Syncarpha ferruginea

Syncarpha ferruginea, commonly in Afrikaans the geelsewejaartjie (yellow everlasting) and previously scientifically Helipterum ferrugineum, is a single-stemmed shrublet growing erect branches to heights from 20 cm to 50 cm.

The simple, alternate leaves spiral around the stems, overlapping and ascending. They are oblong to oblanceolate with round tips and entire margins. The grey blades are woolly to felted, their midribs prominent on the lower surfaces and the blades slightly folded in along the midribs. Leaf dimensions are about 10 mm long and 5 mm wide.

The species distribution is in the Western Cape from the Little Karoo to the Eastern Cape as far as Gqeberha. The photo was taken in the Swartberg Mountains.

The habitat is fynbos on dry mountain slopes in sandy soils. The species is not considered threatened in habitat early in the twenty first century (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; iNaturalist; http://redlist.sanbi.org).