Oedera sedifolia

Oedera sedifolia, commonly known in Afrikaans as the perdekaroo (horses’ Karoo) or bittergombos (bitter gum bush) and scientifically previously as Relhania sedifolia, is a moderately to much-branched shrublet reaching heights to around 1 m. Older stems are soon leafless, their surfaces rough with leaf scars.

The species distribution is inland in the southwest of the Northern Cape from near Nieuwoudtville to the northwest of the Western Cape in the Cederberg to Worcester and the Witteberg Mountains. The photo was taken at Kagga Kamma.

The habitat is rocky sandstone slopes. The species is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century (Manning and Goldblatt, 1997; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; iNaturalist; http://redlist.sanbi.org).