Lasiosiphon polyanthus

Lasiosiphon polyanthus, previously Gnidia polyantha is an erect shrub with silky blue-green leaves. The leaves are elliptic to obovate with entire margins and tapering to sharp tips. The stems lower down are bare and grey.

The flowerheads grow on the stem tips. The flowers have long hairy corolla tubes and five bright yellow elliptic lobes.

Var. polyanthus is distributed in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Free State, while var. microcalyx is found in Mpumalanga and Limpopo.

The habitat of var. polyanthus is rocky, grassy or shrubby slopes, while var. microcalyx grows in mountainous grassland and open woodland, often near streams. Neither variety is considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century (JSTOR; http://redlist.sanbi.org).