Mistbelt

It seems to me that its place in South Africa is along the subtropical coast, or in the mistbelts where frost is usually absent.

The species grows mainly as epiphyte in shady wet forests, but also lithophytic on wet rocks, preferably in the mistbelt of escarpment forests, rarely chasmophytic in humus pockets on rocks (God's Window, eastern Transvaal).

The region is bounded roughly as follows: in the west by the Umtamvuna River; in the south and east by the 900 m a.s.l. contour line - below this the climate is too warm and dry for mistbelt grassland; and in the north by high ground above about 1 300 m a.s.l. where the clamate becomes too cold for mistbelt grassland.

Similarly, high rainfall mistbelt areas have much cloud cover in summer that lowers photoassimilation.