Erica glandulosa subsp. fourcadei

Erica glandulosa subsp. fourcadei is a hardy, single-stemmed shrub reaching 1,2 m in height. It is one of the four recognised subspecies of E. glandulosa. The long, narrow sepals, some showing club-shapes and the dark coloured, long pedicels are notable. The stems are here hairier than the green sausage leaves. The angularity of the opposite branches is of interest.

The distribution of this subspecies is small but not as small as those of some of the other subspecies. A narrow coastal strip from George in the Western Cape to Cape St. Francis in the Eastern Cape is its home. The photo was taken at Nature's Valley.

The habitat is grassy and rocky coastal fynbos in sandstone derived soils or dune strandveld and thicket. The plants are exposed to wind and temperature variation. Some plants grow close enough to the sea for receiving salt spray. They cope with all of this and some dry seasons in a variety of soils from acid to alkaline.

The habitat population of the subspecies is considered vulnerable early in the twenty first century, due to human impact in the form of forestry, agriculture, invasive exotic vegetation and changing the cycle of natural fynbos fires in some of the now denser thickets (Manning and Helme, 2024; Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; Baker and Oliver, 1967; iNaturalist; iSpot; http://pza.sanbi.org; http://redlist.sanbi.org).