Pelargonium desertorum stems

The succulent stems of Pelargonium desertorum branch and spread, showing parts of their pale grey-green to yellowish green surfaces among the leaves. Young stems of this plant are said often to be reddish in colour and brittle, becoming slightly woody and greying on older parts.

Smooth in most places in picture, there is roughness where dropped-off leaf stalks left scars. Glandular hairs are present upon the stems. When the leaves and flowers are gone in the summer heat, the stems of plants growing in habitat may appear dried out, even about dead during the plant’s dormant phase (Williamson, 2010; iNaturalist; www.namibrand.com).