Aspalathus ciliaris

Aspalathus ciliaris is an erect or spreading shrub that becomes from 10 cm to 1,5 m tall. This species is quite variable across the diverse habitats in which it grows. It does not resprout after fire.

The leaves grow in dense clusters or fascicles along the stems, sometimes leaving patches of stem visible between the fascicles. The leaf shape is three-foliolate, the leaflets needle-like or wedge-shaped. They are green and straight or curving inwards slightly, with tiny, silvery hairs and tubercles scattered along the surfaces. Ciliaris means fringed, with marginal soft hairs.

The distribution of the species lies in the Western Cape southwards from the Cederberg and eastwards into the Eastern Cape as far as Humansdorp. The plant grows on fynbos slopes at various altitudes in varied soil types and rainfall levels across the region (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2010; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; Andrew, 2012).