Oedera multipunctata

Oedera multipunctata, in Afrikaans commonly known as the perdekaroo (horses’ Karoo) and previously Relhania multipunctata, is a branched, rounded shrublet reaching heights from 50 cm to 1 m.

The lower, woody branches are leafless and grey or brownish grey, marked with leaf scars. Young, upper stems are hairy.

The species distribution is in the southwest of the Northern Cape and the northwest of the Western Cape, from the Bokkeveld Mountains and the Cederberg to north of Ceres. The photo was taken in the Biedouw Valley.

The habitat is rocky middle slopes and flats in sandstone derived soils. The species is considered to be near threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century, due to rooibos tea farming on the flatter parts of the land where these bushes grow naturally.

The plant is similar to O. sedifolia that bears solitary flowerheads and has smaller, narrower leaves. It is also related to O. resinifera that has stickier leaves and fruit (Manning and Goldblatt, 1997; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; iNaturalist; https://keyserver.lucidcentral.org; http://redlist.sanbi.org).