Pteronia flexicaulis

Pteronia flexicaulis, yet another member of the genus called gombos (gum bush) in Afrikaans, is a sticky-leaf shrub that grows to 1 m. Old stems are grey and rough surfaced, woody and bare.

The bright green leaves are distributed sparsely, opposite and decussate (consecutive pairs perpendicular to each other) on the green, upper stem parts. The leaves are linear, thread-like, ascending and often incurved. They become 4 cm long and 3 mm wide. A tiny groove or channel is visible on the upper surface.

The distribution is in the Western Cape, the Little Karoo and drier fynbos to the west, as far as Ceres.

The habitat is karoid scrub on stony slopes in clay soils. The species is not considered threatened in habitat early in the twenty first century (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; iSpot; JSTOR; http://redlist.sanbi.org).