Streptocarpus pusillus

Streptocarpus pusillus is a stemless perennial that grows one or two leaves. The shiny and hairy leaf seen here is ovate in shape, positioned flat on the ground, damaged without its tip. A tiny second leaf, recently emerged and pointing in the opposite direction to the big one, can be observed at the base of the plant. The leaf has a conspicuous sunken midrib and parallel lateral veins to the margins, curving slightly towards the tip near the margins.

The plant is monocarpic, dying after flowering once.

The plant distribution is in the KwaZulu-Natal Drakensberg, slightly into the Free State and Eastern Cape, also in Lesotho. This plant was seen in the Drakensberg on the border between Lesotho and KwaZulu-Natal during January.

The habitat is cliff faces, banks in kloof forests and mossy rocks at elevations from 1200 m to 2600 m. The habitat population is deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century (Pooley, 1998; iNaturalist; iSpot; http://redlist.sanbi.org).