Drosanthemum hispidum leaves and flowers

The ascending, finger-like leaves of Drosanthemum hispidum are opposite and equal, cylindrical and succulent, hairy and covered in glittering surface cells. The cells glitter in sunlight for a short time, the leaves of Drosanthemum usually short-lived. The leaf bases are fused, the tips rounded. Some of the leaves become about 1 cm long.

The flowers grow solitary from the centre of leaf pairs. Five hairy, succulent sepal lobes ascend their short, pointed tips around the petal bases. The flowers, coloured in various shades of purple, sometimes with some pink, grow one whorl of petals spreading to 2 cm in diameter. The long, narrow petals are oblanceolate (wider near the tip), to slightly spoon-shaped. The petal bases are sometimes white, or the flowers sometimes monocoloured.

There is an erect bunch of stamens in the flower centre. The anthers are white or yellow, their colour probably relating to their ripeness. Filamentous staminodes (sterile stamens lacking anthers) are absent although occurring in some other Drosanthemum species. The stigmas are long and thread-like.

The fruit capsules have covering bodies and valve wings. They are hygrochastic, meaning that the ripe capsules open when becoming moist from rain, and release seeds when drops fall into the locules. The capsule valves close again on the remaining seeds when dry, to open with the next shower for another batch release in the intermittent process (Van Rooyen and Van Rooyen, 2019; Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; Smith, et al, 1998; Herre, 1971; iNaturalist).