Pelargonium curviandrum flowering plants

Pelargonium curviandrum grows from 7 to 25 flowers in each umbel late in spring. Not all the plants in this little colony among rocks and ground cover debris have leaves present at flowering time. In habitat these summer dormant plants usually avoid full sun and are not often found on northern slopes of the hills where they grow.

P. curviandrum resembles two other Pelargonium species in leaf and flower shape, viz. P. punctatum and P. triandrum. The stamens of all three curve up initially and drop off when the stigma ripens.

Their differences lie in the number of petals and stamens: P. curviandrum has 5 petals and 4 stamens in each flower, P. triandrum 4 petals and 3 stamens, while P. punctatum flowers grow 5 petals and 2 stamens.

P. triandrum occurs in the Western Cape, P. punctatum in the Northern Cape. Neither of them is considered to be threatened in habitat early in the twenty first century (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2010; www.llifle.com).