Pelargonium carnosum subsp. carnosum

Pelargonium carnosum subsp. carnosum, commonly called the vetplantmalva in Afrikaans and previously scientifically P. ferulaceum, is a thick-stemmed, much branched, deciduous, succulent. The plant may exceed 1 m in height, growing into a well-shaped, rounded bush. 

The leaves are sometimes so deeply lobed that they could almost be described as pinnately divided. They are grey-green, finely hairy, slightly succulent and channelled along the main axis. The leaves are about 20 cm long. The specific name, carnosum, is derived from the Latin word carnis meaning flesh, referring to the fleshy stems and leaves.

The flowers are white or light pink. The greenish-yellow flowers sometimes seen may be from a hybrid. The upper petals often have two small pink lines at the base. The filaments are pink. The flowers are about 1,5 cm wide. Flowering happens from before midsummer to early autumn.

The plant grows after rain, largely a winter rainfall region plant. This photograph was taken in midsummer in the Karoo Desert National Botanical Garden. 

This species is found in nature inland from Namibia through Namaqualand in the Northern Cape to Clanwilliam in the Western Cape and the Little Karoo to the Eastern Cape as far as Uitenhage, now Kariega. 

The habitat is shrubland and thicket in clayey soils. The P. carnosum distribution exceeds the winter rainfall area to a limited extent. The habitat population of the subspecies is deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century. 

The plant resembles P. crithmifolium that bears bigger flowers and has persistent flower stalks above the leaves (Euston-Brown and Kruger, 2023; Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; Le Roux, et al, 2005; iNaturalist; www.backyardgardener.com; http://redlist.sanbi.org).