AN UNUSUAL AREA OF LAND CALLED THE ROGGEVELD
The grass, Secale strictum africanum, was found, in the 1700s, when new settlers arrived in the Roggeveld area. They found the rye grass suitable as animal feed. The Roggeveld – rye land – area, references state, is about thirty two kilometers wide and stretches from the Sutherland district to Middlepos in the Calvinia district in the Northern Cape province.
Sutherland is the main town in the Roggeveld and is said to be one of the coldest towns in South Africa with its plateau 1401 meters above sea level. In recent years a nearby site in Sutherland has become well known as the South African Astronomical Observatry. Lack of atmosphere and light pollution made it suitable for viewing the southern skies.
Sadly however, over time and the planting of other crops this specific grass began to disappear. There are five species of Secale to be found in the Mediterranean area, eastern Europe to Central Asia but only one – Secale Strictum africanum grew plentifully in the above part of South Africa. The well known botanist, Carl Thunberg, referred in the 1770s to this fact but William John Burchell, traveller and explorer, in the early 1800s reported seeing none of the wild rye growing at that time. It has recently been reported that scientific efforts are now being made to conserve this particular rye grass.