Pelargonium fulgidum

Pelargonium fulgidum is an ancestor of some red-flowered garden cultivars popular in the market. It is a scrambling, semi-succulent shrublet with oblong to heart-shaped, lobed leaves with serrated margins. The young leaves are palatable to humans. Old stems may be woody.

The bright red flowers appear from winter to early summer in umbels of about five flowers on long peduncles above the leaves.

The species is distributed from the Gariep River in a coastal strip through the Northern Cape to the Western Cape. The photo was taken in the West Coast National Park during August.

The plants grow in sandy soil or granite outcrops. The species is not endangered in its habitat early in the twenty first century (www.plantzafrica.com).