Serruria aemula var. congesta stem tip

The needle-like leaves of Serruria aemula var. congesta ascend densely around its stem-tips. They are divided into needle-like segments, hairy and red-tipped in the photo taken in Kirstenbosch during April.

The plant is a low-growing shrublet from a single stem, reaching 30 cm in height; it does not resprout after fire. The habitat of this plant was sandplain fynbos, but humans destroyed its habitat.

The creamy-pink hairy flowers cluster in small heads at the stem-tips. They are seen from late winter to early summer.

S. aemula used to be called S. ciliata. It grew in large numbers from Bellville to Salt River, common on the Cape Flats, but now critically endangered and subsp. congesta extinct in nature.

There is a link to S. foeniculacea of Rondevlei in Grassy Park, Cape Town (Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; iSpot).