Lobelia anceps

Lobelia anceps, internationally known as punakuru, is a much-branched, sprawling or erect perennial growing to 60 cm, rooting at the nodes. The thick stems are flattened and narrowly winged.

The species is distributed from the Cape Peninsula in the Western Cape through the Eastern Cape to KwaZulu-Natal and Lesotho. The worldwide distribution is large, including Australasia and central parts of the Americas where it may have been naturalised.

The habitat is coastal scrub and fynbos in damp, even marshy spots. The species is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century.

The plant grows from cuttings and thrives in damp conditions as a groundcover (Manning, 2007; Pooley, 1998; www.redlist.sanbi.org).