Erica oblongiflora

Erica oblongiflora, commonly known in Afrikaans as groentaaiheide (green sticky heath), is an erect shrub that grows rigid, spreading branches reaching heights around 1 m.

According to Baker and Oliver the species forms part of the Pachysa section of the Erica genus, plants characterised by sticky, stem-tip flowers that grow urn-shaped or ovoid in groups of three or four.   

The faintly hairy leaves grow in spaced whorls of four or five. They are stubby, oblong to barrel-shaped with tips rounded or blunt and the margins rolled under, leaving a slit below.

The species distribution is along the south coast of the Western Cape from Bredasdorp to Infanta across the Agulhas Plain.

The habitat is fynbos and dune strandveld on limestone slopes and flats in the winter rainfall region. The habitat population is deemed endangered early in the twenty first century, due to its restricted range, compounded by farming activities, alien vegetation invasion and coastal development (Mustart, et al, 1997; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; iNaturalist; http://redlist.sanbi.org).