Tetragonia sarcophylla

Tetragonia sarcophylla or kinkelbossie (little knot bush, little twist bush) in Afrikaans is a compact succulent shrub that grows to 40 cm.

The distribution is large, from Namaqualand through the Karoo and Little Karoo to the Eastern Cape. The habitat is karoid, the plants growing on arid, stony slopes and scrub flats. The plant is much browsed; an abundance of it indicates well managed veld. The plant is not currently considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century, as its population is still stable.

There are two recognised varieties, viz. T. sarcophylla var. sarcophylla and T. sarcophylla var. saxatilis. The latter one may be associated with the north-western, Namaqualand part of the species distribution (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2010; Shearing and Van Heerden, 2008; http://redlist.sanbi.org).