Jamesbrittenia microphylla

Jamesbrittenia microphylla, commonly called purple flox or sometimes the minileaf jaybee and previously known scientifically as Sutera microphylla, is a much-branched shrublet reaching heights from about 25 cm to 50 cm.

The minute, narrow leaves may be crowded on young stems. The specific name, microphylla, is derived from the Latin word micro and the Greek word phullon meaning leaf, referring to the leaf size.

The solitary flowers grow stalked from leaf axils. There is a small calyx around the base of each corolla tube with five narrow lobes veering away from the tube.

The narrow, cylindrical corolla tube of about 12 mm long has a kink where it widens some distance below the mouth. Five angularly tipped, pink, mauve or purple corolla lobes spread around the small, yellow-orange flower mouth. Each has a short, dark line mark at its base. Neither stamens, nor styles are exserted from these flowers.

Flowering happens from around midwinter through summer, sometimes almost all year round.

The species distribution is in the Western Cape from around Bredasdorp across the Little Karoo and coastally to the Eastern Cape as far as Uitenhage. The photo was taken in the Little Karoo on the Minwater farm near Oudtshoorn.

The plants grow on lower fynbos and scrub slopes and limestone flats. The species is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century (Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; Gledhill, 1981; iNaturalist; http://pza.sanbi.org; http://redlist.sanbi.org).