Pelargonium ovale subsp. ovale

Pelargonium ovale, in Afrikaans the lepelblaarmalva (spoon-leaf pelargonium), is a low-growing shrublet with tufted, silky leaves. This rhizomatous plant that resprouts after fire reaches heights of up to 30 cm. The plant in picture, having done its flowering for the season by mid-October, has many fruits to show for its labours. The sepals are still clutching the bases of the fruits.

The distribution of the plant in the coastal mountains of the Western Cape from Wellington to the Eastern Cape around Uitenhage covers fynbos and renosterveld. The plant typically grows in loamy or sandy soil. This specimen was seen on the Rooiberg in the southern Cape (Manning, 2009; Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2010; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984).