Pelargonium echinatum

The flowers of Pelargonium echinatum may also be dark purple-pink as seen here. The upper petals in picture are much broader than the lower ones. The dark central markings are shorter than those on the lower petals, with smaller spots positioned closer to the petal base, not repeated on the three lower ones.

This large shrub, more than 1 m wide, with its yellowish end of season foliage was seen in August in the Karoo Desert National Botanical Garden at Worcester. In habitat the plant may remain much smaller than this.

There is marked folding to be seen here on the leaves along their veins that radiate from the leaf centres, probably more pronounced at this stage than when blooming commenced. The crenate or scalloped, even frilly leaf margins become yellow from the margins in several cases on this plant. As temperatures rise in late spring, the summer deciduous leaves will dry out and drop off the woody stems, as the bare plant takes a rest in the dry summer of its Namaqualand habitat (www.plantzafrica.com).