Hermannia cristata

Hermannia cristata, commonly the crested doll’s rose, is a perennial growing few erect, unbranched stems to 30 cm from a woody rootstock. It resprouts after fire.

The species distribution is in Limpopo, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal with a small presence in the east of the Free State and the northeast of the Eastern Cape. It also grows in Lesotho, Eswatini and maybe Mozambique. The photo was taken in southern Mpumalanga.

The plants grow in the open in stony, summer rainfall grassland, up to elevations around 1900 m. The species is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century (Manning, 2009; Pooley, 1998; Germishuizen and Fabian, 1982; iNaturalist; http://redlist.sanbi.org).