invasive vegetation, and grazing fields for cattle. According to C.J. Skead, Platbos is probably the south-western limit of the stately but shy bushbuck, and it is an important habitat for the endangered, red-data listed Leopard Toad.

What makes Platbos a unique forest is its tree specie composition. The dominant trees are the Afromontane species of Celtis africana "white stinkwood", Olinia ventosa "hard pear" and Apodytes dimidiata "white pear", combined with the coastal forest tree species of Sideroxylon inerme "milkwood" and Chionanthus foveolata "pock ironwood". As a result, Platbos does not fit comfortably into any of the existing forest categories. It has been compared to the Tongaland-Pondoland forests of Kwazulu Natal, and it has also been described as a "sand forest". In his study of 1961, botanist Dr Taylor referred to it as a "Celtis-Olinia-Apodytes Tall Forest" because of the relative dominance of these forest trees, and certainly it is these trees which give Platbos is special character.

It is perhaps enough to say that, whatever its botanical category, this southermost forest of Africa is unique, and as such, a haven for not only the animals that dwell in it, but also for the weary souls that come to soak up its gentle peace.