Barleria rotundifolia branches

The erect and heavily spiny branches of the evergreen Barleria rotundifolia may carry blooms in small clusters from leaf axils near their tips in season. The flowering season lasts through summer.

The leaves are arranged in opposite decussate pairs, the spines in similar arrangement in the spaces between the arrays. The spines are slightly shorter than the leaves.

The plant reaches heights of about 1 m and may spread wider than that (www.plantzafrica.com; www.redlist.sanbi.org).