Polygala microlopha var. microlopha

Polygala microlopha var. microlopha is a single-stemmed, twiggy shrublet or shrub reaching heights from 15 cm to 60 cm.

The narrow leaves are mostly needle-like and straight, more spiralling than alternate on the stems and adhering closely to them. Leaf dimensions of P. microlopha are up to 10 mm long and 3 mm wide.

The distribution of the variety is in the east of the Western Cape from the Swartberg Mountains in the Little Karoo and the coastal region from Mossel Bay eastwards to the Eastern Cape as far as Uitenhage. The photo was taken at Minwater near Oudtshoorn.

The habitat is dry lower to middle slopes of fynbos, renosterveld and scrub. This variety is not considered threatened in habitat early in the twenty first century (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; iNaturalist; http://redlist.anbi.org).