Jamesbrittenia tysonii

Jamesbrittenia tysonii in Afrikaans commonly known as witbergheuningkaroo (white mountain honey Karoo) or witsaffraanbos (white saffron bush), is a shrublet that grows to 35 cm in height.

It has deeply lobed or incised leaves, ovate in shape and tapering at the base. The leaves have a strong, but pleasant aroma. The plant has high palatability for game and stock.

J. tysonii bears solitary white flowers in leaf axils. The corolla has a long, cylindrical tube and five oblong petal lobes with notched tips. The lobes spread around a yellow eye around which small, purple lines radiate out from the petal bases. The corolla tube has the characteristic kink of the Jamesbrittenia genus. The plant may flower profusely after rain.

This is a South African endemic growing in the Northern and Eastern Cape. It grows on slopes, along seasonal watercourses among scrub adapted to semi-arid terrain; also on degraded land. The species is not threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century (Shearing and Van Heerden, 2008; www.redlist.sanbi.org).