Zygophyllum debile

Zygophyllum debile is a soft, sprawling shrublet not often reaching more than 20 cm in height. The much-branched stems are angular and longitudinally lined, soft above the woody plant base; the plant leaning towards perennial herb habit. The specific name, debile, is a Latin word meaning weak or fragile, referring to this feature of the species.

The species distribution is in the Western Cape from the Little Karoo eastwards to around Humansdorp in the Eastern Cape. The photo was taken in karoid scrubveld west of Barrydale.

The habitat is stony slopes where the plants grow in clayey or loamy soils. The species is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century.

This plant is palatable and eagerly browsed (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; iNaturalist; JSTOR; http://redlist.sanbi.org).