A national resource assessment of Cyclopia intermedia (Honeybush; Bergtee): effects of harvesting, fire and biophysical factors on population characteristics

Honeybush (Cyclopia spp.) is an endemic fynbos genus of 23 species. Bergtee (Cyclopia intermedia), the most widely distributed species, makes up 85% of the annual wild-harvested crop, used mainly for the production of a herbal beverage. Distributed across the Cape Fold Mountains, this biotraded resource supports locally important livelihoods in the semi-arid mountain areas of the Eastern and Western Cape Langkloof region of South Africa. To inform conservation and sustainable use of the resource, the South African government commissioned a resource assessment of C. intermedia in 2024. Field surveys of 102 wild populations were carried out to characterise the environmental preferences of plants, and assess population density, incidence of seedlings and the size (a proxy for vigour) of plants in relation to the effects of harvesting, fire, and biophysical factors. The survey revealed that harvesting occurred at 46% of the sites, where harvested plants had a greater number of stems than unharvested plants, while the crown size of plants, population density and abundance of seedlings did not differ between harvested and unharvested populations. Historical records indicated that all surveyed populations had burnt at least once within the preceding 21 years, and more frequent fires resulted in larger crown sizes and more stems. Seedlings were noticeably absent in many populations, but were found in more moist environments. In conclusion, our findings show that currently, harvested and unharvested populations do not differ notably in the assessed measures of vigour, and where conservative, best practice harvesting guidelines are followed, populations are healthy.