Brachystelma swazicum

Brachystelma swazicum grows several prostrate red stems from an underground tuber. The leaves are opposite and ovate on dark red petioles. Their margins are entire and the leaf surfaces are dark green with a tinge of red. The midribs and lateral veins are prominent and maroon in colour.

The flowers are star-shaped with five brick-red corolla lobes attenuating in elegant curves to sharp tips. They grow solitary in leaf axils. The calyx has narrow and hairy brown-red lobes.

The plant is found in South Africa only in a small area of Mpumalanga on the northern border of Swaziland on rocky hills. The distribution area is larger in Swaziland, reflected in the specific name. The species is not currently considered to be threatened (http://redlist.sanbi.org; www.sntc.org.sz).