Serruria heterophylla

Serruria heterophylla, the spindly spiderhead, is an erect, single-stemmed and sparsely branched shrub reaching about 1 m in height.

The leaves are narrow, divided and hairless, up to 6 cm long. The lower leaves are more divided into up to eight lobes, the upper ones less divided into up to three lobes and the blades shorter.

The specific name, heterophylla, is derived from the Greek words heteros meaning different or other and phyllon meaning leaf, referring to this feature of the leaves.

Flowerheads are usually solitary at stem-tips on elongated peduncles above five to ten membranous bracts. A flowerhead comprises 12 to 16 silvery haired, pink florets that are sweetly scented. The heads are up to 3 cm in diameter. Flowering happens from late winter to early summer.

The Western Cape distribution of the species is small, from around Kleinmond to Hermanus and the Kleinrivier Mountains. The photo was taken above the Hermanus Golf Course.

The habitat is fynbos on middle elevation, sandstone slopes and coastal scrub. The species is considered endangered in habitat early in the twenty first century, due to human development, wine farming and invasion by alien vegetation (Marais, (Ed.), 2017; Bean and Johns, 2005; Bean and Burman, 1985; iNaturalist; http://redlist.sanbi.org).