Pelargonium sidoides

Pelargonium sidoides, commonly known as rabassam or kalwerbossie (little calf-bush) in Afrikaans, is a shrublet growing from a caudex, producing grey-green to blue-grey, wavy leaves. The leaves are aromatic. They are round to heart-shaped, elaborately lobed at the base. Straight pleats radiate from leaf base to margin. The velvety leaves grow on long pale stalks.

This plant survives grass fires in habitat by resprouting from its thick, branched, underground stems. The plant is similar to P. reniforme and P. fragrans, especially in leaf shape and growth habit, but differentiated by its dark, sometimes very dark flowers.

P. sidoides grows in nature in the Eastern Cape, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho and south-western Gauteng. It is found in grassland and among shrubs. The species is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century (Wikipedia; www.plantzafrica.com; http://redlist.sanbi.org).