Almost gone, but not forgotten: Local ecological knowledge (LEK) of honeybush (Cyclopia spp.) at Genadendal, the Overberg, Western Cape

• Local ecological knowledge can inform sustainable management of wild honeybush. • Honeybush LEK is embedded in oral accounts of plant knowledge passed on from generation to generation. • Local conservation of LEK is vested with external research institutions as much as with local champions. • Though valuable, LEK may not account for reported and observed local honeybush decline. • Effective conservation of wild honeybush along with preservation of associated LEK is tantamount to harvest sustainability. Complementary information from local knowledge and ecological science can inform collective decision-making for sustainable resource management. This study highlights persistent Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) among residents at historical honeybush ( Cyclopia spp.) harvest sites at Genadendal in the Overberg (Western Cape), where wild honeybush harvesting pre-dates the establishment of the South African honeybush sector. Interviews were conducted with 32 honeybush LEK holders aged 37–90 years. Seventy-three percent of LEK-holders reported life-long residency at the rural village, with between two and five generations of family residency reported at Genadendal and annexed villages. Apart from the widely known C. maculata (vleitee), knowledge-holders described another type of honeybush ( bergtee ) that grows in mountainous habitats. LEK thematic analysis indicated alignment between local descriptive names and ecological categorisation across the reseeder/resprouter dichotomy for local honeybush species. Ecological information could also be derived from descriptions of historical processing methods, harvest availability and post-fire regeneration. Sixty eight percent of interviewees reported observed declines in previously abundant wild honeybush populations. Fire, agricultural land-clearing and general apathy were cited as the main reasons for observed declines in wild honeybush populations, with fewer references to drought, floods and other climate- related changes. Oral transmission of LEK from parents and other elders were the primary sources of wild honeybush (84%). Interviewees cited the passing of elders as detrimental to the generational LEK still present in local harvester communities. Integration of LEK with Fynbos ecological science points to pathways for sustainability relevant for contemporary collective action efforts within South Africa’s biodiversity economy framework. As new efforts emerge amongst local harvesters and small-scale farmers to join the wider honeybush bio-economic sector in South Africa, we urge local actors and external affiliates to simultaneously conserve both the wild resource and the LEK associated with it.