Pelargonium elegans

Pelargonium elegans, previously P. ovale subsp. ovatum, is a tufted perennial growing from a rhizome and reaching 45 cm in height. The leaves are elliptic, hard and sometimes hairy. They are markedly veined and have serrated margins. The leaf dimensions are about 3 cm long and 2,5 cm wide.

The pale pink to nearly white petals have dark purple lines, vertical on the two upper petals. The lower three petals are unmarked, narrower than the upper ones. The flower tube is shorter than the pedicels. Flowers are about 5 cm in diameter. There are also less seen pinkish and lilac flower variations. Flowering happens from spring to after midsummer.

The species distribution is coastal in two discrete regions of the Western Cape and the Eastern Cape respectively, from Hermanus to Stilbaai and from Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) to Makhanda (Grahamstown).

The habitat is sandy soils of fynbos flats and coastal dunes and Albany thicket. The habitat population is deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century.

This is a good garden or container plant, easy to grow in sandy soil (Manning, 2007; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; iNaturalist; iSpot; http://redlist.sanbi.org).