Lampranthus sociorum

Lampranthus sociorum, commonly called the mat brightfig, is a smooth-stemmed, creeping shrublet that forms a mat and reaches about 10 cm in height when in flower.

The species distribution is in the southwest of the Western Cape from around Piketberg to Darling, the Cape Flats, the Swartland, Paarl and Gordon’s Bay. The photo was taken north of Cape Town.

The habitat is shale and granite renosterveld and fynbos on flats and lower slopes. The habitat population is deemed threatened early in the twenty first century, due to agriculture and invasive exotic vegetation (Smith, et al, 1998; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; iNaturalist; http://redlist.sanbi.org).